The Vonnegut Reading Group discussion
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I would suggest starting with Slaughterhouse 5. In my opinion his best, with a lot of insight into the author (subtly autobiographically), and wonderfully crafted.
After blowing your mind with Slaughterhouse Five, move on to Cat's Cradle.
I pretty much agree. It's good to get warmed up with either slaughterhouse 5 or galapagos before moving on to the weird-but-awesome world of Cat's Cradle, Sirens of Titan, or Breakfast of Champions. Those last three are all tied as my fav Vonnegut books, which is odd since they're completely different but equally brilliant.
If you are averse to Science Fiction themes and devices, God Bless You Mr. Rosewater and Jailbird are excellent examples of 'social' Vonnegut.It's a real cliche, but I envy the blank page that is your Vonnegut reading soul, although I still derive tremendous pleasure from re-reading the books.
David
That Monkey House post was me, slight tech glitch on the old account. Has anyone who really enjoyed Welcome to the Monkey House read Bagombo Snuff Box? What did you think?
Beautifully constructed set pieces, sometimes trespassing into whimsy, but full of humour and humanity, fried up in Vonnegut's unique literary skillet.
Oh I would start with Cat's Cradle (which is my favorite Vonnegut book). Its just brilliant. I didn't really care much for Slaughterhouse 5. Welcome to the Monkeyhouse is a good beginning too! Enjoy the world of Vonnegut!!
Good posts here: I am currently reading Welcome to the Monkey House and really enjoying it. There is still some of his works I have not read but they are what would be best described as fringe or mediocre even by Vonnegut's own standards. I would say my favs in order are: Cats Cradle, Mother Night, Sirens of Titan, Player Piano, Slaughterhouse Five, God Bless you Mr. Rosewater, and Jailbird. I did not find Hocus Pocus or Breakfast of Champions that great for Vonnegut but still a decent read.
I agree completely with nadia, i read cats cradle first and thats what made me want to read the rest but slaughter house 5 was hard to get into, for me at least
God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian is also a very great, very short read - probably a hilarious and endearing introduction to Vonnegut's unique style.
David wrote: "If you are averse to Science Fiction themes and devices, God Bless You Mr. Rosewater and Jailbird are excellent examples of 'social' Vonnegut.
It's a real cliche, but I envy the blank page that is..."
Definitely SL5, but Breakfast of Champions is great too, it's hard to tell what's science fiction and what's mental illness or at least just inner-life and personal perception. That's what's great about those two books especially. They give us autobiographical glimpses of Vonnegut, but they feel like they could happen to anyone, including yourself.My favorite is probably Hocus Pocus, but I'm a fan of history and current events. I think it's really a guy's book that deals with a lot of masculine issues- how men relate to the world, war and social conflict, political game playing etc.
If you want the funniest satire with the broadest commentary on America AND the zaniest, surreal science fiction, then you have to read Slapstick! If Slaughterhouse 5 is marijuana, then Slapstick is LSD.
Slapstick was hilarious.. I introduced myself to Vonnegut with his Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction.. he even comments on his own writing style and introduces his eight rules for writing a short story.
I have immensely enjoyed every book from Vonnegut I have ever read. My first Vonnegut book was Sirens of Titan. I was immediately enthralled by his combination of dark humor and insight into his criticisms on society.
He combines elements from many genres in his works and his prose is intelligent, unpretentious, and witty while being easy to grasp.
Once you go Vonnegut, you'll never stop wanting it! heh
I have to say- If you're a newbie to Vonnegut then "Breakfast of Champions" is the best way to start out. You will literally be FLYING through this book. It's an easy read in the fact that it's mostly humor, and extremely enthralling. I think the charming wit of the author was best portrayed in this novel and the reader really gets a feel for who Kurt is.
I've only read 3 of his to date but I started with Sirens of Titan and absolutely fell in love with Vonnegut. I thought it was a fairly conventional novel, as far as Vonnegut goes, so it was a pretty easy and entirely enjoyable read. Currently flipping through Cat's Cradle and loving every page of it.
Cat's Cradle was my intro to Vonnegut and still my favorite. The day that I finish my last Vonnegut book will be a sad day.
I started with Breakfast of Champions. I only regret it a little, because of just how strange it was. Now, whenever I suggest Vonnegut to my friends, I suggest his short story collections first, particularly Welcome to the Monkey House, because of the brilliance found in that collection.
Sirens of Titan - a friend of mine who was obsessed with Vonnegut gave me that to start off with... that was less than a year ago.... I've been through quite a few of his other ones... at least read it if you don't start with it...
I started with Timequake and Slaughterhouse 5 and never stopped.
I first read Slaughterhouse Five when I was in the navy. We had reached that point in the deployment when everyone was swapping books, and a friend recommended it. I didn't read another Vonnegut book until five years later when I was in college studying anthropology. When I learned that Vonnegut had been granted his MA in anthropology on the strength of Cat's Cradle, I had to read it. I've been hooked ever since.
Going through your answers, and remembering earlier conversations I had with people on the same matter, my impression is that for most people the best Vonnegut, the ideal starting point, is indeed the first one's read...That makes perfect sense to me, the pleasure of discovering such a unique literary voice for the first time is unbeatable, almost regardless which that first book was.
To me, it was Slaughterhouse 5, entirely casually, don't remember why and how, when I was 15 or 16, and it was indeed the proverbial lightning bolt on the way to Damascus, so to speak, and made Vonnegut into the very first writer I unquestioningly fell in love with, making me want to read and collect anything he'd written, down to grocery lists...
I had been a voracious reader ever since early childhood, and I guess the first writer I had actually paid attention to as such was Jules Verne, having read lots of his books, but Kurt Vonnegut was my first Author, the first time I actually saw a person, a human being, indeed, through the writing, and you know what they say about first love... :)
The first Vonnegut book I ever read was Slapstick. I would definitely suggest staying away from Timequake until you're ready. I tried to introduce Vonnegut to my brother with that book and he couldn't make it through.
Erin wrote: "The first Vonnegut book I ever read was Slapstick. I would definitely suggest staying away from Timequake until you're ready. I tried to introduce Vonnegut to my brother with that book and he cou..."Weird you'd make that suggestion as I find it a very accessible book to someone who has never read Vonnegut, mostly because it was the book that got me hooked.
I loved the book too. I suggested it to my brother because I enjoyed it so much, but he found it confusing. Of course, Vonnegut isn't really for him.
I would read cats cradle first because it's basically the best book of all time and you will want to read Vonnegut forever after. I think I went cats cradle, slaughterhouse five, breakfast of champions, god bless you mr rosewater, then just about everything else. It's nice to read some of those to start or together because they have a lot of similar or related characters and it makes them more understandable.
I started with Galapagos and then Slaughterhouse-Five.. I think it was a good introduction to Vonnegut.
hi new to the group, but I wanted to say something on this particular post. I was on vacation a number of years ago, forgot to bring something with me to read. I went into a small bookstore asked if they had any vonnegut. she said no but recommended Christopher moore. know I have read almost everything HE has written. both great writers. but to your question, has anyone recommended "Slapstick"? that was my first vonnegut book.
I love, "Slapstick," but would I would push someone towards, "Cat's Cradle,","Sirens of Titan," or "Slaughter-House Five," as a first read. Those seem slightly more mainstream if you can use that word to describe Vonnegut."Jailbird," was my first and I couldn't stop after that
Mother Night may be my favorite Vonnegut book, but I think Slaughterhouse 5 and Cat's Cradle are better introductions to Vonnegut. If you like those two - you won't be able to stop.
My introduction to Vonnegut was Bluebeard. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I immediately read SH5 and The Sirens of Titan. I think that everyone has a different first experience and a different reason to love Vonnegut.
I hope this isn't poor form, and apologize if it is.Back in the '80's I went through a Vonnegut-reading spate - one after another. I can't remember which book had a character who was, I believe, a professor, and preferred teaching students who were, basically, bad kids - because bad kids related more truthfully. Or something like that.
Any help identifying this book would be appreciated. Thanks so much.
Kurt's short story "The kid nobody could handle" about Jim Donnini comes to mind, but not a full novel though there are many schools in his work.
Marc wrote: "Kurt's short story "The kid nobody could handle" about Jim Donnini comes to mind, but not a full novel though there are many schools in his work."Good suggestion - and it well could have been a story I read rather than a novel - at the time I read everything I could find. I just read the story, though, and it is not the one I had in mind.
I have a recollection of an auditorium, and a James Dean-type bad boy who was the only one in the class not on brain-dead auto-pilot.
Breakfast of Champions is my Catcher in the Rye. I've had to buy it like three times. I used to take it with me everywhere I went and they would get all beat up. I would lend them out and never see them again which was ok because I knew that whoever I lent it to fell in love with it as well. But I will say it was hard for me when other books of his weren't as amazing as Breakfast of Champions. Long story short, Breakfast of Champions but considering how long ago this thread started, I'm sure you've read half of his by now anyway! Lol.
I tell new Vonnegut readers to start with Breakfast of Champions. It is so accessible and a shining example of the Vonnegut-voice. Not necessarily my favorite of his works (though it is probably No. 2), but I think this is a very good entry point.
I personally vote slaughterhouse 5 to sirens of Titan since they refer to each other so much. Maybe welcome to the monkey house inbetween
I reckon Slaughterhouse 5 is a great place to start - it got me hooked, after that I read Galapagos and it just blew me away the scope of the work is awesome! Anyone got any good recommendations/favourite books about Vonnegut? Im reading a collection of his letters just now and it is very good...
Go back to his beginnings, PLAYER PIANO, the 1951 techno-economic novel he envisions as our future but we can see as our present, very real path.
that was the reason i was not all that enthralled with player piano it was a book about the world i lived in. it took me some time to realize that things were not this way in 1951. it was a warning about the failing value of man. a warning we sadly did not listen to.
Since Kurt is no longer with us, if you want a more immediate application of his interests, may I suggest:Rosewater (economics and the cornerstone of Reganomics and the Neocons);
Cat's Cradle (religious edification);
SL5 (PTSD)
Bkfst of Champions (watch yourself go crazy)
Slapstick (if you appreciate fart jokes and embrace humanity)
Jailbird (Machiavellian mirrored hall)
Hocus Pocus (our corporatizing, outsourcing, racist society)
Timequake (err, you're not ready until you read a bunch of other stuff)
If you want a Vonnegut manifesto in his own words, read A Man Without a Country. It is sublime and beautiful.
I've never read anything by Kurt Vonnegut and I was going to start with Slaughterhouse Five, but I came across the name Kilgore Trout and it has been suggested that reading according to him might be the best way to go..."Kilgore Trout makes his first appearance in God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. He is featured in Slaughterhouse-Five before becoming the central character in Breakfast of Champions and Timequake. He is mentioned in Jailbird and his son Leon narrates Galapagos."
What do you think about this strategy?
thanks