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littlechiefpaleface's review against another edition
4.0
Serendipitous i finished this today. My poor heart. R.I.P Kurt.
mogar_pogar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
4.25
ollypommedeterre's review against another edition
4.0
As a long time Vonnegut fan—with the tattoo sleeve to prove it—it was very interesting to look behind the novel and see what Vonnegut was truly like. And Shields does an amazing job of not pulling any punches. While obviously a fan of Vonnegut's work, Shields wasn't afraid to show the man's ugly side—his mistreatment of his first wife Jane, his indifference to his children, the affairs, the selfishness, the cutting remarks, and a million other things—that Vonnegut possessed. The end result is a complex image of a flawed man, capable of great artistry but at the expense of great pain for others. These flaws gave us Slaughterhouse Five, but they also gave Jane a lifetime of pain. Shields lays all of this out, painting a full picture of Vonnegut the man for you to digest.
Few biographies are able to take the blinders of adoration or hatred away and present the totality, but Shields comes very close. You feel like you know Vonnegut by the end, and you certainly won't like all you see of him—but you'll definitely feel like you understand him better.
Few biographies are able to take the blinders of adoration or hatred away and present the totality, but Shields comes very close. You feel like you know Vonnegut by the end, and you certainly won't like all you see of him—but you'll definitely feel like you understand him better.
bbgardie's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.0
Kurt was really shitty to his first wife and then had what sounds like a horrible second wife so it all works out in the end. #justiceforjane
abbeyjfox's review against another edition
5.0
easily the best biography i have ever read. truly engaging and capitivating, even if at times difficult to read (based on some sad parts of his life story). really interesting guy, knew he was going to die and the biography would be over - but was still really bummed when i finished it this morning.
muffmacguff's review against another edition
4.0
This book really bummed me out! It's exhaustively researched and well-paced.
I'm a pretty huge fan of Vonnegut's writing since I first read Cat's Cradle in middle school. I think a lot of the empathy I found in his books is responsible for my worldview today, and I'm really grateful for that.
However, the man was basically an asshole and a chauvinist (the latter being unsurprising to close readers of a lot of his work), and was not in many ways exceptional outside of his writing. I'm still not sure I wanted to know that, but maybe it's better that I do. Hi ho.
I'm a pretty huge fan of Vonnegut's writing since I first read Cat's Cradle in middle school. I think a lot of the empathy I found in his books is responsible for my worldview today, and I'm really grateful for that.
However, the man was basically an asshole and a chauvinist (the latter being unsurprising to close readers of a lot of his work), and was not in many ways exceptional outside of his writing. I'm still not sure I wanted to know that, but maybe it's better that I do. Hi ho.
atschakfoert's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars: one of the best biographies I've ever read.
sam_bruner's review against another edition
dark
informative
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
4.25
Very informative and for the most part was unbiased. I enjoyed the connection between the author and Vonnegut.
jdscott50's review against another edition
4.0
And So It Goes is a very probing biography that goes to the very core of Vonnegut’s psyche. We see his early insecurities and how he found a way to get attention among his distinguished family, as well as gain prominence as a writer.
There is very familiar territory here that has been retold countless times in Vonnegut’s own works. However, Shields reveals the man behind the stories and finds some very ugly truths. It reveals a writer that struggled through most of his career, not achieving the success that would make him famous for almost 20 years. In that time, he wasn’t the most effusive family man or very dedicated to his wife.
The fame attributed to him seemed to create a persona that really wasn’t his own. That those who read Slaughterhouse-Five were expecting someone more grandiose as opposed to a writer just trying to make ends meet. The sad conclusion in the latter half of the book was a fight over his will and the feeling by Vonnegut that he had outlived his usefulness. It would have been better to be famous and then die.
The book was important to me. I am a big fan of Vonnegut’s works so it was illuminating to find more to the story behind those works. Shields does an excellent job piecing together this biography. He provides the feeling of those who were closest to Vonnegut. All the wrongs, the slights, and anecdotes reveal interesting contradictions and an honesty that even though Vonnegut wrote extensively about himself, didn’t really reveal. The man in the story doesn’t always match the man in the prologue.
There is very familiar territory here that has been retold countless times in Vonnegut’s own works. However, Shields reveals the man behind the stories and finds some very ugly truths. It reveals a writer that struggled through most of his career, not achieving the success that would make him famous for almost 20 years. In that time, he wasn’t the most effusive family man or very dedicated to his wife.
The fame attributed to him seemed to create a persona that really wasn’t his own. That those who read Slaughterhouse-Five were expecting someone more grandiose as opposed to a writer just trying to make ends meet. The sad conclusion in the latter half of the book was a fight over his will and the feeling by Vonnegut that he had outlived his usefulness. It would have been better to be famous and then die.
The book was important to me. I am a big fan of Vonnegut’s works so it was illuminating to find more to the story behind those works. Shields does an excellent job piecing together this biography. He provides the feeling of those who were closest to Vonnegut. All the wrongs, the slights, and anecdotes reveal interesting contradictions and an honesty that even though Vonnegut wrote extensively about himself, didn’t really reveal. The man in the story doesn’t always match the man in the prologue.