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erboe501's review
3.0
I read Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five years ago, and I don't remember much except being confused and thinking the book was strange. I picked up this collection of graduation speeches two or three years ago, but I just got around to reading it a few weeks after my own college graduation. I enjoyed some of the themes in his speeches: build yourself a large family, be kind, enjoy the moment. But many of his speeches went off on some tangents that didn't necessarily seem directly connected to graduates, although I might just be missing the context. I don't think I would have appreciated Vonnegut coming to speak at my graduation only to use the platform to go on about an unjust war or something else political. Regardless, the edition is beautifully put together with nice illustrations.
anotherpath's review against another edition
3.0
A book full of college graduation addresses. Vonnegut tended to stick to a handful of themes and one liners throughout the work.
It's a beautiful book, it's just a compilation that limits Vonnegut's wit by drawing from the same wells continuously. They're good wells though. A psuedoreligion with an undefined God. A return to family based society. An appreciation for teachers and education. The continual rebuking of war and finance as social drivers.
"What makes me think we need a new religion? That's easy. An effective religion allows people to imagine from moment to moment what is going on and how they should behave. Christianity used to be like that. Our country is now jammed with human beings who say out loud that life is chaos to them and that it doesn't seem to matter what anybody does next. This is worse than being seasick."
And finally he describes what it means to be a good reader with a bad brain. Me.
"Clarking is the most profound and effective form of meditation practiced on this planet, and far surpasses any dream experienced by a Hindu on a mountaintop. Why? Because Clarks, by reading well, can think the thoughts of the wisest and most interesting minds throughout all history. When Clarks meditate, even if they themselves have only mediocre intellects, they do it with thoughts of angels. What could be more sacred than that?"
It's a beautiful book, it's just a compilation that limits Vonnegut's wit by drawing from the same wells continuously. They're good wells though. A psuedoreligion with an undefined God. A return to family based society. An appreciation for teachers and education. The continual rebuking of war and finance as social drivers.
"What makes me think we need a new religion? That's easy. An effective religion allows people to imagine from moment to moment what is going on and how they should behave. Christianity used to be like that. Our country is now jammed with human beings who say out loud that life is chaos to them and that it doesn't seem to matter what anybody does next. This is worse than being seasick."
And finally he describes what it means to be a good reader with a bad brain. Me.
"Clarking is the most profound and effective form of meditation practiced on this planet, and far surpasses any dream experienced by a Hindu on a mountaintop. Why? Because Clarks, by reading well, can think the thoughts of the wisest and most interesting minds throughout all history. When Clarks meditate, even if they themselves have only mediocre intellects, they do it with thoughts of angels. What could be more sacred than that?"
jcmeza's review
4.0
Nice read, with lots of good stories and advice. At times, provocative, cranky, and prescient, Vonnegut doesn't shy away from telling you what you may not want to hear and he's almost always right. My only minor complaint is that the book got a little repetitive, which is not surprising since it is a compilation of speeches that he had given and presumably borrowed a bit from previous speeches.
scarletohhara's review
5.0
Was I living under a rock all along, this being my first foray into the brilliance called Kurt Vonnegut?
Funny and insightful, these essays are a perfect introduction into what Vonnegut was like, as a person. And if his books have half the worth of the content of these essays, then I know I'll love them. Coz I love the person, Vonnegut. What's not to like - a liberal environmentalist education-loving old man talking about the freedom of speech, power of living in the now, feminism and gun control, he is a perfect combo , someone we can all do with, in times like this.
Funny and insightful, these essays are a perfect introduction into what Vonnegut was like, as a person. And if his books have half the worth of the content of these essays, then I know I'll love them. Coz I love the person, Vonnegut. What's not to like - a liberal environmentalist education-loving old man talking about the freedom of speech, power of living in the now, feminism and gun control, he is a perfect combo , someone we can all do with, in times like this.
maxstone98's review
4.0
Reading a bunch of speeches (mostly graduation speeches) in a row isn't ideal, there tends to be a lot of repetition. On the other hand, they are great speeches for the most part, kind of an ideal way to spend 15 minutes occasionally would be to dip into one of these. Vonnegut is, like Mark Twain, a really pleasing combination of wise and hilarious.
He has a few themes, one of them is the value of community and extended family, and how modern life suffers for lack of that. That's not original to him, of course, but I thought he made a really interesting connection when talking about nuclear families: "A husband, a wife, and some kids is not a family; it's a terribly vulnerable survival unit. Now those of you who get married or are married, when you fight with your spouse, what each of you will be saying to the other one, [because you're human,] actually is, 'You're not enough people. You're only one person. I should have [dozens or] hundreds of people around.'"
He has a few themes, one of them is the value of community and extended family, and how modern life suffers for lack of that. That's not original to him, of course, but I thought he made a really interesting connection when talking about nuclear families: "A husband, a wife, and some kids is not a family; it's a terribly vulnerable survival unit. Now those of you who get married or are married, when you fight with your spouse, what each of you will be saying to the other one, [because you're human,] actually is, 'You're not enough people. You're only one person. I should have [dozens or] hundreds of people around.'"
beatrixcesana's review against another edition
4.0
Witty. Inspirational. A light but brainy read. Ideal for young soon-to-be graduates like myself, who need some cheer and optimism, and who a-d-o-r-e sarcasm and a pinch of socio-cultural critique on the side. Lessons learned: be kind, practice art, start speeches with a joke, lose the resentment, choose peace, be with people, and above all notice when you’re happy and be effing grateful <3