The only Vonnegut I brought with me on my Europe trip is a book of his short stories called "Welcome to the Monkey House". I'm trying to read it in spurts so I don't run out of Vonnegut too soon (groupie much??). So far the stories range from funny little anecdotal vignettes to full-on heart-racing craziness! One of them, entitled "All the King's Horses", I swear I was so engrossed that I couldn't look up from the page. My heart was beating as if I were right there in the scene!
Vonnegut even includes what he calls a "sickeningly slick love story" into the mix. There aren't really any love stories to be found in Vonnegut's novels that don't end in some kind of tragedy. This story, entitled "The Long Walk to Forever", while refreshingly sweet and simple and with a pretty happy ending, is completely Vonnegutesque. It's nice to see the different sides of this great author through these short stories, even though he swears he only wrote them in order to finance his novels.
I'm impressed and glad that you found time to write a little blog post! I started reading Slapstick recently, but I haven't gotten into it properly yet. It seems pretty weird so far. Did you read that one? It sounds like I should check out his short stories. Have a good day!
ReplyDeleteWord on the street, lhovely Lhiadan, is that you're spending some time in Perigueux... no doubt all those unwashed, yet somehow fascinating Gallic pretty-boys are pawing the dirt as you walk by? Surely you've got them howling at the moon by now? Shooting fish in a barrel, right, LR? Yowzaa!!
ReplyDeleteAnyhoo, being the literary lass that you are, you may be aware that, no further from Perigueux than a good, strong spit on a windy day (just a bit south-west of Perigueux) is the ancestral home of one of the Western world's most important literary pillars, the Father of the modern essay, Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, or, Montaigne as he is best known.
If you should have some free time, you should check it out... who knows when you'll pass that way again? A beautiful 15th century French chateau with very important literary connections... you'd be crazy not to go! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!
Flavien-Philippe, or Pierre-Oscar, or Thierry whatever-his-name-is will just have to wait, won't he?? Phhttt... he's almost certainly not worth it anyway...!!!
Literarily yours,
A
Oh that's why the main drag in Perigueux is called "Michel Montaigne". Mystery solved! Now if only we could solve the mystery of the colourful toilet paper... And in reply to your Gallic pretty-boys comment: If I were into middle-aged French shopkeeps then my hypothetical courtship of them would indeed resemble shooting fish in a barrel! But alas, I have to draw the line somewhere and that somewhere is some years before middle-age. I'll have to check out that Château though. I don't mind ancient buildings at all. I'm quite fond of them!
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