What is your favorite Kurt Vonnegut Book?

Question

What quote or section of story makes it your favorite and when did you last read a Kurt Vonnegut novel?

Trivia question: What movie(s) has Kurt Vonnegut appeared in?

Answer 1

Cat's Cradle is terrific.

Cat's Cradle is by far the best Vonnegut novel that I have yet read. Blending his patented wry humor with acute social insight presented in an absurd fantasy world, Vonnegut has written an exceptional novel of love, lies, and the self destruction of mankind. The story centers around the narrator, Jonah, who is called by name once in the entire book. We are told in the beginning that he is writing a book on the events of the day the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japan. His research leads him to a correspondence with Newt Hoenikker, the midget son of Doctor Felix Hoenikker, father of the atomic bomb. After meeting with Newt, destiny leads our protagonist to the impoverished island republic of San Lorenzo, where among other adventures, he finds religion, falls in love, and becomes president. All of this by itself would make for a very entertaining book, but it is not in the story line that Vonnegut's genius lies. Cat's Cradle is rife with painfully accurate insights into the institutions that our society holds so dear, such as, religion, politics, and science. Vonnegut invents for the inhabitants of San Lorenzo a brand new religion based completely and admittedly on "foma", or lies. This wouldn't be so shocking, except for the fact that this "bokonism" seems to make perfect sense. Other Vonnegut ironies pervade the book and are too elaborate to go into. Kurt Vonnegut is my favorite author of all time. Cat's Cradle is one of his funniest, most absurd, and frightening novels. This book truly causes one to stop and think about the things that one holds as unquestionably true. All of the incredible people, places, things, and ideas in Cat's Cradle are intricately woven into a perfect tapestry that sums up and spells out many of mankind's self-created problems in 191 pages.

The threat of Ice-Nine is a brilliant parody of the Cold War and nuclear proliferation. This is one of Vonnegut's best and should be on your must-read list.

Vonnegut played himself in a cameo in 1986's Back To School, in which he is hired by Rodney Dangerfield's Thornton Melon to write a paper on the topic of the novels of Kurt Vonnegut. Recognizing the work as not Melon's own, Professor Turner tells him, "Whoever did write this doesn't know the first thing about Kurt Vonnegut."

Vonnegut also makes brief cameos in the film adaptations of his novels Mother Night and Breakfast of Champions. Night was directed by Keith Gordon, who starred as Rodney Dangerfield's son in Back To School. He also makes a cameo appearance in his own novel, Slaughterhouse-Five, in which the protagonist is held at the same German prisoner-of-war camp as Vonnegut.

Answer 2

Kurt Vonnegut Best Book

Answer 3

I have read everything by Kurt Vonnegut, and to this day Slaughterhouse Five remains my favorite. I am fascinated by the novel's approach to time... it is really hard to describe; you have to read it yourself to really understand.

Cat's Cradle is very good, too- however, much more depressing.

In case you didn't know, Kurt Vonnegut passed away at approximately 11:03 pm last night, 4/11/2007.

Answer 4

Slaughterhouse Five - most gripping and memorable. I read a Vonnegut about 10 years ago. He appeared in Breakfast of Champions as the director of a commercial.

Answer 5

While I have been a lover of Mr. Vonnegut's books for more than 30 years, it is a short story that moves me the most. A very un-Vonnegut story from Welcome to the Monkey House called "Who Are We This Time" about these two very shy people who find that they can find love by playing the parts of other characters. It is a beautiful and tender love story and has always meant the world to me.

Other than that, I have always wanted to be Montana Wildhack, who I consider one one of the wildest, hottest characters in literature. In my next life, I want to be Montana Wildhack..

Mr. Vonnegut will be deeply missed, but he left us a rich literary treasure and will likely be one of the few authors of the 20th century who makes it to the level of "classic". I miss him already. Pax - C.

Answer 6

I love Slaughterhouse-Five as well. My favorite is Breakfast of Champions because it was the first book by Vonnegut I ever read and I enjoyed it so much I bought all of his other books. What a great writer he was.

Answer 7

I'm sorry to say the only work by Vonnegut I've read is Harrison Bergeron, which I thought was absolutely great. I read it back in high school, and it got me on a great trend of reading things like Orwell's Animal Farm and other dystopian stories.

Answer 8

My Favorite is Breakfast of Champions ..........Goodbye blue Monday!

I havn't gotten to read one of his books in almost a year, but I picked up God Bless You Mr. Rosewater a week or so ago and plan on reading it once I am done with my finals

Sad to see him go

Answer 9

His short story collection "Welcome to the Monkey House."

Answer 10

sorry i don't know