tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8441439.post6733644048089978446..comments2023-11-19T17:31:49.939+00:00Comments on Bristling Badger: vonnegut : extend the hippocratic oathUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8441439.post-53856578670738146972008-06-13T00:45:00.000+01:002008-06-13T00:45:00.000+01:00Jim, Timequake is indeed superb. And what do the c...Jim, Timequake is indeed superb. And what do the critics know?<BR/><BR/>It's like the way Woody Allen's films all get panned; they clutch at anything they can to attack them, doing so to the point of blatantly misrepresenting the film. <BR/><BR/>I've seen this over and over and the thing I get between the lines is them saying 'but I want him to make a film that has the impact on me that Annie Hall had when I was 18'.<BR/><BR/>I watched it happen to Bowie for a good ten years too (before they got round to just ignoring his new albums), slagging off great things like Outside and Tin Machine.<BR/><BR/>Vonnegut, like Allen and Bowie, takes a common medium and gives you something that you didn't know could be done with it. Something fresh, intelligent and original, something that really rewards you.<BR/><BR/>It cannot stay so very fresh and original when it's become part of your personal cultural firmament. It then becomes a dear and trusted friend to most of us, but to a few - disproportionately represented among critics because they always want to talk about whizzbang exciting new things - such familiarity is something to resent.merrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10959849087751101034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8441439.post-3138207615128248442008-06-13T00:16:00.000+01:002008-06-13T00:16:00.000+01:00"Timequake" may well be one of the bleakest books ..."Timequake" may well be one of the bleakest books ever written (though it is still full of very funny lines). Vonnegut got darker and darker as the years went by, but never less than brilliant.<BR/><BR/>("Timequake", incidentally may well be my favourite Vonnegut novel even though it's generally considered quite weak by critics)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8441439.post-84226320296689703422008-06-12T22:46:00.000+01:002008-06-12T22:46:00.000+01:00That humour and darkness continue throughout, thou...That humour and darkness continue throughout, though the dark element comes further forward later in books like Slapstick and Galapagos. Not that you should be put off; the latter is one of my favourites and a fine parable.merrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10959849087751101034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8441439.post-49981160502644024082008-06-12T14:03:00.000+01:002008-06-12T14:03:00.000+01:00Yep, Breakfast of Champions is on the shelf waitin...Yep, Breakfast of Champions is on the shelf waiting to be read, and I'm sure it won't be the last of his books I read either. <BR/><BR/>I really like the style, as you say, it's accessible and never over-written, but it's very cleverly put together. I love the way it often veers from profound to darkly hilarious.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8441439.post-17506166772100396792008-06-12T11:56:00.000+01:002008-06-12T11:56:00.000+01:00slaughterhouse 5 is justly praised, but the vast m...slaughterhouse 5 is justly praised, but the vast majority of his other books are equally brilliant. <BR/><BR/>The early stuff's a bit sci-fi, the real Vonnegutness kicks in with God Bless You Mr Rosewater.<BR/><BR/>That easy, straightforward use of language no matter how abstract the ideas, that warmth towards humanity, loving people with all their flaws, he never loses it after that.<BR/><BR/>If pushed to crown one above the others, I'd recommend Breakfast of Champions. But jump in anywhere post-mid-60s and it's fine; even the collections of essays are just as good.merrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10959849087751101034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8441439.post-76103543100527883312008-06-12T10:44:00.000+01:002008-06-12T10:44:00.000+01:00Interesting stuff indeed. Coincidentally, I am cur...Interesting stuff indeed. Coincidentally, I am currently reading Slaughterhouse 5 by Mr Vonnegut, which is all kinds of awesome.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com