Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007)
Author of Slaughterhouse-Five
About the Author
The appeal of Kurt Vonnegut, especially to bright younger readers of the past few decades, may be attributed partly to the fact that he is one of the few writers who have successfully straddled the imaginary line between science-fiction/fantasy and "real literature." He was born in Indianapolis and show more attended Cornell University, but his college education was interrupted by World War II. Captured during the Battle of the Bulge and imprisoned in Dresden, he received a Purple Heart for what he calls a "ludicrously negligible wound." After the war he returned to Cornell and then earned his M.A. at the University of Chicago.He worked as a police reporter and in public relations before placing several short stories in the popular magazines and beginning his career as a novelist. His first novel, Player Piano (1952), is a highly credible account of a future mechanistic society in which people count for little and machines for much. The Sirens of Titan (1959), is the story of a playboy whisked off to Mars and outer space in order to learn some humbling lessons about Earth's modest function in the total scheme of things. Mother Night (1962) satirizes the Nazi mentality in its narrative about an American writer who broadcasts propaganda in Germany during the war as an Allied agent. Cat's Cradle (1963) makes use of some of Vonnegut's experiences in General Electric laboratories in its story about the discovery of a special kind of ice that destroys the world. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965) satirizes a benevolent foundation set up to foster the salvation of the world through love, an endeavor with, of course, disastrous results. Slaughterhouse-Five; or The Children's Crusade (1969) is the book that marked a turning point in Vonnegut's career. Based on his experiences in Dresden, it is the story of another Vonnegut surrogate named Billy Pilgrim who travels back and forth in time and becomes a kind of modern-day Everyman. The novel was something of a cult book during the Vietnam era for its antiwar sentiments. Breakfast of Champions (1973), the story of a Pontiac dealer who goes crazy after reading a science fiction novel by "Kilgore Trout," received generally unfavorable reviews but was a commercial success. Slapstick (1976), dedicated to the memory of Laurel and Hardy, is the somewhat wacky memoir of a 100-year-old ex-president who thinks he can solve society's problems by giving everyone a new middle name. In addition to his fiction, Vonnegut has published nonfiction on social problems and other topics, some of which is collected in Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons (1974). He died from head injuries sustained in a fall on April 11, 2007. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:
Kilgore Trout, the name of a character in several of Kurt Vonnegut's books, was later used as a pseudonym by Philip José Farmer. Vonnegut himself never wrote under or went by the name Kilgore Trout.
Works by Kurt Vonnegut
Novels & Stories, 1963-1973: Cat's Cradle / God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater / Slaughterhouse-Five / Breakfast of Champions… (2011) 393 copies, 9 reviews
Novels & Stories 1950-1962: Player Piano / The Sirens of Titan / Mother Night / Stories (2012) 260 copies, 5 reviews
Kurt Vonnegut: Slaughterhouse-Five / The Sirens of Titan / Player Piano / Cat's Cradle / Breakfast of Champions /… (1980) 177 copies, 1 review
Kurt Vonnegut: The Last Interview: And Other Conversations (The Last Interview Series) (2011) 110 copies
If this isn't nice what is?, (much) expanded second edition: the graduation speeches and other words to live by (2014) 108 copies, 2 reviews
Three By Vonnegut: Cat's Cradle / Slaughterhouse-Five / Breakfast for Champions (2007) 71 copies, 2 reviews
If This Isn't Nice, What Is? (Even More) Expanded Third Edition: The Graduation Speeches and Other Words to Live By (2020) 60 copies, 2 reviews
The sirens of Titan; Mother night; Cat's cradle; God bless you, Mr. Rosewater; Slaughterhouse-five (1988) 17 copies
5 by Kurt Vonnegut jr. (5 volumes) (Cat's Cradle, The Sirens of Titan, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, Welcome To… (1973) 15 copies
The Vonnegut Quartet: Breakfast of Champions / Mother Night / Player Piano / Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons (1976) 9 copies
Thanasphere 6 copies
Selected Works of Kurt Vonnegut: Cat's Cradle, Galapagos, The Big Trip Up Yonder, Unready to Wear (2014) 5 copies
Long Walk to Forever [short story] 4 copies
Utopia 14 - 1º volume 4 copies
Masters of Science Fiction, Vol 1 4 copies
The Big Space Fuck [short story] 4 copies
Short Science Fiction Collection 005 3 copies
Kirjailijan työ : Saul Bellow, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Boris Pasternak, Kurt Vonnegut (1985) 3 copies
Hall of Mirrors 3 copies
Utopia 14 - 2º Volume 3 copies
The Souvenir 3 copies
Short Science Fiction Collection 007 3 copies
Happy Birthday, Kurt Vonnegut: A Festschrift for Kurt Vonnegut on his Sixtieth Birthday (1982) 3 copies
Welcome to the Monkey 3 copies
Works of K. Vonnegut: Slaughterhouse Five, Breakfast of Champions, The Sirens of Titan — Author — 2 copies
Short Science Fiction Collection 051 2 copies
Short Science Fiction Collection 020 2 copies
The Cruise Of The Jolly Roger 2 copies
Balagan, ili Konets odinochestvu 2 copies
Runaways 2 copies
Cat's in the cradle 2 copies
The Ides of March 2 copies
Cold Turkey 2 copies
Mater Tma 1 copy
Utópia 14 2° Volume 1 copy
Người không quê hương 1 copy
Any Reasonable Offer 1 copy
Here is a Lesson in Creative Writing (in The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2006 - EGGERS) 1 copy
The Indiscreet Mirror [article, in Proceedings of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, May 16, 1984;… (1984) 1 copy
Mnemonics 1 copy
О дивный новый мир 1 copy
Bard books 1 copy
slaughternhouse 1 copy
Del 1 copy
Сирены Титана [роман : 16+] 1 copy
0083- Selected stories 1 copy
Bagombo Enfiye Kutusu 1 copy
Lot 3 books by Kurt Vonnegut,Jr., Galapagos a novel, Slaughter-House Five, Player Piano, (1974) 1 copy
Bode Vermelho 1 copy
Find Me A Dream 1 copy
Requiem for Zeitgeist 1 copy
Ambitious Sophomore 1 copy
A Present For Big Saint Nick 1 copy
Unpaid Consultant 1 copy
The Boy Who Hated Girls 1 copy
This Son Of Mine 1 copy
A Night For Love 1 copy
Custom-made Bride 1 copy
Lovers Anonymous 1 copy
Hal Irwin’s Magic Lamp 1 copy
Notes on Armagedon 1 copy
Fortitude [short story] 1 copy
The Drone King 1 copy
Las sirenas de Titán 1 copy
Kurt Vonnegut: Listy 1 copy
T B R 0 2 B 1 copy
Un avanzo di galera 1 copy
The Package 1 copy
Vremetres 1 copy
Novels & Stories 1987-1997 1 copy
Novels & Stories 1976-1985 1 copy
Poor Little Rich Town 1 copy
Associated Works
The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction (1983) — Contributor — 1,161 copies, 3 reviews
For the Love of Books: 115 Celebrated Writers on the Books They Love Most (1999) — Contributor — 459 copies, 4 reviews
Writers on Writing: Collected Essays from the New York Times (2001) — Contributor — 455 copies, 4 reviews
The Big Book of Science Fiction: The Ultimate Collection (2016) — Contributor — 447 copies, 7 reviews
The Man with the Golden Arm: 50th Anniversary Critical Edition (1999) — Contributor — 441 copies, 6 reviews
First Fiction: An Anthology of the First Published Stories by Famous Writers (1994) — Contributor — 188 copies, 1 review
The Moral Life: An Introductory Reader in Ethics and Literature (1999) — Contributor — 187 copies, 2 reviews
The Rolling Stone Book of the Beats: The Beat Generation and American Culture (1999) — Contributor — 170 copies, 1 review
The Mark Twain Anthology: Great Writers on His Life and Work (2010) — Contributor — 145 copies, 1 review
The Very Best of Fantasy & Science Fiction: Sixtieth Anniversary Anthology (2009) — Contributor — 138 copies, 6 reviews
Write If You Get Work : The Best of Bob and Ray (1975) — Foreword, some editions — 102 copies, 2 reviews
War No More: Three Centuries of American Antiwar and Peace Writing (2016) — Contributor — 94 copies, 1 review
The Prentice Hall Anthology of Science Fiction and Fantasy (2000) — Contributor — 94 copies, 2 reviews
The Best Fantasy Stories from the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (1985) — Contributor — 74 copies, 2 reviews
Cape Cod Stories: Tales from Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard (1996) — Contributor — 52 copies, 5 reviews
Grave Predictions: Tales of Mankind’s Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopian and Disastrous Destiny (2016) 28 copies, 8 reviews
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction October 1961, Vol. 21, No. 4 (1961) — Contributor — 20 copies, 1 review
Democracy in Print: The best of the Progressive Magazine, 1909-2009 (2009) — Contributor — 14 copies
MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History — Winter 1994 (1993) — Author "So it goes." — 9 copies
Tider skal komme : 15 langtidsvarsler : en science fiction-antologi — Contributor — 4 copies
10 Lost Vintage Sci-Fi Masterpieces for Hardcore Fans Only! (2009) — Contributor — 4 copies, 1 review
Ki ょ う も 気 God prepared a short masterpiece SF election (Kadokawa library) (2010) — Contributor — 2 copies
RDCBLP Saint Paul | Apostle to All Men | Horowitz and Mrs. Washington | The Foster Portfolio | Bel Ria (1980) 1 copy
The Most Dangerous Game and Other Stories of Menace and Adventure (2013) — Contributor — 1 copy, 1 review
S-Fマガジン 2007年 09月号 [雑誌] 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Vonnegut, Kurt
- Legal name
- Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr.
- Birthdate
- 1922-11-11
- Date of death
- 2007-04-11
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
- Place of death
- New York, New York, USA
- Cause of death
- brain injuries incurred several weeks prior from a fall at his New York brownstone home
- Places of residence
- New York, New York, USA
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA - Education
- University of Chicago
Cornell University
Carnegie Institute of Technology
University of Tennessee - Occupations
- journalist
novelist
essayist
playwright
screenwriter - Relationships
- Vonnegut, Mark (son)
Vonnegut, Edith (daughter)
Krementz, Jill (spouse) - Organizations
- American Humanist Association
U.S. Army (WWII|POW)
Iowa Writers' Workshop - Awards and honors
- State Author of New York/Edith Wharton Citation of Merit (2001-03)
American Academy of Arts and Letters Academy Award [1970]
Humanist of the Year [1992]
Asteroid Namesake [2539]
Purple Heart
Prisoner of War Medal (show all 8)
Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame (2015)
Carl Sandburg Literary Award (2001) - Short biography
- Kurt Vonnegut Jr est né à Indianapolis en 1922. Prisonnier de guerre à Dresde pendant cinq mois, il y fut témoin du bombardement de 1945. De retour aux États-Unis, il se mit à écrire. Son roman le plus célèbre, Abattoir 5, resta pendant trois mois en tête des best-sellers américains.
- Disambiguation notice
- Kilgore Trout, the name of a character in several of Kurt Vonnegut's books, was later used as a pseudonym by Philip José Farmer. Vonnegut himself never wrote under or went by the name Kilgore Trout.
Members
Discussions
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut [Hamilton Press 2001] in Fine Press Forum (October 2022)
Sci-Fi Story, People Live Forever in Name that Book (August 2017)
November 2013: Kurt Vonnegut in Monthly Author Reads (November 2014)
1001 Group Read-December, 2012: Slaughterhouse Five in 1001 Books to read before you die (January 2013)
Reviews
Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Answers the age old question: What if J. Robert Oppenheimer was just a silly lil goose?
Best Vonnegut book I've read so far, with Eliot Rosewater being his most standout character by a mile.
Vonnegut really amped up the metafictional stuff to 11 here, and I'm all for it.
I really dug his whole idea for writing this novel as a kind of anti-story: being tired not only with traditional writing troupes but what they represent about the american ethos, and people who want to live their lives like clean, neat stories.
I really dug his whole idea for writing this novel as a kind of anti-story: being tired not only with traditional writing troupes but what they represent about the american ethos, and people who want to live their lives like clean, neat stories.
I can see why this is Vonnegut's most acclaimed work. Somehow able to make me laugh in the same sentence that brings me to tears.
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Awards
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Statistics
- Works
- 258
- Also by
- 85
- Members
- 186,633
- Popularity
- #25
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 2,394
- ISBNs
- 1,589
- Languages
- 38
- Favorited
- 1,396
