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And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life (2011)

by Charles J. Shields(Favorite Author)

3.86 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0805086935 (ISBN13: 9780805086935)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Henry Holt and Co.

review 1: I'm not sure I've read a biography before in which the author takes such apparent delight in dissing his subject. Yes, Vonnegut built a bridge for millions of youngsters to cross from science fiction to literature. That to me seems commendable. No, he did not have the traditional pedigree you find among the literary elite. Yes, he wrote easy-to-read books that were long on humor and humanism and short on other virtues, and collected a lot of young, liberal, naive, not-exactly-literary-lion fans along the way who kept his book sales afloat. All true, but mostly what Shields illuminates is his own snobbish assholishness. *
review 2: On one hand I found this biography a fascinating glimpse into a truly unique man's life. Shields' research is apparent and he strin... moregs together a rather detailed portrait of one of America's great writers. On the other hand, I found this book a little depressing. Writers often have, what I will call for lack of a better term, difficult lives, and Vonnegut was no exception. Furthermore, authors often are, for lack of a better term, difficult people, and, again, Vonnegut was no exception. Simultaneously compelling and disheartening, Shields' biography is an important document for anyone interested in learning how Vonnegut's life shaped his fiction and how his fiction shaped his life. less

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