Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
19th out of 32 books
—
330 voters
Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons
Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons (Opinions) is a rare opportunity to experience Kurt Vonnegut speaking in his own voice about his own life, his views of the world, his writing, and the writing of others. An indignant, outrageous, witty, deeply felt collection of reviews, essays, and speeches, this is a window not only into Vonnegut’s mind but also into his heart.
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
January 12th 1999
by Dial Press Trade Paperback
(first published 1974)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
Jan 23, 2012
MJ Nicholls
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
merkins,
non-fiction
This collection of nonfiction demonstrates amply why so many people fall headlong in love with Vonnegut—all aspects of his cranky humanity, his unimpeachable morality, his hard-won cynicism are on show over these twenty-five pieces. The title isn’t particularly catchy: readers of Cat’s Cradle will recognise the terms which Vonnegut says represent his dabblings in nonfiction. Not so. Among the brilliance here includes his take on SF as a literary art, his ornery take on the moon landing and a lov...more
I enjoyed the Playboy Interview at the end of this book the most. But here are some other great passages:
"Well - it would be a drab world without meaningless social aggregations. There would be a lot fewer smiles, and about one-hundredth as many publications."
"Earthlings who have felt that the Creator clearly wanted this or that have almost always been pigheaded and cruel. You bet."
"Kids don't learn nice manners in high school anymore. If they met a person who was in favor of building a device w...more
"Well - it would be a drab world without meaningless social aggregations. There would be a lot fewer smiles, and about one-hundredth as many publications."
"Earthlings who have felt that the Creator clearly wanted this or that have almost always been pigheaded and cruel. You bet."
"Kids don't learn nice manners in high school anymore. If they met a person who was in favor of building a device w...more
....ooooo....opinions.....
give it a shot. you get some idea of vonnegut, the man, where he came from, what his obsessions include, what he ignores and so you wonder why...he had a sheepdog named sandy. sandy sounds like an interesting dog. he took a trip down the inter-coastal waterway aboard a yacht owned by joe kennedy...the trip consumed 1,522 gallons of gasoline and elsewhere vonnegut worries about the planet, all we're consuming. and so on.
interesting tale about biafra...he went there w/van...more
give it a shot. you get some idea of vonnegut, the man, where he came from, what his obsessions include, what he ignores and so you wonder why...he had a sheepdog named sandy. sandy sounds like an interesting dog. he took a trip down the inter-coastal waterway aboard a yacht owned by joe kennedy...the trip consumed 1,522 gallons of gasoline and elsewhere vonnegut worries about the planet, all we're consuming. and so on.
interesting tale about biafra...he went there w/van...more
Nothing less than five stars will do for this one.
I wanted to have a better concept of Vonnegut’s personality in preparation for reading Kurt Vonnegut’s biography “And So It Goes.” I thought a book of non-fiction by KV would be appropriate so I revisited this after nearly 40 years since my first reading. I remembered virtually nothing from my original read. My intent was to read a chapter now and then and to alternate with several books of short stories and non-fiction I’ve been reading. After a...more
I wanted to have a better concept of Vonnegut’s personality in preparation for reading Kurt Vonnegut’s biography “And So It Goes.” I thought a book of non-fiction by KV would be appropriate so I revisited this after nearly 40 years since my first reading. I remembered virtually nothing from my original read. My intent was to read a chapter now and then and to alternate with several books of short stories and non-fiction I’ve been reading. After a...more
I loved this book because I love Kurt Vonnegut and reading his opinions made me feel closer to him as a person, which may sound weird, but I really admire him. I also really enjoyed this book because, even though it was a book of his opinions, he wrote them in a fictional way. I really liked the story "Fortitude" because it was a story about the evils of technology (at least, that's how I read it) and how people succumb to it without realizing that it's happening. I also really liked his intervi...more
‘Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons’ is a collection of essays, speeches, and reviews from Kurt - along with one piece of fiction and one interview. Certainly, it isn't on par with his fiction, but neither does it pretend to be. This is a book for those who have already read most of what else Kurt Vonnegut has written. The reviews are nothing to write home about, though some of the essays are quite good - but his public speeches, as always, make for excellent reading. There is a handful of them...more
Good stuff here for fans and for future fans. A good read if you're a writer or want to be in the future.
The column on the 1972 Republican convention was eerie. It could have been written yesterday: the grandstanding, the hypocrisy, the jesus, the warmongering, the contempt for anyone with insufficient golf club memberships. Even the peaceful protesters and the police intimidation thereof. Forty years. The names have changed. Nothing else has.
On the whole, not a good book: inconsistent, often dated, occasionally incoherent. But the good stuff—his essay on Biafra, the abovementioned column, the Play...more
On the whole, not a good book: inconsistent, often dated, occasionally incoherent. But the good stuff—his essay on Biafra, the abovementioned column, the Play...more
WFG includes Vonnegut’s gripes from Biafara to capitalism, religion and poetry—an amalgam of pessimistic gold in a wooden world…
On religion, it suffices to read one page. Morality? “We don’t need bigger brains. We don’t need more information. All that is required is that we become less selfish than we are.” (166) Spirituality? “The Seven Spiritual Works of Mercy: To teach the ignorant, to counsel the doubtful, to console the sad, to reprove the sinner, to forgive the offender, to bear with the...more
On religion, it suffices to read one page. Morality? “We don’t need bigger brains. We don’t need more information. All that is required is that we become less selfish than we are.” (166) Spirituality? “The Seven Spiritual Works of Mercy: To teach the ignorant, to counsel the doubtful, to console the sad, to reprove the sinner, to forgive the offender, to bear with the...more
Collected incidental prose from one of America's wise men. Vonnegut gives his take on a variety of topics- Biafra, the South, politics, commonsensical subversion from a man who had truly seen it all.
I think that one of the regrettable things about living in the modern moment is that people seem to ape his hard, sarcastic, yet chillingly blase and snickering style as the true voice of experience: "Hi ho, So It Goes, etc" though Vonnegut seemed to be one of those people who were really and truly...more
It seems somewhat appropriate to be reading Wampeters, Foma and Grandfalloons at this point in time as several of the enclosed essays deal with war.
Specifically, Vietnam, but also a heartbreaking piece on Biafra, which existed "for three Christmases and a little more"; a country that most of my generation have probably never heard of. Vonnegut also writes about the Cape Cod mutilations of 1968-69 - for which I could only find one passing reference on the web. (Most of the Biafra links on the Web...more
Specifically, Vietnam, but also a heartbreaking piece on Biafra, which existed "for three Christmases and a little more"; a country that most of my generation have probably never heard of. Vonnegut also writes about the Cape Cod mutilations of 1968-69 - for which I could only find one passing reference on the web. (Most of the Biafra links on the Web...more
Vonnegut has some amazing things to say in this book. It's a collection of opinion or essay pieces rather than a novel. One or two of the pieces are kind of boring but the rest I highly recommend.
On America, Vonnegut says:
"And her dad (Nixon) would say in an acceptance speech that night among other things, 'We covet no one else's territory. We seek no dominion over any other people. We seek peace not only for ourselves but for all the peoples in the world.' This was what he had said on Russian t...more
On America, Vonnegut says:
"And her dad (Nixon) would say in an acceptance speech that night among other things, 'We covet no one else's territory. We seek no dominion over any other people. We seek peace not only for ourselves but for all the peoples in the world.' This was what he had said on Russian t...more
Dec 12, 2007
Paul
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Vonnegut Enthusiasts
Shelves:
vonnegut
While this compilation consists mainly of what seems to be speeches to the intelligent, sensitive elite there are moments where Vonnegut's voice tenders on single events and themes, something his books avoid.
Whereas his novels have diverse intricate morals, Wampeters, Foma, and Granfalloons often gives the reader the opportunity to read exactly what was ravaging Vonnegut's opinion. The most personal event comes in his report of the doom in Biafra. Writing with the intimate conviction that is abs...more
Whereas his novels have diverse intricate morals, Wampeters, Foma, and Granfalloons often gives the reader the opportunity to read exactly what was ravaging Vonnegut's opinion. The most personal event comes in his report of the doom in Biafra. Writing with the intimate conviction that is abs...more
This was a good, little book by an angry humanist. He was a man who liked to upset expectations. He told people who were concerned with truth to believe in myths and seek extended families in complete strangers, and he reminded folk that fiction is so effective because it glorifies aspects of humanity we would never think to glorify and never would otherwise. Even if you disagree with the man, he was nothing short of candid. I couldn't recommend this book enough. This is my second favorite book...more
Kurt Vonnegut was an all around brilliant man. I thoroughly enjoy reading his work. Though I prefer his novels to his collections of short stories or opinions, I would never turn them down. This book is full of opinions in the form of short essays and speeches, including one play and one interview. Though it dragged at a few points, the overall experience is very valuable to a Vonnegut fan. I am eager to learn as much as possible about his life, and this book was an excellent addition to my shel...more
I really liked this book because it was a culmination of the author's own opinions on cultural issues and situations during noteworthy times in history. It also contains speeches, addresses, a play, and an interview that he conducted with Playboy. Ever the satirist, Vonnegut isn't afraid to tell you what he thinks even if he knows it will upset you. It is my goal to read all of his work, fiction or nonfiction. I may even go back and re-read some of his work that I read in high school.
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. probably comes the closest to Mark Twain as a writer. Although I never saw either speak, I suspect there was a great similarity there as well. Vonnegut had a wonderful knack of extracting humor from dire situations. This book is a collection of wampeters (an object around which otherwise unrelated people revolve), foma (harmless untruths), and granfalloons (proud and meaningless associations of people). And, reportedly one work of fiction.
I learned from this book a good bit of what was already apparent to me from reading Vonnegut's fiction. He had seemingly little faith in humanity and a learned pessimism that came in part, probably, from serving in the military and possessing more than half a brain. This book is a collection of essays and written versions of speeches that he gave after becoming a famous author. It's an interesting glimpse of the thoughts of someone I consider to be a master. It wasn't an amazing reading experien...more
not my favorite vonnegut, but an interesting collection of his non-fiction, with a bizarre one act play for added flavor. his review of fear and loathing on the campaign trail 1972 offers a good insight into his opinions of his contemporaries. his report on biafra is a heartbreaking chronicle of a countrythat has already been forgotten. I guess it's time to go back and read his fiction again.
Some parts of this I found more enjoyable than others, but anything that gives me more insight into Kurt Vonnegut as a person and is new writing of his to read can't not be good. Mostly, though, I think I love the title Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons (or Amputees, Foam, and Grandfathers according to my laptop) more than any other aspect of the book.
This (mostly) non-fiction collection of essays and speeches by Vonnegut provides some fantastic insight into his world view. Although some of the events he discusses are now dated, his framework can still be applied today. His moods range from wholly pessimistic to slightly hopeful. His quirky and dark sense of humor that is so prevalent in his novels shows up in his speeches, making me wonder how the audiences responded to some of the barbs.
What better way to learn about an author than through his speeches, letter and comments. His stories are great, but this book gives us an even better picture of the man. One of my favorite quotes "All officers are shits." Of course, I'm biased because I was an enlisted man, but he had an interesting concept behind why he believed this.
Aug 02, 2011
Harper Jean
added it
Vonnegut was right: his nonfiction is not as good as his fiction. But though it is at times dated, didactic, and repetitive, this breezy little collection of essays is still worth picking up, for several interesting takes on events of the 1960s and 1970s and for a slightly different angle on the author's worldview.
Vonnegut has a lot of interesting opinions and ideas in his various essays and addresses. I was particularly surprised out how funny and brash he was when speaking to graduates and professionals. Vonnegut held back no punches, and would simultaneously insult and amuse his audience with his gallows humor. That is a unique feat. And so on.
Vonnegut is immensely readable as always. It's just very dated, arguing about things that have been settled, at least by the mature folks, long ago. It has a certain appeal of reading such iconoclastic thoughts on subjects that are frequently portrayed as polarized like the Vietnam war or who the hell Richard Nixon was. But, also, who really gives a shit?
The Playboy interview makes him seem completely insane.
Greg
The Playboy interview makes him seem completely insane.
Greg
I'm not a humongous fan of Vonnegut, but I do enjoy his essays. His honesty in his writing struck me. I can't recall a contemporary novelist with a political outlook and philosophy that is so relevant and clear even today. I might go back and give some of his novels a new look.
Vonnegut himself rated this book a D grade. I'm being slightly more charitable because there are a couple of interesting tidbits in here that do work, but I would say that it's for Vonnegut fans only. Casual readers won't find enough in here to make it worth while.
I will never read Vonnegut the same way again. I feel I understand him with so much greater focus now. Perhaps it is due to changes in my own life, but nonetheless, this book is a welcomed dose of the voice of an friend and fellow American that I dearly love.
I love Vonnegut, but many of the pieces in this collection of essays, speeches, and interviews were a little tedious. Then again, many of them were quite charming. The final piece, an interview with Playboy right before Breakfast of Champions came out, was easily the best in the book and good enough to justify picking this up.
Wampeters offers a look at Vonnegut the man, a sort of back-stage pass to how his brain works. The first-person writings include essays, reviews of other authors' work, speeches, and the collection-ending Playboy interview—the latter of which he alludes in the introduction to having doctored.
The book is almost as much a window into the contemporary political climate (and Vonnegut's views thereon) as it is a collection of the author's works. What I enjoyed most were the speeches, which mix his sa...more
The book is almost as much a window into the contemporary political climate (and Vonnegut's views thereon) as it is a collection of the author's works. What I enjoyed most were the speeches, which mix his sa...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
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 as a journali...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 as a journali...more
Share This Book
“If somebody says "I love you" to me, I feel as though I had a pistol pointed at my head. What can anybody reply under such conditions but that which the pistol holder requires? "I love you, too.”
—
311 people liked it
“Artists use frauds to make human beings seem more wonderful than they really are. Dancers show us human beings who move much more gracefully than human beings really move. Films and books and plays show us people talking much more entertainingly than people really talk, make paltry human enterprises seem important. Singers and musicians show us human beings making sounds far more lovely than human beings really make. Architects give us temples in which something marvelous is obviously going on. Actually, practically nothing is going on.”
—
90 people liked it
More quotes…
Jan 13, 2012 02:27pm
updated Jan 13, 2012 02:31pm