Thursday, April 12, 2007

R.I.P. Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut, brilliant author and satirist, died yesterday at age 84.
His works were heavily influenced by his humanist views and experience as a prisoner of war during WWII. If you haven't read Cat's Cradle or Slaughterhouse-Five, you should. If you are an engineer, Player Piano is a 'must read'. All of Vonnegut's novels will make you think, even as you laugh at the black comedy and sometimes cringe at the scathing satire. Good stuff, from a man with a life well lived.

I think it is time for me to read some Vonnegut again.

6 comments:

ctheokas said...

So it goes.

fermicat said...

Yup. 84 is a good run.

Natalie said...

I was sad to hear that too. I'd been meaning to read Man Without a Country but hadn't gotten to it. Maybe now would be a good time.

dr sardonicus said...

A great author; a great man. I haven't read much of his work - time to catch up now.

Taylor said...

I feel slightly robbed having never gotten to read Vonnegut while in school...and like all those people that picked up a Johnny Cash record after he died, I think I will have to buy a Vonnegut book, probably Slaughterhouse-Five.

TheWriteGirl said...

Well, I've never been a big Johnny Cash fan but Vonnegut, that's another story. He had a good life, though. And he left behind an awesome literary legacy.