Saturday, November 13, 2010

A wonderful chat with an old friend

A Man Without a CountryA Man Without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I've always enjoyed Vonnegut's imagination and sense of humor in his novels, but I never knew how much we thought alike politically or philosophically until I read this little gem.

It's not an autobiography by any means and I'm not sure you'd call it a memoir. The blurb from the New York Times reviewer on the back cover says that it is "like sitting down on the couch for a long chat with an old friend." That's probably better than I could explain it.

It's not a big political rant, as the title may suggest. It's about lots of different things, from family to technology to WWII to how some of the nicest, smartest people come from the Midwest.

It's a collection of essays toward the end of the life of one of the funnest, funniest, sharpest, sweetest wits ever to come out of Indiana.

Having finished it, I am grieving, the same way you do when that long, warm conversation with an old, dear friend finally has to end and one of you has to go home and go to bed so you can get up and go to work in the morning. I wish this book didn't have to end.



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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Finally, got what I was looking for!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it. Glad I stumbled into this article! smile I have you saved to check out new stuff you post..