Tom Quinn’s Reviews > Unstuck in Time: A Journey Through Kurt Vonnegut's Life and Novels > Status Update
Tom Quinn
is 43% done
Sumner helped me appreciate more what I personally consider two lower-tier Vonnegut titles (Mr. Rosewater and B of Cs)—both strike me as clumsy and crude, but Sumner argues for why they couldn't have been any other way.
— Mar 19, 2023 04:44PM
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Tom’s Previous Updates
Tom Quinn
is 89% done
I read Hocus-Pocus a couple years back in the hospital waiting for Baby2 to arrive and this here summary reminds me I may not have paid terribly close attention.
— Mar 26, 2023 06:23AM
Tom Quinn
is 54% done
The chapter on Slapstick was shorter and far more speculative than those on his more celebrated books.
— Mar 20, 2023 09:22AM
Tom Quinn
is 30% done
Though the summaries of Vonnegut's novels run too long, this Sumner guy's got a lot of good insights.
— Mar 16, 2023 08:39PM
Tom Quinn
is starting
I'm told this does not fit the criteria of 'a beach read.' Um, hello? Doesn't anything I read on the beach instantly qualify as such?
— Mar 11, 2023 05:56PM
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Kenny
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Mar 20, 2023 08:00PM
Your comment is fascinating.
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Kenny wrote: "Your comment is fascinating."Thanks! (I think? Which part?)
Tom wrote: "Thanks! (I think? Which part?)"It is a compliment, & all of it!
Kenny wrote: "It is a compliment, & all of it!"Well thanks again! I could talk Vonnegut all day so this book is straight up my alley.
Tom wrote: "Kenny wrote: "It is a compliment, & all of it!"Well thanks again! I could talk Vonnegut all day so this book is straight up my alley."
OK -- what is your opinion of Slapstick?
Kenny wrote: "what is your opinion of Slapstick?"I think it's fantastic, and horribly underrated in its day but recently more people seem to have come around. I rank it #6 out of his 14 novels overall. I seem to like his work best when he's writing symbolically (i.e. Ice-9 and the Tralfamadorians, which allow for such elegant explorations of simple but powerful themes) and because Slapstick is rife with symbols (heavy gravity days, the Green Death plague, the physical grotesqueness of the twins -- all of these can stand for something more) I really enjoy it and I think people scoffed at the form of the symbols too quickly without pausing to appreciate what they're conveying and how well they work towards those ends.
While the action is crass and the descriptions often crude, I applaud Slapstick for how heartfelt Vonnegut's Humanist philosophy and values are on display. I do think the book feels rushed, and the Unstuck analysis gives only a tiny explanation of some publication issues and maybe it would have benefitted from another few months of revision. But it's overall optimistic and for that I can forgive any number of faults.
Tom wrote: "I think it's fantastic, and horribly underrated in its day but recently more people seem to have come around. I rank it #6 out of his 14 novels overall. "Thank you for sharing this. My first exposure to Vonnegut was Slapstick at 20. My roommate in college said I had to read it; it was the most brilliant book ever. I did and it wasn't. I've learned to love Vonnegut since then, and have thought of revisiting Slapstick, but I shudder at the thought. Seeing the movie with Jerry Lewis probably didn't help either.
It's definitely not what I'd lead with! Most people ease into Vonnegut with SH5 or Cat's Cradle, I hear.Kenny wrote: "Seeing the movie with Jerry Lewis probably didn't help either."
*shudder* I can only imagine! I've luckily evaded all movie adaptations of his work.
