Kurt Vonnegut passed away yesterday at the age of 84. He fell a few weeks ago, suffering brain damage, and finally succumbed to his injuries. I am a huge fan of his work. I read Slaughterhouse 5 when I was in high school, but I was way too young to appreciate it. It was many years later that I picked up The Sirens of Titan and realized what a sardonic genius Vonnegut was. My favorite book of his, by far, is Timequake. In it there is a ripple in time in which everyone on Earth is forced to relive a twenty year period, fully aware that they are reliving it, but totally helpless to change anything. I highly recommend it.
Many of my favorite quotes come from Vonnegut, including one I used for years as my signature line for my emails. "If you really want to hurt your parents, and you haven't the nerve to be a homosexual, the least you can do is go into the arts." Brilliant!
If you haven't read any of his work, please do so. If you have, pause a moment to remember a great writer.
Rest in peace, Kurt. You've earned it.
Marius
He was 84 and I was still stunned.
ReplyDeleteWe were talking about how much he gave the world....
and how much air-time will HE get?
Not nearly anything like
Anna Nicole Smith.
It's a mad, mad, mad, mad, mad, mad
world indeed.
I bow my head.
P :(
(and the twit at the bank said
"Who died?"
I'm gonna puke.
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