"God Bless You, Mr.Vonnegut."
For those of you like myself that are avid readers and revere stellar literature, there is a moment in life that we all share. It is a defining moment that usually grips one in their youth, a moment that can easily make a life-long fan of literature out of someone; it is the moment you discover your favorite author. Their prose, style, voice, and essence speak so profoundly and articulately to you, you're left feeling as though you had just engaged in a lengthy one on one conversation with the writer. Kurt Vonnegut was the author that blessed me with that moment. His deeply insightful and innovative writing style always managed (and still does) to simultaneously amaze and enlighten me.
I first came across Kurt Vonnegut when I was sixteen-years-old, compliments of my well-read fathers moldy book collection from college. I was in the garage rummaging around for an old sweater when I luckily stumbled upon a box of literary goodies. As I sifted through the works of Hunter S.Thompson, Mark Twain, Aldous Huxley... I discovered a title that really caught my eye. The book was "Deadeye Dick," by Kurt Vonnegut. It is a tale of a young man that commits accidental man-slughter and spends the remainder of his adult life seeking forgiveness for it. I abandoned the search for the sweater, retired to my room, and immediately began devouring the novel with glee.
Upon finishing "Deadeye Dick," I found myself embarking on a literary binge of Vonnegut's works. His consistent talent for injecting a quirky, humorous perspective and portrait of his characters never failed to entertain me, though, beyond that I found myself deeply moved by his ability to use his vast life experience to create stunning philosophies about humankind and the purpose of existence. Oh Kurt, if you only knew you were my best friend (and still remain so) during every angst-fueled existential crisis. Thank you for being there, pal.
Anyone that has read a thick chunk of Vonnegut's works' knows that he was an oppenent of war and a heavy critic of organized religion, and has remained so throughout his life. He was a young prisoner of war in Dresden during World War II and included many of those experiences in the well-known masterpiece, "Slaughterhouse FIve, or, The Children's Crusade." In one of my personal favorites "Cat's Cradle," he created the religion of Bokononism which was admittedly based on a series of comforting lies. My favorite saying of Bokonon, the founder of Bokononism, is without a doubt:
Tiger got to hunt,
Bird got to fly,
Man got to sit and wonder,
Why, Why, Why?
He has graced the world with a legacy of amazing stories, plays, novels, and essays for future generations and fans of counter-culture literature to gobble up with joy. Vonnegut passed away last night in his apartment in Manhattan due to brain injuries as a result of a bad fall he suffered from last week. He was eighty-four-years old. So it goes.
posted by Beezle @ 10:32 AM
5 Comments:
Well said.
so it goes
Welcome to the Monkey House was my first foray into Vonnegut, and I've been grateful ever since. I was one sad gal last night when I heard the news. In a time when thinking is less than encouraged, losing a tremendous mind is a sad, sad thing.
So it goes.
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