(no subject)

[beachlass]

Kurt Vonnegut is dead. I started reading Vonnegut when I was in high school, many moons ago. I read and re-read Vonnegut until my early-20's... probably Bluebeard was the last book of his I read. Growing up in small town Ontario, Vonnegut was so removed and yet so very true, with his odd characters and even odder stories. I expect that Vonnegut shaped my taste in literature, sharpened my appreciation for highlighting the absurd, and then adding on seventeen more layers of craziness, all with a deft and defiant touch for language and a piercing insightfulness and compassion. Well done sir, thanks for the words.

Comments

[lepah.livejournal.com]

*WHAT?*

..THE F*&#?

well summarized, m'beloved lass, with whom i share a lifetime of literary influences...glad to hear it from you and not the daily news...but man oh man...

!FUCK!

yes yes yes. incisive, absurd, compelling, and so matter-of-fact, i couldn't tell if i by reading him, i was being subversive, sublime or just cocktail-party clever...and i was only 12! and that was just the beginning! and i loved him.

and god bless kurt for making me ask those questions throughout my formative years (and beyond) and being a rock i could cling to regardless of what fictional adventures i embarked upon...

seriously, tho, he's really dead?

and i hung onto "the eden express" for years, thru continents and contingencies...'cause i wanted to believe in someone's kids...or something...i read it for the first time in tijuana when i was 19, and it was levels of triptasticness then...

anyways so...feeling bereft...

thank you so much for everything you have given all the anonymous us...rip kurt vonnegut. i miss you already.

[thursday-kat.livejournal.com]

you know, somehow, considering all the wonderous praise i've heard about his writing, and despite the fact that several of his books sat in my parents bookshelf, i've never actually read a story of his! i am obviously a complete and utter loser.

the last book of essays i read did have a very interesting essay by him, which actually reminded me that i needed to get going on reading some of his work.

even though i haven't read him, it was increadiably sad to hear he died. he's obviously contributed a lot to the world through his work. *tottles off to amazon to order books*

[beachlass.livejournal.com]

There's a beatiful sketch on his website of an open birdcage. I don't think I was as wedded to Vonnegut as some others - it was Timothy Findley that I read and reread until the books feel apart. I was standing in the bookstore on Saturday, holding a hardcover copy of The Telling of Lies, thinking I should buy this, my paperback has no cover, and is going to fall apart. But it just felt wrong - wasn't my copy of the book, so I left it on the shelf. (I did, however, put a copy of Alias Grace in D's easter basket).

[beachlass.livejournal.com]

You're not a loser --- there are just so many great books. I remember having to confess to lepah that I hadn't read the Lord of the Rings books yet, and was cramming them before the movies.

How are you? Moving?

[thursday-kat.livejournal.com]

i was actually gonna email you soon if you didn't pop back up here! you've been pretty mia and i was hoping that everything was going ok. but yay! you're back :D and doing ok right? no drama or anything?

still sorta moving, though we've been at the new place since sat. kitties are still at the old house becasue we're heading to chicago today for the weekend and i really didn't want to move them here and then leave them a few days later. they would have been stressed and naughty. but i miss them tons right now. i'll prolly take pics once everything is put together, it's definately a sight to behold! :P

fics are moving along slowly, moving and all that has not really helped me get anything accomplished :( plus the adjustment to living with j and not feeling like i need to be next to him constantly is still getting worked out. but hopefully soon ficcage will flow from my fingertip and out into the world!

and i so read the LOTR books after i saw the movies...well the first one at least :D

[beachlass.livejournal.com]

Things are good - just the usual amount of drama - broken water heater, brake work on the car, living with kids. I've been catching up at work, and not studying/procrastinating school work, so been online a bit less.

Authors/Books Unread would make a good meme, I think.

[eshala.livejournal.com]

Just wanted you to know that Vonnegut has come up in conversation 8 times this week - with random people... and no prompting from me...