69th book of 2024.

Vonnegut was a big part of my early 20s, and I haven't read anything of his for a little while. I used to religiously wear a t-shirt that had the gravestone on it that read EVERYTHING WAS BEAUTIFUL AND NOTHING HURT. Slaughterhouse-Five shook up what I thought a novel could be or do. And I guess in a way, something of Vonnegut's humour and worldview helped me construct mine as adulthood became something I no longer looked at from afar but was a 'part' of.

After watching Hozier at Finsbury Park, I had some time in the city. I read this cross-legged in Foyles in London the other day. I have a bad habit of reading books in bookshops so I don't have to buy them. It's maybe unethical.

Vonnegut dies a lot in 'controlled near-death experience[s]'. When dead, he goes to the 'blue tunnel' and meets the other men and women who have gone to heaven. There is no hell. So he even meets Hitler up there. It's sometimes hard to know whether we should laugh or not. Hitler says to Vonnegut, "I paid my dues along with everybody else", and that he hopes a 'stone cross, since he was a Christian' be placed on the grounds of the United Nations headquarters in New York, dated '1889-1945', and read, '"Entschuldigen Sie." Roughly translated into English, this comes out, "I Beg Your Pardon," or "Excuse me."'

Mary Shelley, after Vonnegut tells her that people are always calling the monster 'Frankenstein', replies, "That's not so ignorant after all. There are two monsters in my story, not one. And one of them, the scientist, is indeed named Frankenstein."

I did laugh (as in, I didn't laugh at all, but my brain was tickled), when Vonnegut said he was asked to provide some filler and interview someone who is actually alive: 'He is science-fiction writer Kilgore Trout.'

But Vonnegut also chats to Isaac Asimov, Shakespeare, Sir Isaac Newton, and more.

Fun for those who already have a soft spot for old Kurt.

Added 2/8/14.
_God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian_ (79-page book) by Kurt Vonnegut (first published in 1999)

3/5/16 - I have finally gotten around to reading this very short book in which Kurt Vonnegut imagines himself as a reporter interviewing famous dead people. I must say that the satire and irony is delicious! You have to read the book to get the real sense of it. No amount of explanation can deliver the real effect of it.

Each interview is a very short vignette, making the reading of the book very easy. But after you finish reading each vignette, you're tempted to go back and savor it again to get all the "juice" out of it. Vonnegut is the master of irony and satire!

The title of the book refers to the imaginary process in which Dr. Kevorkian facilitates the interviews by allowing Vonnegut to have numerous "near-death" experiences. Vonnegut thereby arrives at the Pearly Gates through a blue tunnel. He then interviews his subjects, famous people, who are well known to us all for their good deeds and their bad.

3/30/16-I saved the following words which I found in the book. They appealed to me as something one might say when appreciating something or some particular moment:
"If this isn't nice, what is?"

See a good review at:
http://www.humanistsofutah.org/2000/a...
BELOW IS FROM THE LINK ABOVE:
============================
"The vignettes take the form of a reporter for a New York public radio station who visits with historical people [he visits with 21 dead people] including: Clarence Darrow, John Brown, Adolf Hitler, Isaac Newton, James Earl Ray, William Shakespeare, Isaac Asimov, Kilgore Trout (who isn't actually dead yet, but then he has lived only in Vonnegut's pages), and others. The reports were designed to fit 90-second interludes on WNYC.

"The 79-page book is a joyous treat, humor and thought provoking prose from one of the 20th Century's greatest fiction writers. I encourage you to get a copy and enjoy it!

"Of interest to humanists is the forward section of the book: Vonnegut notes that he is a humanist who believes in neither heaven nor hell. He also offers several short definitions of humanism: "I have tried to behave decently without any expectation of rewards or punishment after I'm dead." Again, "humanist' is nothing more supernatural than a handy synonym for 'good citizenship and common decency."

FROM: http://www.humanistsofutah.org/2000/a...
==========================

WIKI SYNOPSIS:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The premise of the collection is that Vonnegut employs Dr. Jack Kevorkian to give him near-death experiences, allowing Vonnegut access to heaven and those in it for a limited time. While in the afterlife Vonnegut interviews a range of people including Adolf Hitler, William Shakespeare, Isaac Asimov, and the ever-present Kilgore Trout (a fictional character created by Vonnegut in his earlier works)."
FROM: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Ble...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Short-form, witty and theatrical journalism from past the blue tunnel and beyond the pearly gates. Need to read more k. vonnegut.

Keşke kitapta geçen kişilerden hakkında bilgi sahibi olduğum insan sayısı daha fazla olsaydı ve keşke Türk tarihindeki önemli isimler için de böyle ölüm sonrası düşüncelerinin ne olduğu hakkında hayalî metinler olsaydı. Keyifliydi.

İlk Kurt Vonnegut okumam ama bunu saymıyorum. Çünkü Vonnegut bu kitabı hümanist yayın yapan bir radyoya gelir sağlamak amacıyla yazdığını söylüyor kitabın başında. Başlangıçta bu bilgiyi görmek üzdü beni. Kitapta bu -para kazanmak için yazılmış olmak- fazlasıyla hissediliyor aslında, hele ki bu bilgiyi bildikten sonra. O yüzden kitap değil de, köşe yazıları okumuş gibi hissediyorum daha çok. Yıldız verseydim iki yıldız verecektim ama iki yıldız çok üzücü göründüğü için yıldız vermemeyi seçiyorum.

For an extremely short period of time in the late nineties, Kurt was “Reporter on the Afterlife” for the WNYC radio station in, presumably, NYC—hence the station’s name. (Columbo in the house!) This extremely short book compiles his ninety-second radio spots, where he met such figures as Dr. Mary D. Ainsworth, Adolf Hitler, Sir Isaac Newton and Isaac Asimov. Following Timequake, these little pieces were, more or less, what Kurt did towards the end of his life—little paragraphs of philosophical apothegms, autobiographical reflection, and consistently sharp social comment, all written with a cutting wit and humanist bent. If there were an online repository for Kurt’s taped interviews, speeches, appearances, etc (on his website would help) these sorts of collections wouldn’t need to exist. But I’m glad it does. And, on this fortunate occasion, you can listen to the original broadcasts here.

A strange little read while sick in bed.

Imagine Kurt Vonnegut visiting Dr. Kevorkian so that Kurt could take a trip through “the blue tunnel” on the other side, meet people like William Shakespeare and Sir Isaac Newton, and come back to report his findings. Ta Ta.

فکر میکنم ۴ سال پیش بود که رفته بودم نشر چشمه ی کورش و از پشت قفسه ی کتابا یه کتاب پیدا کردم که قیمتش فقط ۲۵۰۰ تومن بود، به دوستم گفتم بهترین کاری که میشه با ۲۵۰۰ کرد خریدن همین کتابه با اینکه هیچ ایده ای ندارم درباره چی میتونه باشه، نویسنده رو هم نمیشناسم و ترجیح میدم پشت جلد کتاب رو هم نخونم؛ از همون روز این کتاب وارد قفسه کتابام شد و تو دو تا خونه عم باهام جا به جا شد تا امروز بلخره خوندمش
این لذت بخش ترین ۲۵۰۰ تومنی بود که تابحال تو زندگیم خرج کردم،
شروع شناخت یک نویسنده ی متحیر کننده.

درباره کتاب به طور بخصوص باید بگم ایده فوق العاده جالب و مجذوب کننده بود برام، باوجود اینکه چند تا از شخصیت هایی که کورت باهاشون ملاقات بهشتی میکنه رو نمیشناختم.
موضوعاتی که در کتاب به طور مختصر اما کاملا به فکر فروبرنده بهشون اشاره میشه و همچنین جمله ای که کتاب باهاش تموم میشه باعث شد جزو آثار مورد علاقم قرار بگیره.

I love this excellent little book. I've been a fan of Kurt Vonnegut's since I first read Slaughterhouse-Five many years ago. This little book exceeded my expectations. I hope Mr Vonnegut is still writing now, down at the other end of the blue tunnel.

Worth the half hour it took to read it

Very short, but worth the time. The afterlife reporting setup is a good excuse for Vonnegut to riff on some favorite topics, and avoids belaboring any one point.

Also, surprise Kilgore Trout appearance!