I love Kurt Vonnegut's writing but this book --not so much. It is a collection of speeches, letters, book reviews, and even a dramatic piece that the author wrote over time and now presents in a single volume.

Particularly interesting were the autobiographical sections, giving a sliver of insight into his personal world. I know almost nothing about his life so this book gave me a sample, a taste if you will, or his self-perceived passions and shortcomings.

Yet overall the books is rather 'blah' from a literary point of view. I would recommend it only to die-hard fans.

After finishing all of Vonnegut’s fiction novels, all I have left are compilations and this, his autobiography (sort of). But really this is more of a mashup collection of speeches and writings that didn’t find a home elsewhere. Ultimately I believe this book is good at shining a light on some of Vonnegut’s core beliefs, although a majority of these ideas are covered in his other novels. Ultimately, I’m giving this book a C which is exactly what Kurt himself rated Breakfast apt Champions, which is possibly the best book I’ve ever read. So it’s in good company, I guess?

This may be the least polished Vonnegut book I've ever read. In it, he's clearly still feeling raw about several things: about his mother's suicide, about the falling apart of his marriage, about the loss of his ex-wife and daughters to religion, about his bad reviews, about the censorship of his books, about his family's response to his "obscene" use of language, about his son's crack-up, etc. It makes it one of the least impressive but most interesting of his books.

(Also, he's too hard on Slapstick, which is not a bad book.)

Живота на всеки човек е хаос от факти. Когато си продуктивен писател като Вонегът, тези факти много са често в писмен вид - статии, речи, романи, разкази, интервюта. “Цветница” е колаж от такива факти. Възможен авто портрет на Кърт Вонегът. Много ме забавляваше. Нямаше претенция. Имаше прости думи, кратки изречения, вулгарни шеги, невинни самопризнания - всичко, от което има нужда великата литература. Искам още.