From: squirk7@verizon.net (Don Abrams)
Subject: Vonnegut
Received on Mon Mar 8 10:30:54 2010.
The autodidactic part of me has initiated a process whereby every third
book I read, I read a classic that I don't know. So I'm taking 'Three by
Vonnegut' with me to Captiva Wednesday. The collection includes: Cat's
Cradle, Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions. Since all the
Vonnegut I've read so far are just short stories, I'm wondering which
one of these would be the best first read for a newbie?
I just finished a book that I cared about more than almost any other for
the past several years: 'Let the Great World Turn Spin' by Colum McCann.
The connective tissue involves Philippe Petit's tightrope walk between
the two World Trade Towers in 1974, but the book is steeped in humanity
and a wonderful homage to NYC. At one point I was gob smacked that I
had such an emotional reaction to something relatively early in a book.
And I can also concur with iddiots who've touted the recent documentary
about Phillipe Petit 'Man on Wire'; but don't be misled, the book is not
about him or the walk.
While I have your eye, I'd also recommend Mary Karr's latest memoir,
Lit. While it isn't necessary to have read the first two, Liar's Club
(another of my all time favorites) or Cherry, this one is even more
brutally honest. She has been a poet for much longer than she's been a
memoirist, so her language is exquisite and totally unmannered. The
real deal here.
the ice is slowly melting......
Donnie