RIP Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. 1922-2007
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., photo dated April 8, 1992.
Doug Elbinger, Elbinger Studios.
Another of the great ones has left us. Kurt Vonnegut has been a favorite (and hero) of mine since I first saw (but didn’t really understand) the movie “Slaughterhouse-Five” on late-night television as a kid. I’ve been reading and enjoying his books for over 25 years. I had resigned myself to the fact that there would be no “new” Vonnegut books back when he retired ~10 years ago. However, seeing him recently on The Daily Show (promoting a new book!) rekindled my hopes that there might yet be one more great Vonnegut masterpiece. Sadly that hope too is now gone.
The list of Mr. Vonnegut’s titles is a long one, here in no particular order (and by no means complete):
A Man without a Country
(His latest, and one would presume, last)
Breakfast of Champions
Slaughterhouse-five
Cat’s Cradle
Deadeye Dick
Welcome to the Monkey House
Mother Night
Galapagos
God Bless You, Dr. Kervorkian
Fates Worse Than Death
Slapstick: Or Lonesome No More!
Player Piano
Jailbird
Bluebeard
Bagombo Snuff Box
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
Hocus Focus
Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons
Vonnegut Omnibus
Sun, Moon, Star
Timequake
The Sirens of Titan
Canary in a Cat House
This last one isn’t a Vonnegut book, per se, but a book about Mr. Vonnegut.
Kurt Vonnegut’s Crusade Or, How a Postmodern Harlequin Preached a New Kind of Humanism
I’ve read all but a couple of these. I suppose I need to fill in those blanks. Of course, several old favorites I don’t mind re-reading, time and again. Do us both a favor, click one of the links and buy the book from Amazon, thereby helping to feed my book/CD/DVD addiction while fueling your own.
Fare thee well, Mr. Vonnegut, fare thee well.
Very sad indeed, I thought of you when I heard of his passing. He like other talented authors will live on through many generations as their words leap from the pages to entertain and enlighten.
Kathy, on 4-17-2007 @ 9:56 am |