Of all of the books I read in Jr Hi and HS, the author who probably influeced my world view the most was Vonnegut (followed closely by Mark Twain). His books showed the world's tragedy with hope, humanity and humor. I still remember reading Cats Cradle and talking to my dad about it, and then reading the rest of his books like eating candy. In college we read Player Piano. I didn't realize how old of a book it was, and I remember thinking how prescient it was, and how it still is. He leaves quite a legacy and suspect I was not the only HS kid who considered him an influence.

So it goes.

I was not a huge fan, I must admit. I tried, but I found the books a bit of a curate's egg. Having said that, there is one major exception for me - Slaughterhouse 5 is just marvellous. That'll be an immediate re-read, in homage.

When I was at uni in the mid-seventies, he was a huge cult author among students; so even though I was not that keen on him, it feels like a little bit of my life just moved on...

I remember how new and different Vonnegut's writing seemed to me as a young adult. In particular, I enjoyed Galapagos and Breakfast of Champions. I wonder if still would?

Martin - What on earth is a curate's egg?

Kathy, below is the a reproduction of the original cartoon True Humility (or Breakfast with the Bishop) from the famous and now defunct Punch magazine; this is where the expression comes from, although in the UK we use the meaning as Martin has 'parts of it were good' 'parts bad'.
George du Maurier was the Grandfather of Daphne and father of the well-known actor and matinee-idol Gerald du Maurier.

Here is a link that might be useful: A Curate's Egg

I love Vonnegut's work and am very sad to hear of his death. I love Cindy's phrase 'reading the rest of his books like eating candy', that's exactly how I felt when I first discovered him, although I discussed him with my friends not father.

Oh I am so saddened by this news.

I loved that man. I loved all of his work. He was the wisest, the funniest and the best of what it means to be human.

Dido

What a great phrase! We need something like that here (I love the cartoon - bits of it are quite good, hee) O/T what ever happened to Punch? I discovered it in HS and while it was hard to find I enjoyed it when I could get my hands on a copy.

angelini, my dad was a voracious reader, and while I could discuss books with my friends (and did) dad was always taking me a few steps further.

I did find his later books less interesting.While I liked Dead Eye Dick and Galapogos, his other books weren't of the same caliber. There was something missing, a spark, a wink of the eye, a touch of optimism disappeared (or perhaps I lost those as I got older in reading them) These later ones indeed are a curate's egg (and darn it but I love that phrase). I loved the introduction to Earthquake but found the rest of it very glum. His last collection Man Without a Country was filled with tidbits of brillance but really quite depressing. This isn't a surprise tho - a person does change in 40 years (thank goodness) and I am sure his writing was a mirror of that.

I liked Vonnegut until I read Breakfast of Champions which even at that age I recognized as lazy writing and thinking. I haven't read anything of his since. In Larry Niven's and Jerry Pournelle's Inferno, they put him in hell for trying to deny that he wrote science fiction.

I did read son Mark's book The Eden Express about his mental illness. In a 2003 lecture he spoke about his family's history of it: Mark Vonnegut Speaks at Convention

I really enjoyed his books in high school and college, but have never re-read them as an adult and I didn't keep my copies. I may have to remedy that.

I never read Vonnegut until I was an adult, in taking a course on literature of the 'Sixties. I thought "Slaughterhouse 5" brilliant. I've not read his other work. What do you think is his next best?

Cats Cradle.

>they put him in hell for trying to deny that he wrote science fiction.

I love it!

I'd forgotten about Eden Express, meant to read that one, thanks.

I've just re-read Slaughterhouse 5 which was as good as I remembered it.

All this happened, more or less.

My battered old paperback copy is by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. And, thinking about it, people used to refer to him as Kurt Vonnegut Junior when I was a student. When did he drop the Junior? (I admit, when you reach 84, Junior seems a bit silly...)

Maybe when his father died? Isn't that commom? I don't know, not coming from a JR-SR family. I do know that you get to be II when you name your son III.

I went to my back bookshelves, filled with beloved books that I've been carrying around from dorm, apt to house for some 30 odd years. Pulled down the dusty (very dusty) Vonnegut books, decided to reread the early ones. So I am reading Welcome to my Monkey House now, and loving those short stories all over again. Some are incredibly optimistic, some quite presceint, but they all strike a chord. Then I'm going by order of copyright: Player Piano, Mother Night, Cats Cradel, God Bless You Mr Rosewater and Slaughterhouse. Thats my plan, anyway. Hoping I love them as much as I did then, seen through much older eyes.