Vonnegut!

[reno]

When the last living thing
has died on account of us,
how poetical it would be
if Earth could say,
in a voice floating up
perhaps
from the floor
of the Grand Canyon,
"It is done."
People did not like it here.

poem "Requiem" from the conclusion of his last book "Man without a country"
Kurt Vonnegut Dead at 84, So it goes...

[MarkAndrew]

Meh, I'm not a fan.  I like a few of his works and when WW II he man-ed up, but on the whole he was a very depressed/depressing human being.

[6079SmithW]

a.) I don't know what "and when WW II he man-ed up" means
b.) I don't know of any author who is less depressing while being honest about what people are like. Vonnegut's characters are almost all fairly terrible people but they never cease to be lovable and understandable, and to me that's exactly the opposite of depressing.

[Parturition Squeeze]

a.) I don't know what "and when WW II he man-ed up" means
b.) I don't know of any author who is less depressing while being honest about what people are like. Vonnegut's characters are almost all fairly terrible people but they never cease to be lovable and understandable, and to me that's exactly the opposite of depressing.

Here, here.  Part of what makes Vonnegut's work so unique is how he presents our hopelessness in such a positive, hopeful way.  I last read Slapstick: Or Lonesome No More! and enjoyed it more than any of his great works except the incomparable Slaughterhouse 5

[dribbleglass]

We'll miss you, Kurt. You were the man.

Hi ho.

[Tripe]

I liked some of Vonnegut's work and Mother Night is probably on my top twenty favorite books of all time. I never did get round to seeing the film. I'm guessing it wasn't all that good.

[StellarJoe]

I liked some of Vonnegut's work and Mother Night is probably on my top twenty favorite books of all time. I never did get round to seeing the film. I'm guessing it wasn't all that good.

Apparently, it was one of the better Vonnegut adaptations.  I haven't seen it though, but that's what it's generally considered.  I can't wait to read Mother Night.  I'm going to get a copy once I'm done God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater.

[Some Guy]

I did my thesis on Vonnegut, years back.  It dealt with Slaughterhouse-Five and Mother Night, a Lacanian reading of the identity politics in them.  In other words, I'm one helluva big fan.  And I can see what MarkAndrew was getting at, in terms of Vonnegut's willingness to be very straight forward about the bad situations his characters find themselves, but there is more to the stories than that sense of darkness.  Much more.  It always seemed to me that, most often, Vonnegut's characters found a certain comfort in accepting their rough times, and being able to look past the hurt they felt.  Like Billy P. said, everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.

[Tripe]

I did my thesis on Vonnegut, years back.  It dealt with Slaughterhouse-Five and Mother Night, a Lacanian reading of the identity politics in them.

Hey Hey I guess Canadian Colleges are just as full of tedious literary criticism  as British ones.

[Some Guy]

I did my thesis on Vonnegut, years back.  It dealt with Slaughterhouse-Five and Mother Night, a Lacanian reading of the identity politics in them.

Hey Hey I guess Canadian Colleges are just a full of tedious literary criticism  as British ones.

How dare you belittle the educat...

Aw, he's right.

[Tripe]

I was amazed, not to say jealous, that my wife who also has a BA in English but from an American University had never had to read Derrida or Barrthes or Lacan or Lyotard or even Walter Benjamin.

[Some Guy]

I was amazed, not to say jealous, that my wife who also has a BA in English but from an American University had never had to read Derrida or Barrthes or Lacan or Lyotard or even Walter Benjamin.

Oh, for a minute there I thought you were just messing with me.

Anyway, wow, I can't think of going through as an English major and not touching on the critics -- it was Derrida that nearly broke me.    I can see why you'd be jealous.  Some of that stuff was murder. 

[Tripe]

I think a certain H. Simpson summed Derrida up most succinctly:

[quick=475,325]http://www.logusz.com/~yupislyr/1/boring.wav[/quick]

[Some Guy]

I think a certain H. Simpson summed Derrida up most succinctly:

[quick=475,325]http://www.logusz.com/~yupislyr/1/boring.wav[/quick]

Moe, for me, summed up the whole postmodern scene with: 'Weird for weird's sake.'

I'm out, brother.  Have a good night.