Rest in Peace, Mr. Vonnegut

"I've had a hell of a good time. I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you any different."

Such was the off-the-cuff nonchalance and quirky charm that epitomized the inimitable Kurt Vonnegut, who passed away yesterday at the age of 84.

With a dazzling career that spanned over half a century, Vonnegut was, to us, the quintessential American man of letters: novelist, essayist, playwright, and, despite having borne witness to the brutalities of World War II, a staunch humanist.

Vonnegut crafted lucid, oftentimes absurd narratives that unmasked the horrors of war, satirically railed against the greed and hypocrisy inherent in human nature, and generally took the piss out of the bizarre structures and notions built into what we consider "modern" societies. "Human beings will be happier," said the writer in an interview with Playboy in 1973, "Not when they cure cancer or get to Mars or eliminate racial prejudice or flush Lake Erie, but when they find ways to inhabit primitive communities again. That’s my utopia."

Equally as memorable as the messages in his novels were the characters that Vonnegut conjured up. Some of our favorites were Dr Paul Proteus of Player Piano, a rabble-rousing engineer fed up with life in a fully-automated society, and the curmudgeonly old Rabo Karabekian of Bluebeard, a retired artist who'd rather everyone just leave him be. We can only imagine Vonnegut carefully crafting these fascinating and (mostly) likable protagonists, then gleefully plunging them into preposterous or terrifying dystopias and forcing them to fend for themselves.

Vonnegut suffered a fall a few weeks ago in his Manhattan apartment, causing extensive damage to his brain. Even then, said his manager, Donald Farber, "He was in good spirits. Every time he spoke with me no matter what the circumstances in the world, he had a funny angle on it even if it wasn't a funny thing."

And so it goes.

More:
Kurt Vonnegut dead at 84 (Washington Post)
Works by Vonnegut (Book List)
Vonnegut's Official Website
Interviews with McSweeney's

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By Allen Y Chen in Arts & Entertainment, News on April 12, 2007 3:59 PM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

odam

so it goes, indeed. well done, sir.

boobookitty

allen, a beautiful and reverent recap.

i (regrettably) caught the last lines of the fox news commentator's "obit" tonight, which went something like this:

[Vonnegut] survived a suicide attempt 23 years ago. But 34 years ago at a commencent ceremony, the writer said he hoped his children would not just eulogize him, 'as a man who could tell good jokes, but was very unhappy.' I guess I'll have to say it for them.

and then i shot my television.

robnit

I met Kurt Vonnegut in 1985 when I was on the forums committee at TCU in Fort Worth. We had him on campus to give a lecture, and he titled it "How to Get a Job Like Mine." Before the lecture, the committee members had the privilege of having dinner with him, and he regaled us with tales of living in NYC and the general absurdities of life. I felt lucky then, having just read Slaughterhouse 5 for the first time as a college freshman, and I still feel lucky - reading more about him today makes me come a little unstuck in time. I have kept up with his work over the years. He was somethin' else.