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/lit/ - Literature

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2456972 No.2456972 [Reply] [Original]

I want to get into Kurt Vonnegut, but I don't know where to start. Any recommendations, /lit/?

>> No.2456975

Start with Kurt Vonnegut.

>> No.2456977
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2456977

Read some of his work

>> No.2456979

Start with Borges.

>> No.2456981

>>2456979
I've read Borges, he's probably my favorite author of the 20th century.

>> No.2456982
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2456982

Getting into him could prove quite hard at this point.

>> No.2456984

Slaughterhouse Five is probably the best place to start. It gives you sort of a map of the other characters that will be featured in his other novels.

>> No.2456994

Reported. Science fiction isn't literature.

>> No.2457004

The Sirens of Titan, Slaughterhouse Five and Cats Cradle in any order.

Sirens is my favorite, though. I don't enjoy time travel.

>> No.2457010

>>2457004
I agree with this poster.

Also, Breakfast of Champions is very brilliant and odd book. It's definitely worth reading by anyone interested in Vonnegut but probably not a great place to start due to it's unusual style and content.

>> No.2457016

>>2456984
Good advice. His older works are only really comprehensible once you understand their roots.

>> No.2457032

I like Vonnegut but Harrison Bergeron is hardly anything special. Why does it seem so popular in high schools? It's probably his most insipid work and it felt more like I was reading Ayn Rand.

>> No.2457049

>>2456981

Borges is the best writer of modern times.
Fuck he deserved the Nobel.

>> No.2457059

>>2457032
Exactly. I am a huge Vonnegut fan and I don't believe Bergeron represents his main body of work at all.
That said, I despise Welcome to the Monkey House, which was arguably purposely anti-establishment. Bergeron fits with societal norms (be yourself, etc.) but Monkey House, while also anti-authority, is intentionally and uncharacteristically misogynistic. It's awkward and doesn't really make the point he wanted it to.
Hall of Mirrors might be my favorite story of his.

>> No.2457067

>>2457059
I really want to know if other people agree with my interpretation of Monkey House. I hate it, and I'm not sure if that's because of the rape or if it's a genuinely bad story.

>> No.2457093

>>2457032
Oh come on Bergeron isn't the best written story, but its in no way Randian.

>> No.2458363

>>2457093

you're right, that was an unforgivable insult to Mr. Kilgore Trout

>> No.2458420

>>2456972
Slaughterhouse-Five or Cat's Cradle

This article sums up the arguments for where to start pretty well:
http://www.avclub.com/articles/kurt-vonnegut,53591/