What is the opinion of Vonnegut around here? I don't hear much about his works, especially outside slaughterhouse 5
he is good as an introduction to post modern literature
>inb4 people use reddit as an excuse not to read him
Then fucking lurk more
>>7670797
only read Mother Night and it was meh
Read Slaughterhouse Five, Cat's Cradle and Breakfast of Champions.
*
so it goes.
for 15 year-olds
doesn't mean it's bad necessarily
>>7671411
And if you like these, read Sirens of Titan and Monkey House, and maybe Galapagos
Maybe Player Piano if you're salty about the current economy (or, in a cushy tech job/in school for a cushy tech job)
I'll always have a soft spot for him because he was the first author that got me into actual literature instead of ya. I think that's the best way to look at him, that he's a very good introduction to writing capable of really making you think and feel.
>>7671418
Sirens of Titan is actually his best along with Slaughterhouse
Cat's Cradle overrated af
>>7670797
He's ok if you don't mind child-like simplicity and a heavy reliance on sentimentality. Not the worst author out there, but you can skip him if you don't like what he does.
I read all his shit. I really like the 40s and 50s atomic age theme and the personalities it generates. But I don't consider him good, nor would I tell people I've read him irl.
Ok call me a pleb now.
>>7670801
Paul Auster is better for that. The New York trilogy is a solid entry level book.
>>7671450
pleb
Anyone else read Bluebeard? IMO it's right up there with Slaughterhouse 5 but no one ever acknowledges it. It deals with all his usual themes and tropes, but it even hasa happy ending.
>>7671450
Why would you read all his shit if you don't consider him good?
What good authors have similar themes of veterans dealing with adjusting to the world after ww2? That captivated me with vonnegut's work more than his writing ever did.
>>7671517
I always liked bluebeard more than most of his work and felt like nobody knew about it.
Happy, happy meat
Happy, happy Rabo Karabekian
>>7671527
Not WW2 but The Things They Carried would probably interest you.
>>7671528
Mah nigga. Of all his novels I've read, here's my ranking:
SH5>Bluebeard>Cat's Cradle=Sirens of Titan>Breakfast of Champions>Galapagos>Mother Night>Timequake> Mr. Rosewater
Someday I'll get around to reading the rest of them.
>>7671415
Fuck I grew tired of that.
>>7671777
In the context of the novel I think it works really well. The probably is it's so often abused and overused by every loser who reads the book. I wouldn't be surprised if it was spoiled in your mind before you even started.
>>7670801
From what I see reddit orgasms with this guy
Whenever someone asks me what I think about KV I just show them this bad boy....
>>7671872
I just take my socks and shoes off or show them my Tumblr
>>7672012
these are some pleb feet.
I enjoyed reading Sirens of Titan and nothing else by him.
>>7671548
I actually read the things they carried already and it was interesting. I thought the main message about storytelling and truth to be a bit strange but the war experiences were certainly well done. That one chapter with the guy who went home, drove around his town in circles, andhung himselfwas great, killing the water buffalo, Kiowa being dragged down into the muck, all really good scenes
Anybody know more ww2-centric stuff like this, though? Something about the era really hits me emotionally, I think. Catch-22 gets shat on here sometimes but that's why I enjoyed that book too.
There's something about the brutality and trauma of it mixed with America's cultural optimism of the time that seems really cool to me. My grandfather fought in it as well and I never got to meet him, so I always wished I had been able to sit down and hear about his experiences.
>>7672081
If you want an atypical WWII book, I'd suggest The Cannibal. It's written from the perspective of the Germans though so it's probably not what you're looking for at all. The author was an American ambulance driver during WWII.
>>7670797
He's a good writer. I just don't think he writes about the kind of things I want to read about.
I've read six of his books and I'm starting to lose interest in them. I only have a few more I'm interested in but I think his best books are probably some of his most popular.
Sirens of Titan, Cat's Cradle, Slaughter House 5 are all fantastic. I'd even argue that Mother Night is an underrated book of his.
Has anyone here read Slapstick? I thought it was really good but no-one ever mentions it
It's not quite so thought-provoking/deep as his other books but it's really entertaining
>>7672113
Sounds interesting for other reasons. I'll put it on the list, thanks amigo
>>7672049
Bait feet, too
>>7672154
I think I tried starting that one a while ago but put it down after the first few chapters. For a while I used Vonnegut's stuff as a sort of palette cleanser between longer, more intensive reads, and I wore myself out reading too many of them too close together.
>>7673443
That's how I read his stuff too. I've only done Slaughterhouse Five and Sirens of Titan so far though. I definitely wouldn't read two of his books in a row.
His greatest work? The Big Space Fuck.
>>7671787
I'm a huge pleb who didn't know anything about the book before I read it. I loved it. 10/10. I want to read this guy's other stuff.
I read slaughterhouse 5 a few months ago, it's the only novel I've read from Vonnegut and probably the only one I'll ever read.
I found it poorly written and sloppy in general. Started off great but it soon went downhill. Some say that it's genius in it's execution, I disagree.
>>7673898
I'd be interested in knowing exactly why you feel this way.
>>7670797
I forget who said it but someone pretty well respected said Slaughterhouse 5 was everything that Gravity's Rainbow tried to be but failed at being.
>>7673898
>I found it poorly written
I can kind of understand where you're coming from (I think). The prose isn't especially great in and of itself, but it all adds to absurdity and humor of the story. Form follows function, simply put. You kind of get the feeling you're listening to your drunk uncle telling you some zany bullshit after Christmas dinner, and for that I find it charming and endearing.
>sloppy in general
This I cannot abide. The plot is so tight and every line so purposeful I simply don't see what you could mean by sloppy.
Like >>7675853 I'd be interested to hear more specifically what you didn't like about it.
>>7670797
He's the mediocre writer I'd love to read in high school, but now he offers almost nothing. He isn't as pomo as Pynchon (who I hate for different reasons) or 'lol random quirky' like Dick. Reading him is such an ambivalent experience.
He's alright at best. Mother Night, Sirens of Titan, S5, and maybe Breakfast all had elements of something better but as a whole were pretty lacking. His status (admittedly not entirely his fault) as a preteen-author hasn't helped him any, either.
>>7670797
He heavily influenced one of my favorite vidya games, so I like him. I've only read SH-5 though.
>>7675863
Whoa. That's so retarded it hurts.
Person was too dumb to enjoy GR and liked the dumbed down Vonnegut instead.
Girl in my lit class has this tattoo (without the anus).
How do I fuck her?
>>7677206
Vaginally I guess.
