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All three, really. I'd just finished Slaughterhouse Five when I got Cat's Cradle. I'm on a Vonnegut spree right now.
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Ive wanted to get around to reading some of his stuff, but the only thing i ever read was 'dead eye dick'. I remember clearly, I was in the 8th grade (about 10 years ago), and our english teacher had a bunch of paperbacks that you could borrow to read. dead eye dick never made it back to that room... it has a new home on my bookshelf Posts: 879 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I think that Cat's Cradle is probably my favorite of his books. Slaughterhouse Five is quite good, but it doesn't hold a candle to Cat's Cradle. I have to admit, I've started Sirens of Titan quite a few times, but have never been able to get into it. It's been a few years though; maybe I should give it another try.
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Sirens is weird; it is rather early, but definitely foreshadows a lot of his late-60s/early-70s work. I just don't think he had a strong idea of the plot, and so it meanders.
I chalk it up to the learning process... His other novel of the 50s, Player Piano, is much more interesting, in part because he understood the mindset, having recently been employed by the types of people he writes about, as well as following a variation on the plot of Brave New World.
But in 62/63, he put out Mother Night and Cat's Cradle, his two best works, in my opinion.
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Now, see, I *love* God Bless You Mr. Rosewater. Great book. I agree with you that Mother Night is incredible, btw. If people here haven't read it, they're really missing out. Fantastic book.
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You know, though, much as I enjoy Vonnegut's books, I think I like his essays even better. I have all of his essay collections, and have read them a number of times. In fact, I think I may be about due for a reread of them.
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GBY,MR is one that's really grown on me... The liittle address to newborns is awesome. Plus the concept of altruism as a disease.
I like Bluebeard alot... I haven't read DED *gasp*
The problem I've had is that there is always a metaplot in his novels, which evolves over time, but in some of the novels, once you've read a few of his books, it becomes redundant, so I haven't read all his later books, with some exceptions.
I've read: TimeQuake Galapagos Bluebeard GBY,MR Slapstick Jailbird SH-5 Breakfast of Champions Player Piano Cat's Cradle Sirens Mother Night Player Piano
Plus: Welcome to the Monkeyhouse (short stories), the Keveorkian book, and a couple of the essay/interview books.
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I prefer Cat's Cradle. I'm not quite sure why people call Kurt Vonnegut a humorist, unless I've read the wrong two books.
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He's a black humorist, or satirist, if you prefer. I haven't read a single book of his that hasn't been a comedy (and hasn't had parts that I found funny), if if it's about the world ending (which is in more than a couple).
A lot of it is ironic humor, dark stuff, but it's clear to me he is a humorist of a type.
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