Jailbird by Kurt Vonnegut
1999
Weight: 9.6 oz
Method of Disposal: Giving to Mom
There is nothing better than reading Kurt Vonnegut when you are disappointed in people and the state of the world. He makes the deplorable sound lighthearted and funny, in a dark, poignant way, of course. I was reading this book and thinking, "I wish I had a Kurt Vonnegut book about life in a pandemic. That would bring me some joy right now." I guess Galapagos is the closest I can think of to that, but it is not what my hopes and dreams are made of. Instead, I have moved on to Happy Birthday, Wanda June. I have never even considered a Vonnegut play. I am a little unsure about how that will go.
I have received word that there is one named Slapstick! Or, Lonesome No More that I need to check out. I am excited about the idea of that because I do not own it, nor have I read it. He was so prolific that, even when I think I have read them all, another can be found by going down the Google search rabbit hole of "Kurt Vonnegut, Jr."
At one point, while reading Jailbird, Harry asked me what it was about. I read her the back cover, and her eyes glazed over. She just began laughing. Once she was through with her fit, she said it sounded like the most boring book around and thought it was funny that I was reading it of my own free will.
So, here we go. It is a history of America! It includes Sacco and Vanzetti, Watergate, McCarthy's hunt for Communists, the Cleveland Massacre. You briefly meet immigrant laborers and coal miners, labor union organizers and women who work and die due to their work in factories. Even a of those women! There is so much packed into one novel, as is common for Vonnegut.
It is not that this is my number 1 top favorite Vonnegut of all time, but he has a way. Whether I love his books a little, a medium, or a lot, they still have me laughing and just feeling connected in some way to someone else. I am not sure who so do not ask. He is the master of witty and one line can just pop up and stick with you forever. Truly. I have one tattooed on my back, maybe not forever, but for a lifetime.
This book was about greed, capitalism, America, politics, and power told through the life of a poor man raised as a wealthy man--a Harvard man--named Walter Starbuck. Who would think that could be a "fun" read? Thank God, for Kurt Vonnegut. That is all I know for sure.
1999
Weight: 9.6 oz
Method of Disposal: Giving to Mom
There is nothing better than reading Kurt Vonnegut when you are disappointed in people and the state of the world. He makes the deplorable sound lighthearted and funny, in a dark, poignant way, of course. I was reading this book and thinking, "I wish I had a Kurt Vonnegut book about life in a pandemic. That would bring me some joy right now." I guess Galapagos is the closest I can think of to that, but it is not what my hopes and dreams are made of. Instead, I have moved on to Happy Birthday, Wanda June. I have never even considered a Vonnegut play. I am a little unsure about how that will go.
I have received word that there is one named Slapstick! Or, Lonesome No More that I need to check out. I am excited about the idea of that because I do not own it, nor have I read it. He was so prolific that, even when I think I have read them all, another can be found by going down the Google search rabbit hole of "Kurt Vonnegut, Jr."
At one point, while reading Jailbird, Harry asked me what it was about. I read her the back cover, and her eyes glazed over. She just began laughing. Once she was through with her fit, she said it sounded like the most boring book around and thought it was funny that I was reading it of my own free will.
So, here we go. It is a history of America! It includes Sacco and Vanzetti, Watergate, McCarthy's hunt for Communists, the Cleveland Massacre. You briefly meet immigrant laborers and coal miners, labor union organizers and women who work and die due to their work in factories. Even a of those women! There is so much packed into one novel, as is common for Vonnegut.
It is not that this is my number 1 top favorite Vonnegut of all time, but he has a way. Whether I love his books a little, a medium, or a lot, they still have me laughing and just feeling connected in some way to someone else. I am not sure who so do not ask. He is the master of witty and one line can just pop up and stick with you forever. Truly. I have one tattooed on my back, maybe not forever, but for a lifetime.
This book was about greed, capitalism, America, politics, and power told through the life of a poor man raised as a wealthy man--a Harvard man--named Walter Starbuck. Who would think that could be a "fun" read? Thank God, for Kurt Vonnegut. That is all I know for sure.
