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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
He was pretty sympathetic at first but then he was kinda misogynistic and narcissistic so dnf.
Really interesting! Reading 60 years of anyone's correspondence would be interesting, but Kurt Vonnegut is, of course, a great writer on top of that.
It's so interesting seeing what's behind the curtain into people's lives besides what we know them for. And currently I'm in a Vonnegut spiral. My favourite letter out of all the decades he was alive, was a letter during the 90's, here's a section of it:
"If you want to write fiction, then you must be patient, for you need experiences, and those take time to accumulate. Unfortunately television offers the illusions of experiences writers used to come by the hard way, in courtrooms, on ships, in hospitals, whatever. Please don't rely on those, unless you want to be popular"
"If you want to write fiction, then you must be patient, for you need experiences, and those take time to accumulate. Unfortunately television offers the illusions of experiences writers used to come by the hard way, in courtrooms, on ships, in hospitals, whatever. Please don't rely on those, unless you want to be popular"
I love Vonnegut! Love love love him. I enjoyed this glimpse into his private and personal life. As an archivist, this collection is a wonderfully annotated grouping of archival materials. I didn't finish all of this book because it's not like it has a plot to follow. The letters are chronological and individually explained within each section. I plan on purchasing this book (was reading my library's copy) because it's the kind of book you can pick up and read any page at any time.
Just finished my copy, autographed by Robert Weide and Nanny Vonnegut.
Of course I love almost anything written by Kurt, but this gave an even more personal sense of who he was behind closed doors to his friends, family, peers, and anyone else he happened to write a letter to. My admiration for the guy grows even more.
One of my favorites from the book came near the end, about 5 years from his death. He wrote a letter to the editors at the New York Times that read....
"It may give us some comfort in these worrisome times to know that in all of history only one country has actually been crazy enough to detonate atomic weapons in the midst of civilian populations, turning unarmed men, women and children into radioactive soot and bonemeal. And that was a long, long time ago now."
Classic.
Of course I love almost anything written by Kurt, but this gave an even more personal sense of who he was behind closed doors to his friends, family, peers, and anyone else he happened to write a letter to. My admiration for the guy grows even more.
One of my favorites from the book came near the end, about 5 years from his death. He wrote a letter to the editors at the New York Times that read....
"It may give us some comfort in these worrisome times to know that in all of history only one country has actually been crazy enough to detonate atomic weapons in the midst of civilian populations, turning unarmed men, women and children into radioactive soot and bonemeal. And that was a long, long time ago now."
Classic.
When I was in high school Timequake was released. After reading that this would be Vonnegut's final novel, a friend who liked his writing as much as me encouraged me to write a letter to Vonnegut showing my appreciation for his writing and saying that he shouldn't quit writing novels because the world needs more writers like him. (We also likened ourselves to me being Eliot Rosewater, she being Billy Pilgrim because I introduced her to Vonnegut. I liked that because I got to be Eliot, my favorite of Vonnegut's characters. She is now married with a baby, and I've only contemplated being a volunteer fireman)
I'm not sure he ever got that letter or that I sent it to the right place even. Reading this collection of letters was in a way a reply to that short note I sent 17 years ago. It gives you insight into what was going on while each book was being written. I like that better than reading an in depth analysis of a novel. I don't think I could read an analysis of Vonnegut's work anyway because my own opinions are too strong.
Long story short, if you are fan of Vonnegut's writing then reading this book would be time well spent. If you aren't a fan, then I don't know what to tell you.
I'm not sure he ever got that letter or that I sent it to the right place even. Reading this collection of letters was in a way a reply to that short note I sent 17 years ago. It gives you insight into what was going on while each book was being written. I like that better than reading an in depth analysis of a novel. I don't think I could read an analysis of Vonnegut's work anyway because my own opinions are too strong.
Long story short, if you are fan of Vonnegut's writing then reading this book would be time well spent. If you aren't a fan, then I don't know what to tell you.
Obviously I love Vonnegut. This book of letters waffled from brilliant to boring. The letters were about his everyday life after all. However, I loved how this book highlighted his both his heart and his insecurities about his art.
