kurt vonnegut – Page 3 – Cannonball Read 17

Thanksgiving Week Glut

The Odyssey by Homer; Emily Wilson

A Good Man in Africa by William Boyd

Scoop by Evelyn Waugh

Nine Princes of Amber by Roger Zelazny

To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer

Free Lance Pallbearers by Ishmael Reed

Dragons of Highlord Skies by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Revolutionary Characters by Gordon Wood

Glory by Vladimir Nabokov

Lives of a Cell by Lewis Thomas

South of the Border West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami

Books of Blood by Clive Barker

Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut

Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov

November 29, 2021 by vel veeter 2 Comments

The Odyssey – 5/5 Stars So my review is specific to the newer Emily Wilson translation, which I find particularly good and readable. She writes a long introduction that serves as a solid guide to the epic, to the writing, the historical context, and other important keys. This is long, but worthwhile, especially if you’re new to the story or it’s been a long time or you’re a little rough in your epic-reading. From there, there’s a very good translator’s note of some length explaining […]

Mother Night – Kurt Vonnegut (1961)

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

June 23, 2021 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

Still just an absolutely fantastic novel. I think I even saw the movie before the first time I read this, and if I am on the project of rereading a lot of Vonnegut, and I think I am, this book shines through. Just a wonderful exercise in how important irony is for literature, and how often irony has nothing to do with humor. Howard Campbell Jr was a vociferous, vicious, and vile Nazi propagandist. His nightly broadcasts, written and performed in English, were sent out […]

So it goes.

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

October 25, 2020 by Caesar's Wife Leave a Comment

Slaughterhouse Five was not the novel I expected. Based on nothing but the vaguest notion of the plot, which I formed solely on the title, I pictured a gritty, war-torn, 1984-ish tale of hopelessness and carnage. Instead, I was swept along with the funny, bizarre, and moving life of Billy Pilgrim – a survivor of the Firebombing of Dresden from World War II. He was a prisoner of war, an optometrist, a husband and father, a time-traveller, an alien abductee, a motivational speaker, a murder […]

My special circle included Edna Ferber, one of the most prolific writers of her time–a scold, a snob, a low-profile dominatrix whose corseted asperity was never far from busting out.

Can You Ever Forgive Me? by Lee Israel

The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus

Good Bye to All That by Robert Graves

Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick by Zora Neale Hurston

Flashman by George MacDonald Fraser

The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut

Harriet Tubman by Ann Petry

September 23, 2020 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

This post with multiple reviews represents a clearing of the cache of backlogged Audible audiobooks (mostly quite short) that I am trying to work my way through. My audiobook TBR is significantly longer than my paper book TBR, which is almost always less than 10 at a time. Can Your Ever Forgive Me? – 4/5 Despite the party line from English teachers about plagiarism and fraud and academic honesty, I do love a good con artist. And literary con artists have always had a […]

Short story review dump (Part IV)

Cuisine des Mémoires by N.K. Jemisin

Valedictorian by N.K. Jemisin

Blur by Carmen Maria Machado

Staying Behind by Ken Liu

Recitatif by Toni Morrison

The Foster Portfolio by Kurt Vonnegut

July 5, 2020 by ingres77 1 Comment

This is something new I’m trying this year, where I review short stories as stand alone stories, not part of anthologies or collections. Here are parts I, II, and III. Cuisine des Mémoires by N.K. Jemisin (5 stars) This little experiment of a short story read every day (which I’ve already failed at) has led to some wonderful discoveries. Along with Ken Liu, N.K. Jemsisin (who I’ve long wanted to read) are definitely at the top of the list, though. A man is taken to […]

How to Write a Novel, Or Not

Pity the Reader: On Writing With Style by Suzanne McConnell, Kurt Vonnegut

April 19, 2020 by jeverett15 1 Comment

This book is marketed as a collection of Kurt Vonnegut’s lessons on writing from his career as a teacher. In reality, it’s more of a guide to writing written by Suzanne McConnell, one of Vonnegut’s pupils at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop in the mid-1960s. McConnell quotes from her famous teacher often, but anyone expecting a book in any way “written” by Kurt Vonnegut should be forewarned. Frankly, it feels dishonest that he is presented as a co-author on the cover. McConnell presents a lot of […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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