One of my favorite authors in high school was Kurt Vonnegut who died yesterday. He, along with Joseph Heller, Richard Brautigan, and John Barth, were among the assortment of quirky writers whose books my arty and alienated group read and then passed around to each other. It has been a long time, but I still have my well-thumbed copies of Cat’s Cradle, Welcome to the Monkey House, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, The Sirens of Titan, and Slaughterhouse-Five on my bookshelf.
So it goes, Mr. Vonnegut. So it goes.
I’m with you, Monica. He is my all-time favorite author.
Sigh.
Vonnegut was my bridge from introvert into bookish-introvert. Way back in 7th grade discovering him among the stacks turned me into a Vonnegut junkie. Starting off with Slaughterhouse Five and then Welcome to The Monkey House I sought his books as often as they were checked back in – and cementing me even further apart from the other kids. Than You, Mr. Vonnegut.
Also: Richard Brautigan was a cool pleasure – Reflections On A Watermelon Pickle – still a wonderful title!
alan