'Serenity'
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
I'm not surprised. He looked pretty frail on TDS.
Apparently he had a bad fall a few weeks back, so his frailty was exacerbated.
Although I felt like I outgrew the man's books a while back, I read everything he wrote before I was 22.
Corwood is me. At a certain point in my life, he was the most important writer in the world to me. It's been a while, but he certainly had his place in my formative psyche. Not as much as Monty Python, I'm sure, but still a large chunk.
I haven't read him...do I have to deduct IQ points? Although I enjoyed seeing him on television and that graduation speech thing.
I haven't read any Vonnegut novels, but I have read some short stories. One of my all-time favorite short stories is one of his I read in Reader's Digest when I was in junior high--"Who Am I This Time?", which was adapted in 1980 or so into a wonderful production of PBS's American Playhouse, starring Susan Sarandon and Christopher Walken, and directed by Jonathan Demme.
Erica, I think you'd like his work. It's smart, snarky, and plays with the idea of narrative in a way that makes it a lot of fun to read. If you read it at 13, it would have blown your mind and you would have thought it was th emost profound stuff EVER. If you read it now, it will be merely diverting and interesting and satisfying--but there's nothing wrong with that!
I... don't really like Vonnegut. It's a style thing. I've tried several of his novels, but always felt a little uncomfortable while reading them. Similarly, I didn't really like Catch-22.
However, I am very sad that he is gone. Though his books did not appeal to me stylistically, they were amazing in content and attitude. Most of my good friends love his works, and I have to respect that.
He seemed like a smart, witty person and it is always sadder when someone like that dies, considering how many ignorant hooples there are. Robin, I'd definitely try...
Slaughterhouse Five seared itself into my brain. Whenever people talk about the Allies only being noble and true, I think about the Dresden firestorm .
I remember a Rolling Stone piece on him years ago where he came out of the screening of the movie version of Slaughterhouse Five and Susan Sontag told him she liked it. Then she asked what he thought, and he said, "Margaret Mitchell and I are the only two writers that can't bitch about their movie adaptations."
It's a good movie too.
It's a good movie too.
It *really* is. Except I always wanted to see the Tralfamadorians.
Our friend Keith directed Mother Night, which is not a bad film at all. Nick Nolte is very good in it. Keith got to meet with Vonnegut to discuss the script and Ii htink it is one of the high points of his life. He reported that he was a wonderful man.