No More Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut, one of my literary heroes, has died at 84 (NYT).

Update: I’ll add other notices here throughout the day –

Weird: A few weeks ago I was reading Neal Pollack’s Alternadad while waiting for my family at an outdoor cafe. A lady at the table next to me leaned over and asked, completely out of the blue, “Excuse me. Do you think that Vonnegut is just for teenage boys?” How random is that? For the record, I do not think so, although I read most of his books as a teenage boy. Here’s the weird part. Last night I had just finished writing a post on Alternadad when I clicked over to the New York Times web site and saw that Vonnegut had died. On the train this morning, a guy next to me was reading Alternadad. Spooky.

categories Authors, Books | Tim | datetime April 11, 2007 11:18 pm

  • By Beth (The Decatur One), April 12, 2007 @ 9:54 am

    I woke up to this news today. So sad. Funny about that woman asking the Vonnegut/teen boy question. I think it’s easy to associate the two since guys tend to discover him at that age — but his oeuvre was the type to withstand the changes as we age.

    The Alternadad phenomenon is freaky. Maybe you’re beginning to influence the Atlanta reading public.

  • By Beth (The Toronto One), April 12, 2007 @ 12:39 pm

    He touched many, many lives.
    Made so many of us think and laugh.
    I’ll miss him. So will my eldest.

  • By Dr J, April 12, 2007 @ 12:50 pm

    Don’t forget that Kurt wrote a totally awesome paper for Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School.

  • By DJ Cayenne, April 12, 2007 @ 1:31 pm

    Dr J: If I remember correctly, Dangerfield ended up getting an F because he didn’t know anything about Vonnegut.

  • By Dr J, April 12, 2007 @ 3:04 pm

    From imdb.com:

    [after Diane gives Thornton an 'F' for his report, which was actually written by Kurt Vonnegut]
    Diane: Whoever *did* write this doesn’t know the first thing about Kurt Vonnegut!
    [cut to Thornton's dorm suite]
    Thornton Melon: [on the phone] … and *another* thing, Vonnegut! I’m gonna stop payment on the cheque!
    [Kurt tells him off]
    Thornton Melon: Fuck me? Hey, Kurt, can you read lips, *fuck you*! Next time I’ll call Robert Ludlum!
    [hangs up]

  • By Frank, April 12, 2007 @ 5:42 pm

    Sidenote: One of my partners told me just now that CNN, in reporting Vonnegut’s death this morning, said that he was the author of “Catch-22,” among other books.

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