Slaughterhouse Five? How nice to find a whole new vein of literature!

[RKC]

How did I ever get to be as old as I am without reading this? What a great little book!
I even read and enjoyed Cat's Cradle as a kid.....

Was re-reading some of my favorite Pacific War histories, and one thing led to another and to this book.....

How does Vonnegut make it all seem so simple and straightforward, and keep it making so much sense, when it is all jumbled up like it is in time? And aliens? Who knew?

[vash]

great book. had to read it in high school.

[Jagshund]

If you're warming up to Vonnegut I recommend God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater or Deadeye Dick. Two of my favorites.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by RKC

How does Vonnegut make it all seem so simple and straightforward, and keep it making so much sense, when it is all jumbled up like it is in time? And aliens? Who knew?

He was a soldier and a POW.

He is one of the few authors concerning WWII who I read and understand...he has perspective and grace. Whether I agree with his opinions or not, we have both earned the right to chat about our differences.

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

Galapagos is another Vonnegut book worth a read.

[The Gaijin]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

He was a soldier and a POW.

He is one of the few authors concerning WWII who I read and understand...he has perspective and grace. Whether I agree with his opinions or not, we have both earned the right to chat about our differences.

Interesting article I read yesterday on this genre:

VQR » Workshopping the Next Generation of American War Literature

[Seahawk]

Thanks for that link...I enjoyed the article.

All I can offer is that the young men and women fighting will write and if they are given their true voice, an honest purchase, we'll all be amazed.

They are the best of us...and I simply do not care about your political views on where and why they fight: They are there, you are not.

Originally Posted by The Gaijin

Interesting article I read yesterday on this genre:

VQR » Workshopping the Next Generation of American War Literature

[The Gaijin]

Indeed they are.



With the passing of D.J. Salinger last year - there we some interesting articles beyond him being this hermit and kind of a crank - and get into the details about how he fought across Europe in WWII. And how that experience shaped his writing and underlying themes..

[Jagshund]

BTW- If you're just finding this book and you haven't read Heller's Catch-22 it's a must. Closing Time (the sequel) not so much, but Catch-22 is astounding.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by 1968Cayman

BTW- If you're just finding this book and you haven't read Heller's Catch-22 it's a must. Closing Time (the sequel) not so much, but Catch-22 is astounding.

Then read, "Picture This".

Nothing to do with WWII, but, um, one of my favorite novels.

[on2wheels52]

I always thought the euleogy from Cat's Cradle was a good read.

"God made mud.
God got lonesome.
So God said to some of the mud, "Sit up!"
"See all I've made," said God, "the hills, the sea, the
sky, the stars."
And I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look
around.
Lucky me, lucky mud.
I, mud, sat up and saw what a nice job God had done.
Nice going, God.
Nobody but you could have done it, God! I certainly
couldn't have.
I feel very unimportant compared to You.
The only way I can feel the least bit important is to
think of all the mud that didn't even get to sit up and
look around.
I got so much, and most mud got so little.
Thank you for the honor!
Now mud lies down again and goes to sleep.
What memories for mud to have!
What interesting other kinds of sitting-up mud I met!
I loved everything I saw!
Good night.
I will go to heaven now.
I can hardly wait...
To find out for certain what my wampeter was...
And who was in my karass...
And all the good things our karass did for you.
Amen."

Jim

[Jagshund]

Cat's Cradle was good. "No damn cat, and no damn cradle!!"

[RKC]

Way ahead of you - picked up Catch-22 right afterwards. But it is like reading Churchill's 20th Century prose and going right to Gibbon's dense 18th. Catch-22 started too slowly and was too.....something....so I've put it down for a few days to clear my head.

[RKC]

For a book by a former WWII soldier that is just about forgotten, try William Manchester's "Goodbye Darkness" on the Pacific war. Was a Marine severely wounded at Okinawa, then worked under cynical critic/humorist HL Menken and reported on JFK, MacArthur and Churchill. Really interesting combo of heroism, patriotism and cynicism.

[Jagshund]

Originally Posted by RKC

Way ahead of you - picked up Catch-22 right afterwards. But it is like reading Churchill's 20th Century prose and going right to Gibbon's dense 18th. Catch-22 started too slowly and was too.....something....so I've put it down for a few days to clear my head.

Catch 22 will have you laughing and aghast at the same time. It takes a few pages to get into, but is well worth it.

[RKC]

Certain to go back to Catch-22, it just hasn't caught me yet....

[Seahawk]

Great tip in...thanks. I just bought it and look forward to it. I've read all his, "Last Lion" novels.

Originally Posted by RKC

For a book by a former WWII soldier that is just about forgotten, try William Manchester's "Goodbye Darkness" on the Pacific war. Was a Marine severely wounded at Okinawa, then worked under cynical critic/humorist HL Menken and reported on JFK, MacArthur and Churchill. Really interesting combo of heroism, patriotism and cynicism.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by RKC

For a book by a former WWII soldier that is just about forgotten, try William Manchester's "Goodbye Darkness" on the Pacific war. Was a Marine severely wounded at Okinawa, then worked under cynical critic/humorist HL Menken and reported on JFK, MacArthur and Churchill. Really interesting combo of heroism, patriotism and cynicism.

Thanx for this. I planned to read it a long time ago, and completely forgot about it.
We pay too much attention to politicians when they talk about war and far too little attention to thoughtful people who lived through it.

[Tishabet]

I like Vonnegut quite a bit, check out "Welcome to the Monkey House" for a great collection of his shorter works.