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31st out of 38 books
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Fates Worse Than Death
In this revealing collection of essays, Vonnegut examines the issues and events (both personal and social) that shaped the last decade. Ranging from an intimate portrait of his family to a biting commentary of ex-son-in-law Geraldo Rivera to the 1945 firebombing of Dresden, Germany, where he was a POW, this book "offers a rare insight into an author who has customaril...more
Paperback, 240 pages
Published
September 1st 1992
by Berkley Publishing Group
(first published 1982)
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This is Vonnegut’s last in the trio of “autobiographical collages,” which is a canny way of presenting various nonfiction materials without having to impose a structure on the book. This is the most shambolic of the three—firstly, Fates Worse Than Death is divided into conventional chapters, so the reader has no contents table to peruse the various speeches Kurt reproduces here from recent public speaking events. And the book is mostly reproduced public speeches, most of which are entertaining a...more
"Съдби, по-лоши от смъртта" вероятно не е най-добрата книга на Кърт Вонегът, но със сигурност е една от тези с най-силен личен елемент. Многото автобиографични моменти в нея са посветени на събитията и личностите, повлияли силно на формирането му като човек и автор - войните, депресиите (икономически и лични), смъртта, голямото му семейство, приятели, музиканти, писатели и много безименни хора. В разказите за повечето от тях, чиито мечти, възгледи и манталитет се разминават с общоприет...more
As I work my way through his books, I find that I love his speeches and essays far more than his fiction. That is a pleasant surprise. I absolutely loved this book - perhaps more than Palm Sunday. There are too many passages to quote but I'll note a few:
"We were in hell, thanks to technology which was telling us what to do, instead of the other way around. And it wasn't just TV. It was weapons which could actually kill everything half a world away. It was vehicles powered by...more
"We were in hell, thanks to technology which was telling us what to do, instead of the other way around. And it wasn't just TV. It was weapons which could actually kill everything half a world away. It was vehicles powered by...more
One of the main themes of Vonnegut’s career, and of this collection, is that families, and from them our own personal psyches, have been devolved by modern life. The best we can do with its “rootlessness, mobility, and impossibly tough-minded loneliness” (35) is synthetic families, such as AA, the military, artists or (God-forbid) church. Most of this collection, in fact, critiques our modern (early 90’s) world, with a minor key given to the failures of Christianity. To the latter, “What I can’t...more
This is a collection of speeches, letters and essays that Kurt Vonnegut Jr. wrote during the 80's and 90's. Each one begins with a setup for the piece including setting and background for the topic. At the end, Vonnegut concluded by adding thoughts/notes/praises/criticisms made by himself and others. After reading this autobiography it made me wish even more that had had the opportunity to hear him speak publicly before his passing.
I read this book all the way through on June 6 2007, in the lobby of the Executive West hotel in Louisville, KY while my husband took his radiology boards. It was as if Kurt Vonnegut himself was seated beside me and had spent that day with me. He made me laugh, he made me think and he took my mind off of the matter at hand. It was one of the bright sunny, wonderful days of one's life and I am so happy that Kurt was part of it.
Erik Graff
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Americans
Recommended to Erik by:
no one
Shelves:
political-social-science
The twenty-one sections comprising the body of this book are made up of excerpts from writings and talks linked together by authorial commentary, often by way of giving background or amplification. Despite the fact that this is an almost shamefully easy way to assemble a book, I thoroughly enjoyed it, laughing at times, weeping at others.
for anyone who has read more than three Vonnegut books, this is a must read, at the very least excerpts.
i found many interesting tidbits and humerous insights in this book. at the time i was writing a term paper on Vonnegut. (one of my first and most fun papers ever.) useful in that reagard.
he discusses Ritalin usage, his son's schizophrenia, and many other private matters. this began (rather, contnued) my obsession with ADD and Vonnegut's idoldom to a generation of...more
i found many interesting tidbits and humerous insights in this book. at the time i was writing a term paper on Vonnegut. (one of my first and most fun papers ever.) useful in that reagard.
he discusses Ritalin usage, his son's schizophrenia, and many other private matters. this began (rather, contnued) my obsession with ADD and Vonnegut's idoldom to a generation of...more
Kristen Coppess
added it
The essay about his piece on Pollack was so sharp. He said Pollack killed himself because he never painted a horizon and humans need horizons. It makes me feel like I've never looked at abstract art in the right way before. Beautiful...
Best Quote: "It would have been enough just to have been a unicorn."
Best Quote: "It would have been enough just to have been a unicorn."
Some of the material is thin, but Vonnegut includes enough wit and cleverness to make this short read worth the time. If you're new to Vonnegut, don't start here, but if his fiction hits you like a warm blanket, go ahead and cuddle up. I might even read it again sometime.
I am waiting for my husband to finish this book; then it will be my turn although he has already read various parts to me that he finds particularly interesting. The onlynovelist that John reads is Kurt Vonnegut; this Christmas season he has put his Ebay business on "vacation" status and has read/reread 6-7 of his books. He likes Vonnegut's unique "take" on everything and feels he gets to the truth of matters more that most. I started one of them but could not get far with h...more
Some pretty good stuff in this book of essays and speeches. When you've read a lot of Vonnegut you start hearing a lot of the same stories over again. That said, it is still interesting to get maybe a detail here and there that was unknown or sheds some light on other things he's written. I avoided this book for years for some reason, but I'm glad I finally read it.
240 pages. Donated 2010 May.
The author of Slaughterhouse Five presents a collection of essays and reminiscences, offering a self-portrait that assesses his own life and the current state of the world. Reprint. NYT
The author of Slaughterhouse Five presents a collection of essays and reminiscences, offering a self-portrait that assesses his own life and the current state of the world. Reprint. NYT
This collection of essays and reminiscences is likely as close to an autobiography as we're going to get. It's really great, and Vonnegut is brutally honest regarding his own background and shortcomings.
A collection of Vonnegut's speeches with some autobiagraphical filler in between. Interesting if you're a fan but, if you're new to Vonnegut, there are better places to start.
"The joke at the beginning was the joke at the end." Anyone who can say that and then also give Nelson Algren credit for Simone de Beauvior's first orgasm deserves 5 stars. That's all I am saying. Read it! Read it! Read it! He also provides this tasty little treat, "The most satisfied of all painters is the one who can be intoxicated for hours or days or weeks or years with what his or her hands and eyes can do with art materials, and let the rest of the world go hang."
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Hey it's Vonnegut - an author who stands way above them all. I have read all of his works many times.
Provides perspective on a lot of Vonegut's stories, he's led one hell of a life.
Karie
is currently reading it
I've loved everything I've ever read by Mr. Vonnegut, and so far, this is no exception.
Great collection of essays. In some ways more accessible than his novels.
Owen Scott Verde
added it
Part of my "Books Read" list I found while moving/unpacking.
I need to go back and re-read these. I remember enjoying them.
I liked reading a lot of Vonnegut's novels when I was in high school and college, but recently I don't enjoy him as much. This book, written in the early 1990s, is subtitled "An Autobiographical Collage" and it rambles from place to place, story to story, without much purpose. Vonnegut comes across as a pessimist who knows he used to be funnier. Those who enjoy Vonnegut will enjoy reading episodes from his life and the lives of his friends. Those who don't like Vonnegut will be bor...more
Bonnie Jeanne
marked it as to-read
Fates Worse Than Death by Kurt Vonnegut (1992)
This is my third time to read this.
Not my favorite Vonnegut book, I must admit. The essays didn't flow very well, but were still near-brilliant.
Vonnegut never fails for me. I found this book both witty and a bit tragic, like most his books, and incredibly refreshing.
My favorite American author, by far.
My favorite American author, by far.
I can honestly say that Kurt Vonnegut is one of my top three favorite authors. I'm always excited to find something by him I haven't read yet.
Unfortunately, my enthusiasm for his non-fiction work is lacking, almost nonexistent. Somehow, his clever, unique writing style appears insipid and dull in this genre.
I hate to write or rate negatively about something the great Vonnegut wrote, but I just don't think his non-fiction is worth the time.
Unfortunately, my enthusiasm for his non-fiction work is lacking, almost nonexistent. Somehow, his clever, unique writing style appears insipid and dull in this genre.
I hate to write or rate negatively about something the great Vonnegut wrote, but I just don't think his non-fiction is worth the time.
As I was finishing this book, I was thinking about a couple of years ago when I was on the bus and I was reading "Welcome to the Monkeyhouse," and a guy started talking to me about Vonnegut. He mentioned that he was sad that he only had a few more books of his to read. Now that I'm at that point, I'm starting to come to the same realization.
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Kurt Vonnegut, Junior was an American novelist, satirist, and most recently, graphic artist. He was recognized as New York State Author for 2001-2003.
He was born in Indianapolis, later the setting for many of his novels. He attended Cornell University from 1941 to 1943, where he wrote a column for the student newspaper, the Cornell Daily Sun. Vonnegut trained as a chemist and worked a...more
More about Kurt Vonnegut...
He was born in Indianapolis, later the setting for many of his novels. He attended Cornell University from 1941 to 1943, where he wrote a column for the student newspaper, the Cornell Daily Sun. Vonnegut trained as a chemist and worked a...more
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“If flying-saucer creatures or angels or whatever were to come here in a hundred years, say, and find us gone like the dinosaurs, what might be a good message for humanity to leave for them, maybe carved in great big letters on a Grand Canyon wall? Here is this old poop's suggestion: WE PROBABLY COULD HAVE SAVED OURSELVES, BUT WERE TOO DAMNED LAZY TO TRY VERY HARD...”
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11 people liked it
“The books he and his supporters wanted out of the schools, one of mine among them, were not pornographic, although he would have liked our audience to think so. (There is the word "motherfucker" one time in my Slaughterhouse-Five, as in "Get out of the road, you dumb motherfucker." Ever since that word was published, way back in 1969, children have been attempting to have intercourse with their mothers. When it will stop no one knows.)”
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