Anyone here read anything other than Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat's Cradle?

I'm reading Bluebeard right now and this thing is fucking masterful. Also recently read Sirens of Titan. What do y'all think of Vonnegut?

Harrison Bergeron was good. The only think I liked by him.

In addition to the ones I've already mentioned, I've also read Mother Night, Galapagos, and Deadeye Dick. Anyone here read Player Piano or Breakfast of Champions? They've been on my "to read" list for a long time

I actually haven't read any of his short stories yet.

Hes the rick and morty of the literary world

I haven't watched the show at all. How so?

>Comparing an author to a cartoon
Wew, lad.

read S5, CC and BoC a long time ago, in that order. BoC was my favorite, but also Vonnegut was getting a little redundant for me at that point. haven't read anything since.

i'd agree with that. they both get better the more you remove them from their fan bases and memes, but they're nothing profound.

Player Piano is, if i recall correctly, his first published novel. and so it's a little shaky compared to some of the others. his "message" (most of his novels have one) is a little more ham-fisted than usual, but it has some interesting science-fictiony plot points.

Breakfast of Champions is actually my favorite of his novels. It has a unique writing style (hard to describe, but after the first page or two you'll see what I mean). I would say it is him at the peak of being dark and cynical.

Went on a binge and read all of his novels in my early twenties. Galapagos and Hocus Pocus were my favorite.

Good to know.

I'm reading pic related, and boy is it cynical. Not like earlier Vonnegut, where he's angry. This is one of his last novels, and boy. He's just...given up.

Cynical, sure, but completely resigned to "the world is a shitty place now."

I liked Galapagos a lot, too! Can't understand why people write it off so much. Hocus Pocus was one of the first Vonneguts I ever bought, and I still haven't gotten around to it.

BoC is Vonnegut's best work and his only really postmodern success imo. The strength of the work hinges on the last page though

>Vonnegut and a cartoon about dysfunction set out to be profound

Bluebeard is my favorite V.Gut. The lack of sci-fi silliness grounds it and makes it more compelling

I have but I strongly dislike his work so there's not much to say.

I read Mother Night in one marathon three hour session.
Maybe a little too easy to read him? I read his books pretty quick but they don’t really stay with me the way Faulkner or Melville or Gaddis do.

I've read about half of his oeuvre. I'm reading Look at the Birdie right now, actually. He's great for "turn-your-brain-off" material. I usually read that type of stuff either before bed or between reading more significant/demanding work.

bump

Make me young! Make me young! Make me young!

T_T

sirens of titan is his best and one of his earliest.

his thoughts on religion are nice. i think he suggests that god and fate are improbable/unknowable, but that he believes it is real.

oh also, he clearly suggests that religion is manufactured (like in cat's cradle) but that's okay for making people happy, which is neat.

Player Piano's maybe slightly stronger than Deadeye Dick but not his best. Breakfast of Champions is one of his best.

You should check out Jailbird and Slapstick, which get overlooked a lot, but are very strong.

Just ordered Player Piano because I liked Cat's Cradle so much

Sirens of Titan is good, Player Piano is boring, Breakfast of Champions is god tier.
Bluebeard is a personal favorite. Hocus Pocus is good. Timequake is worth reading but just once.

Jailbird is complete garbage. It's extremely heavy handed in its praise of communism. It's garbage.

>heavy handed in its praise of communism
You know Starbuck is meant to be a weak character, and communism doesn't really come off well from the book. I think you're reading it as though his communism is "real" but his Nixon employment isn't, when it's about someone who would do either for a gf or job. It's not praise of communism, and there's a reason why Starbuck's hope for communism resides in the meek inheriting the earth: it's the same reason he'd let a Watergate burglar hide cash in his office. Try reading it when you're not triggered.