Kurt Vonnegut, called in his Los Angeles Times three page obituary, an "American cultural hero," and "one of the last of a generation of great American novelists of World War Two" died yesterday at the age of eighty-four.
Author Tom Wolfe, quoted in the obituary, said "... he was the closest thing we had to a Voltaire." Novelist Jay McInerny called him "a satirist with a heart, a moralist with a whoopee cushion."
Most, if not all, of his books can be found in Glendale Public Library shelves, as well as books about him and some he wrote about himself like The Man Without a Country.
A list of the best of Vonnegut must begin with the first novel he wrote, Player Piano, however the story of man mechanized by the oppressions of corporate 'efficiency' was not well known until his later books became popular. You may also enjoy the satire of Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse Five, based on his own experiences witnessing the horrors of "useless bombing," The Sirens of Titan, Mother Night, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, and Welcome to the Monkey House, a collection of short works.
1 comment:
From the one finger salute at the end of Cat's Cradle, to the farting seals in Galapagos, Kurt Vonnegut had a way of painting a unique picture of the world that made readers look at it differently.
I loved him.
Tear. not ripping paper, but dripping brackish agua caliente con me ojo.
Love, A fan of Vonnegut.
Y, un fan of Libraries. Especially Public ones. Like Glendale.
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