Friday
Apr132007
So it goes.
Friday, April 13, 2007 at 01:26AM
I own every novel Kurt Vonnegut ever wrote. Slaughterhouse Five, Breakfast of Champions, Mother Night, such amazing books. They each took me a couple times to really GET them, and so I read them over and over, loving them more every time.
He and I hold vastly different beliefs, and so I often disagree with his ideas. But not all of them, not at all. To quote my friend B.J., "truth finds it way into the weirdest of places." Friends, there are few places weirder than a Vonnegut novel. And there is much truth there.
He was a prisoner of war in Germany during WWII and was one of the few survivors of the U.S.'s fire-bombing of Dresden. He and the other POWs were put to work in an underground meat cellar, and it saved their lives. He became the ultimate pacifist, and his stories make his point in as bizarre and unique ways as possible, (including, but not limited to: time travel, space aliens, and an alter-ego named Kilgore Trout.)
Mr. Vonnegut passed away Wednesday, at the age of 84.
He was a sad man, and I have often felt as sorry for him as inspired by him. I don't write novels, but I do write, and I've found echoes of his work in my own. He has helped shape the way I view the world, corporations, national loyalty and decent, human kindness. He's also helped shape the way I feel about believing in nothing BUT human kindness. And I just don't believe it's enough.
Still, that's the way we learn, and I'm grateful for getting to learn through his words. So tonight I'm going to grab one of his books off the shelf, any one will do, and get lost in another of his insane and honest worlds.
God bless you, Mr. Vonnegut.
(A great bio was written about him in the New York Times yesterday and can be found here.)
He and I hold vastly different beliefs, and so I often disagree with his ideas. But not all of them, not at all. To quote my friend B.J., "truth finds it way into the weirdest of places." Friends, there are few places weirder than a Vonnegut novel. And there is much truth there.
He was a prisoner of war in Germany during WWII and was one of the few survivors of the U.S.'s fire-bombing of Dresden. He and the other POWs were put to work in an underground meat cellar, and it saved their lives. He became the ultimate pacifist, and his stories make his point in as bizarre and unique ways as possible, (including, but not limited to: time travel, space aliens, and an alter-ego named Kilgore Trout.)
Mr. Vonnegut passed away Wednesday, at the age of 84.
He was a sad man, and I have often felt as sorry for him as inspired by him. I don't write novels, but I do write, and I've found echoes of his work in my own. He has helped shape the way I view the world, corporations, national loyalty and decent, human kindness. He's also helped shape the way I feel about believing in nothing BUT human kindness. And I just don't believe it's enough.
Still, that's the way we learn, and I'm grateful for getting to learn through his words. So tonight I'm going to grab one of his books off the shelf, any one will do, and get lost in another of his insane and honest worlds.
God bless you, Mr. Vonnegut.
(A great bio was written about him in the New York Times yesterday and can be found here.)
Reader Comments (7)
Randomly, one of my good friends posted this on his blog yesterday. Impeccable timing.
"Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you've got about a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies - 'God damn it, you've got to be kind.'"
-K. Vonnegut (from God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater)
Here's a reading Vonnegut did of Breakfast of Champions a couple of years before it was published. I don't think any one author influenced my writing or my thinking than KV. He'll be sorely missed, and I pray that God's grace and mercy is bigger than many of us believe it is.
http://blog.92y.org/index.php/weblog/item/kurt_vonnegut_breakfast_of_champions_podcast/
I forgot to include this, but the blog reference for that Vonnegut quote is
www.jmhuscher.com
Great post! Vonnegut is one of my all-time favorites. Thanks for remembering him so eloquently.
Andrew,
It is nice to know that fellow Christian's mourn the loss of a great writer with me. I find echos of Vonnegut everywhere and the world will not soon forget his literary genius. Thank you for your kind words about him and your commentary on his work.
I think Christians chould mourn non- believers almost exclusively. If we truly believe in Heaven and hell then those who die in Christ are not lost to us. We will feel loss and something akin to homesickness but our true mourning should be for those who die without a saving relationship with Jesus. Like Ryan, I certainly hope God's grace is big enough for Mr. Vonnegut.
Coincidentally, about 2 weeks ago I found a copy of SH-5 in the hall here at work and just started to read it. I think it might take a few reads to "get" it.
I haven't read Vonnegut since highschool, and I can't say I got it then. Thanks for the kudos toward rereading Slaughterhouse Five, et al.
Always good to widen the perspective.