/r/Vonnegut
This subreddit is for discussing the life, works, and legacy of Kurt Vonnegut, beloved author.
This subreddit is for discussing the life, works, and legacy of Kurt Vonnegut, beloved author.
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was a 20th-century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle (1963), Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), and Breakfast of Champions (1973) blend satire, gallows humor, and science fiction. As a citizen he was a lifelong supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union and a critical pacifist intellectual. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.
1. No Trolling
"An Internet troll is someone who comes into a discussion and posts comments designed to upset or disrupt the conversation. Often, in fact, it seems like there is no real purpose behind their comments except to upset everyone else involved. Trolls will lie, exaggerate, and offend to get a response."
Trolling will result in an immediate ban.
2. No Bigotry/Hate Speech
There is a zero tolerance policy of any form of bigotry. We recognize that there will inevitably be differences of opinion over political manners, but that will not excuse any form of bigotry to include, but not limited to racism, misogyny, ableism, or anti-LGBT+ sentiments.
Violations of this rule will result in removal and a stern warning. Repeat incidences will result in an immediate ban.
3. No Personal Attacks or Insults
This is a community of fans of the great author, Kurt Vonnegut. It is intended to be a safe space and an environment of mutual respect. As such, all members will be treated with dignity and respect.
Personal attacks and insults to other members of this sub will not be tolerated.
Violations will result in a warning and removal. Repeated violations will result in permanent ban.
4. Stay (Mostly) On-Topic
Posts should be, at minimum, tangentially related to the works of Kurt Vonnegut or speculative fiction.
(This rule is flexible, based on quality of content and level of interest among members of the sub.)
Novels
Player Piano (1952)
The Sirens of Titan (1959)
Mother Night (1961)
Cat's Cradle (1963)
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine (1965)
Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death (1969)
Breakfast of Champions, or Goodbye Blue Monday (1973)
Slapstick, or Lonesome No More! (1976)
Jailbird (1979)
Deadeye Dick (1982)
Galápagos: A Novel (1985
Bluebeard (1987)
Hocus Pocus (1990)
Timequake (1997)
Short Fiction Collections
Canary in a Cathouse (1961)
Welcome to the Monkey House (1968)
Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction (1999)
God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian (1999)
Armageddon in Retrospect and Other New and Unpublished Writings on War and Peace (2008)
Look at the Birdie: Unpublished Short Fiction (2009)
While Mortals Sleep: Unpublished Short Fiction (2011)
Non-Fiction Collections
Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons (Opinions) (1974)
Palm Sunday: An Autobiographical Collage (1981)
Nothing Is Lost Save Honor: Two Essays (1984)
Fates Worse Than Death: An Autobiographical Collage (1991)
A Man Without a Country (2005)
Plays
Penelope (1960)
The Very First Christmas Morning (1962)
Fortitude (1968)
Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1971)
Requiem (1987)
Make Up Your Mind (1993)
Miss Temptation (1993)
L'Histoire du Soldat (1993)
/r/Vonnegut
It sounds suspiciously like a 1950/60s-era drug name.
And it seems to me that the alien abduction stuff is just a stand-in for psychotic episodes or drug-induced hallucinations and fantasies, etc.
The author did spend some time in an instutution I think. Little featureless saucer-shaped pills take you off to far-away lands.
I have taken daily walks through Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis for years. It’s gigantic, 555 acres, the third largest non-governmental cemetery in the United States. It’s beautiful, with gigantic trees and wildlife, and serves as a relaxing natural expanse within the city limits.
Today was “beautiful and nothing hurt,” the leaves are turning so I thought maybe this community would enjoy seeing the Kurt Vonnegut dedicated tree at the cemetery in all its autumnal glory. It is smack in the middle of the family plot, where all the Indianapolis Vonneguts found their final resting places. It was crazy dazzling today, I was there near sunset so the western light made that tree GLOW.
I’ve read here and there that KV’s ashes were buried with his parents there, but I’ve read other accounts that claim different, it’s all vague and that’s just fine. I like the idea of the tree better than a marker with ashes and bones beneath.
My question is not fully formed, but the message that Salo must carry and share is simply a dot meaning “Greetings.” Rumfoord talks about saying goodbye as a “punctual manner of speaking,” and the text defines being punctual is to exist as a point.
I have to think there is some connection between the idea of punctualism and the message Salo ports. But I’m not quite getting the point of it. Can someone help me crack the code? (Or tell me I’m on goofballs…)
Thank you!
I'm doing a lifesize drawing of my own depiction of Kilgore Trout. It would be really helpful if anyone has any descriptions of him from the books as I don't have them on me at the moment for reference. Also if anyone knows of any drawings/ depictions that already exist? Thank you!
Of all the places to hear a possible Vonnegut reference, WWE Smackdown was not high on my list of likelihoods. LA Knight ending off one of his promos with "So it goes", I guess time will tell if it's just a coincidence. Got me thinking about my favourite references though. In Borderlands 2, one of Mayas killshot dialogues is "So it goes", which I loved.
I've read Welcome to the Monkey House, Sirens of Titan, and I have 80 pages left of Cat's Cradle. The dialogue between characters is my favorite part of his writing but sometimes it's relatively sparse. Is there a book of his that is more dialogue-heavy than Sirens or Cat's? Thanks
I finished GBY,MR about a month ago, I adored the book. But as I was reading I never questioned if Eliot was a good person or not. Of course he isn't the best person, but I thought a lot of his intentions were good and he was overall kind and wise. I listened to the Kurt Vonneguys podcast episode on the novel, and it was very critical of Eliot as a person. So I thought it might be interesting to hear what people think about this delight of a book and its central character
I read a Vonnegut short a long time ago about an office hiring someone to make it more efficient. I have looked and looked and cannot find it. Surely I didn’t make it up did I? Could someone tell me what short story Im remembering, please? TIA
This is the perspective of someone who is roughly half way through the book. I’ve seen plenty of negative comments on this book on this sub. Dr. Proteus is an interesting and multi-dimensional character. Vonnegut did a great job of having multiple plot lines going on and I’m so eager to find out what happens with the Meadows, his Shepherd rivalry, his plans for Anita, the Shah, Paul might having to rat on Ed, etc. Also, been a while since I’ve seen Ed, I wonder what he and Lasher are up to. I can’t wait to see how all these tie together if they even do. All in all, it’s hard to put this book down whenever I pick it up!
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