Infinite MonkeysKurt Vonnegut is dead. Ah, well. Lileks eulogizes the novelist -- buries him, really -- here. I always thought "Slaughterhouse Five" was overrated.
UPDATE: Stefan Beck at the New Criterion's fine Armavirumque blog offers some reflections on Vonnegut here: "I owe a lot to [Vonnegut's] books, for one thing the ability to see their influence on some of today’s worst writing." Over at the Corner, John Miller and Mike Potemra are far more charitable. And, of course, Derb is Derb.
Posted by H.L. Monkey at April 11, 2007 09:27 PMI have to agree. I read Slaughter House Five and Sirens of Titan, and frankly didn't see what all the fuss was about.
Posted by: steve at April 12, 2007 11:18 AMPerhaps consistently with Stefan Beck's review, I read "Harrison Bergeron" in high school and thought it compelling. Now, like much distopian fiction, I find the execution quite immature. Useful as an analogy to illustrate the reductio ad absurdum of egalitarianism, but not actually readable.
I have similar feelings, by the way, about the lyrics to "2112." Still like the tune, though...
Posted by: Monkey RobbL at April 12, 2007 04:06 PMOverrated?!?
I think the quote from Vonnegut that is best apt here is
"Go take a flying f#@# at a rolling donut!" :)
(Great site by the way!)
Posted by: Tony Iovino at April 13, 2007 08:33 AM