One of my favorite writers, Kurt Vonnegut, was on the Daily Show this week. He's just as sharp as ever. A good quote from him last night, "I think our planet's immune system is trying to get rid of us and should." I think he is completely right. A hurricane is just like a good fever.
If you have not read any Vonnegut, I suggest Galapagos or Slaughterhouse 5 as good starters. I also suggest going to the Daily Show website and watching the interview. I was never one to reread a book, but I have read several of his books multiple times.
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3 comments:
I used to like Mr. Vonnegut's stuff when I was younger but after reading a number of his books I realized they were void of any hope and that if I kept reading them I'd either shoot myself or the people around me. He's kind of a literary George Carlin. In my opinion both are without feathers! I could be wrong but I'm not going to risk my tenuous grip on hope to find out:].
Each to his own. I still enjoy his books. The overlap of characters and the way he tells a story never fail to keep me reading. I find non-fiction to be a worse enemy my most fragile strands of hope. Try Eye of the Albatross by Safina. While being a wonderful read, the truth is worse than any Vonnegut story. In fact, hope literally lies in the feathers in this book.
I think the fact that Vonnegut could write Slaughterhouse 5, mingling humor into that horrible truth is hopeful in itself. I think it shows that people can not only survive the extreme, but that they can distance themselves from it to go on with life, and even build on it.
Thanks for the distraction for me from my kitten worries! I don't really like cats, but I hate for the poor things to suffer unnecessarily.
Tim, do you have any favorite authors or books?
I don't get much chance to read anymore and most of the stuff I'm reading now is of a religious nature but I did find my copy of Blindness by Jose Saramago the other day. Some of the stories coming out of New Orleans made me think of it and then it just appeared while I was cleaning up the attic. I'm thinking of re-reading it. Some people say they found it hard to read because of Saramago's writing style, which is kind of like stream of consciousness but not really.
Back when I first read it I meant to get a couple of his other books, which sounded good, too. They are still on my wish list.
Currently my favorite author is Graham Greene. Other than that I've found I am starting to prefer older (dead) authors. The way they wrote is completely different from what is written today. It's a nice respite to be able to read something that is basically completely different from the way you usually think.
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