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/lit/ - Literature

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4739603 No.4739603[DELETED]  [Reply] [Original]

Is Kurt Vonnegut a good writer?

>> No.4739621

>>4739603
Yes, he WAS a good writer; many will disagree.

>> No.4739626

>>4739603
So it goes :)

>> No.4739633

>>4739603
Nice. Overrated, though.

>> No.4739637

slaughterhouse 5 and cats cradle were good books
the rest were average to shit

>> No.4739644

The more I read of him, the less I like him.

>> No.4739661

>>4739626
>judging something based off of its fanbase

Fuck off.

>> No.4739756

>>4739661
So it goes :)

>> No.4739763

>>4739603
Not anymore, but he did do some good writing. I always enjoy coming across Kilgore Trout and Kazak the dog. I think the essence of his work has to do with the necessity of maintaining one's humanity (dignity, kindness, good humor) in an absurd world--the whole 'goddamit babies, you've got to be kind' thing--which makes me wonder why he isn't discussed much in an existential context. Maybe it's because his style could be comical and even silly and people think it's not 'serious' or substantial enough; this is what I see between the lines when people criticize him anyway.

I think his writing prior to Breakfast of Champions was his best. Player Piano, his first novel, is uncharacteristically wordy and doesn't flow like his later work. Slaughterhouse-Five suffers from overexposure that gets in the way of people recognizing its insights. Sirens of Titan, Cat's Cradle, and Mother Night are other personal favorites. 'Harrison Bergeron' and '2BRO2B' are especially worthy short stories.

>> No.4739764

His short stories are extremely underrated. I'm a fan if Vonnegut's works in general but in my opinion, his blunt writing style really shined in his short stories. Sadly, they are overlooked,

>> No.4739769

>>4739763
I like you.

>> No.4739772

>>4739763
Cat's Cradle is amazing.

“Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly;
Man got to sit and wonder 'why, why, why?'
Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land;
Man got to tell himself he understand.”

>> No.4739773

>>4739603
I think he's good at what he does: lighter postmodern literature. Just like Calvino, he shouldn't be judged off because of that.

>> No.4739796

No. The man simply could not write. I'm reluctant to use this Bloom quote because people will think I'm trolling but Vonnegut is the one writer above all to whom I think it is most apropos. It seems ridiculous to have to say it. He can’t think, he can’t write. There’s no discernible talent. There is nothing significantly unique or beautiful about his writing style. His oft-praised, alleged "humor" is nonexistent. His supposed "masterpiece" Cat's Cradle was frustratingly and insultingly terrible in light of all the misguided praise attributed to it. I've come to believe that Vonnegut is just one of those authors that people who don't read very many books happen to read and this uninformed hype leads to Vonnegut's continuing 'relevance' when he should be fading and fading quickly.

>> No.4739814

>>4739796
God damn people on /lit/ I can't appreciate modern writing. If the author hasn't been dead for at least 50 years, why would I waste time reading a book hasn't yet stood the test of time.

>> No.4739822

>>4739814

You sound like you're fun at parties

>> No.4739831

>>4739763
I pretty much agree with you, although I wouldn't put Sirens of Titan (which I didn't like much) with Cat's Cradle and Mother Night which are my favourites.

Maybe I'm missing something but I just found it too hard to accept Beatrice getting raped as an okay thing in the context, and how the characters reacted to it.

>> No.4739972

>>4739822
I think you meant to say that to this guy:
>>4739796

>> No.4739982

>>4739972
That anon isn't that introspective though

>> No.4740000

I hated Slaughterhouse 5 outright but I can see it's value as a book. Cat's Cradle I couldn't finish because of the fanfic-tier quirky characters and irrelevant shit. Maybe one day I'll find out about Ice 9, but I just don't care .

>> No.4740923

Breakfast of Champions is fucking genius to me since it has very profound look on the internal desert of the western man.

>> No.4740994

>>4740923
boc is gash

>> No.4741033

Sirens of Titan>Slaughterhouse 5>Player Piano>Breakfast of Champions>Cat's Cradle

>> No.4741055

He's pretty mundane.

>> No.4741085

>>4739603
He's a simpleton, a naive idealist, and a crude humanist. His "shapes of stories" only lends credence to his rudimentary, reductive ways of looking at things.

>> No.4741086

>>4741085
>what is humor

>> No.4741137

>>4741086
I'm interested only in Proper Literature, not the sort of post-war racket made by Vonnegut, Heller, and the like. I find Comedy to be the most entry-level of sub-genres of Literature. It's entry-levelness is of such entry-level that I feel I may be committing sacrilege by including 'Vonnegut' in the same sentence as 'Proper Literature'.

Bloomkid

>> No.4741152

>>4741137
But Bloom loves Pynchon

>> No.4741220

>>4741033
nah mate

Cat's Cradle > Mother Night > Slaughterhouse 5 > Sirens of Titan > Player Piano > Breakfast of Champions

>> No.4742273

Vonnegut was good at what he did, which was lighthearted writing that was comedic and insightful.

He wasn't good at much else, but he never even tried to be anything else.

>> No.4742276

>>4739603
I have an irrational hatred for novels compiled in on single volume, that's all I'll tell you.

>> No.4742280

read slaughterhouse 5, it wasn't bad. then i tried galapagos and i couldn't stand it enough to finish it. i might consider reading cat's cradle in the future though.

>> No.4742300

>>4742280
Cat's Cradle will also probably be unbearable for you. Don't even bother dude.

>> No.4742309

Sirens of Titan doesn't get enough credit for being an extremely obvious inspiration for Hitchhiker's Guide. It's all there: the deadpan prose, the unlikely main character, the meticulous plot that ricochets around the universe before tying itself up in a beautifully constructed knot. It's also got one over on Hitchhiker's Guide by being genuinely emotionally affecting (although Guide is the stronger work).

>> No.4742312

>>4739796
>His oft-praised, alleged "humor" is nonexistent
is it more likely that you're missing the humor or that everyone else is projecting it