27. KURT VONNEGUT: Take a moment
Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) was an American writer known for his unique novels that combined memoir, humour, satire, cynicism and science-fiction. Vonnegut fought in World War II where he was captured by the Nazis and as a POW, witnessed the fire bombing of Dresden – an event which profoundly affected his outlook on life. Vonnegut and his fellow prisoners were forced to recover dead bodies and clean up a city that he said resembled the surface of the moon. He described the events in his brilliant book Slaughterhouse-Five (which I highly recommend). Vonnegut had a talent for condensing profound humanistic opinions into concise and simple words, like the quote above. I’ve discovered his work quite recently and besides Slaughterhouse-Five, have only read Cat’s Cradle (the two books Vonnegut himself said were his best). What others do you recommend?
- I got my first dog two years ago, a miniature schnauzer named Vayda, and what you see above is her routine whenever my wife or I arrive home. I think she’s the cutest dog in the world and I’ll fight anybody who says otherwise.
- Here’s a great article at The AV Club featuring Vonnegut’s top 15 quotes.
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I think Vonnegut is a very nice follow up to George Carlin. As far as other books by him, I’ve only read a few aside from what you’ve already mentioned. And while I thought Breakfast of Champions was good, the other that I’m familiar with, Mother Night, is the one I’d recommend checking out, especially if you found Cat’s Cradle rather favorable. The copy I had was my mother’s old copy, and it had this amazingly ridiculous cover image that involved a man riding a giant dauschaund.
Thanks for the recommendation Simon.
I can not recommend Timequake.
Breakfast of Champions and Mother Night I can certainly recommend.
I have to throw a vote in for Armageddon in Retrospect. Always a favorite with my family.
i strongly recommend mother night. there’s some really hard-hitting quotes quotes in there that i think would work really well in a strip
ok looks like Mother Night is next on the list
Pappy!!
I like the structure of this one, with each of the first four rows leading to another “injustice,” until the structure changes with the girl’s changing perspective. well done. the facial expressions are funny too. This one reminded me of one of my favorite Calvin and Hobbes strips, which has a similar theme and style:
http://goo.gl/8QUdt
btw, i ‘read Mother Night but i definitely recommend Breakfast of Champions. second only to Slaughterhouse-Five imo.
It’s Vayda!!! Nice one bro
Love the dog pic.
What, no love for Slapstick ?
Hi-ho…
Hi, love your work – again!
“A Man Without a Country” is a must-read. Vonnegut wrote it at the age of eighty – something and it’s not fiction, it’s his thoughts about life and all kind of stuff. My favorite.
Thanks Jindra – that one sounds good.
I agree with you Jindra. His observations of life and human civilization (if you can call it that) in A Man Without a Country are fantastic.
Second the recommendations that you check out Mother Night and Breakfast of Champions (which is his best IMO). Another one no one has mentioned is The Sirens of Titan.
Also, thanks so much for doing a Vonnegut quote!
You’re welcome!
Breakfast Of Champions, Slaughterhouse Five, God Bless You Mr. Rosewater.
You’re familiar with his epitaph: “What the hell was that all about?”
at moments when i open my window while it’s raining outside, at night, after a long banking hours, has the feeling of “this is nice”.
but i want a dog too.
I cannot recommend Sirens of Titans enough. The irony, the humour, the humanity. I love it to death for first snapping Vonnegut lenses onto my worldview.
Cool, will check it out thanks
I love this quote. I do this all the time now. However, while dogs are aight, I’m a cat person, otherwise I would print this one out and hang it up(as I did with a few other ones of yours).
Personally, I would put this quote on like a cliche, typical-looking beautiful sunset/lush scenery type of pic.
i was jus surfin tru and i landed up here,,,and i luvd what i saw…i gt a dog and its not every day u cum across sumtin where u can relate urself to the things dat happen aroun u to a T..really nice work
I recommend Mother Night.
Hm, Slaughterhouse is actually my least favorite of Kurt Vonnegut’s works, if you’ve read cats cradle (one of my favorites), then probably Breakfast of champions and Sirens of Titans. I also strongly recommend reading some of his collections of sort stories, they are excellent.
I’ll add Galapagos to the suggestions, Vonnegut’s caustic vision of the future evolution of the human race. Also, Cat’s cradle is one of the books I enjoyed the most and the Sirens of Titan brought me to the brink of tears. The rest mentioned are also good… Actually, I don’t think you can go wrong with Vonnegut.
Sirens of Titan is amazing. A Man Without A Country is phenomenal as well, if you’re still looking for recommendations.
One of his early early books is called “The Sirens of Titan,” it’s often overlooked (maybe somebody here already mentioned it I don’t know, too many comments to read!) but I thought it was really fun. Good short read too.
Gavin, I’m happy that I found this spot and I really enjoy your work. Is there any chance that you will be selling this interpretation as a print? Thanks.
I’ll make it available soon, I think you’re the first person to ask about it!
SNOWY! : D
Hey there, great work! I spent the last hour reading your comics. I noticed that here… the pic is missing. Why?
I came from G+, my friend comment your work and… Thanks G+, thanks my friend! And thank you Gav for sharing your talent.
P.S. Me again, it was a problem on my side, picture finally loaded!
Good to hear Jorge
I have a schnauzer too, though he is a standard size. When he was a puppy, he would do this same routine!
If you like Kurt Vonnegut you’ll probably like Tom Robbins. Also fantastically quotable with a whimsical sense of humour. His books manage to be educational, hilarious, bawdy, and touching. Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas, Skinny Legs and All, Jitterbug Perfume are all highly recommended by me.
The Sirens of Titan. Read it.
Yes to Sirens of Titan.
what? no one with me about Timequake? the book is absolutely hilarious, second only to Catch XXII… yeah, Timequake is a wild ride
really eloquent! love the illustration! i suggest “welcome to the monkey house” by Kurt Vonnegut.
hope you enjoy reading it!
Welcome to the Monkey House – a collection of KV’s short stories I reread every few years. Harrison Bergeron, The Barnhouse Effect and the Euphio all rocked my world… And they do again every time I open it up again.
I’d recommend God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater and Jailbird
Read sirens of titan its great
Thanks Gav. I really appreciate you work. Good on you.
If you are still considering Vonnegut novels to read I’d like to recommend slapstick (lonesome no more).
Do read ‘Galapagos’. One of his most intelligent books.
Hi, i recently discovered Vonnegut, with the film based in Slaughterhouse Five, wich im actually reading. But i found two collections of short stories, i have “Look at the birdie” wich i found myself very enjoyable.
Galapagos was very good. I couldn’t get into Cat’s Cradle, and I haven’t tried any others.
Cat’s Cradle, Slaughterhouse Five, and The Sirens of Titan are probably the best of the bunch as far as I’m concerned. If you’d like to know the man, watch a few of his interviews on youtube, and then read A Man Without a Country, it made the reading better for me, since it sort of put a voice to the narration, and became more akin to listening to an elder telling stories.
sidebar from the Vonnegut discussion- we too have a miniature schnauzer; Trina; who does exactly the same thing and despite being entirely unable to bark at EVERYTHING around her, is a ridiculously loved member of our family.
Listen.
I’ve been a Vonnegut fan since I was a kid. A few suggestions:
“Welcome to the Monkey House” is a collection of some of his early work, some of the short stories are written in a more serious tone (e.g. “All the King’s Horses”). Of course WTTMH also contains “Harrison Bergeron”, which is a truly relevant story these days.
As far as other works, I highly recommend “Jailbird”, “Player Piano”, and especially “Cat’s Cradle”.
And so it goes.
Slapstick is a great Vonnegut book
My favorite book and all the history of time is slapstick by Vonnegut
I highly recommend you to read “Mechanical piano” and “Welcome to the monkey house” – those are seriously underestimated books