Vonnegut was a real legend, the author of "Cat's Cradle." In the 1970s, this book was a bible for rebellious minds. In fact, it was a parody of the Bible, for example the Book of Bokonon with its amusing maxims.
When I heard about Vonnegut's death I got out my old paperback. It has a lot of scotch tape on it, some pages are torn up - about 50 people have read it.
This is not a book but a soldier of counter-culture. Well, Vonnegut was a soldier. He fought against the Nazis, was captured, and sent to a POW prison in Dresden, where he witnessed the devastating bombing of the city by the British in February 1945, just before the end of the war.
Dresden perished - it was a triumph of absurdity. Vonnegut survived by sheer miracle, and on his return to the United States he wrote his famous "Slaughterhouse Five."
All his life, Vonnegut fought against absurdity of life. He believed that the humankind lived by senseless laws, and mocked them. He dropped his own bombs on literally everything - family values, jobs, fridges, love of pets, America, history, a craving for jewelry, morning coffee, the habit of living. First and foremost he mocked himself.
Kurt Vonnegut was born into a family of a prosperous architect in Indianapolis on November 11, 1922. His family became bankrupt during the Great Depression. He had not thought of becoming a writer - he chose to study chemistry at Cornell University. Threatened with expulsion as a very poor student, he volunteered to fight against the Nazis but was almost immediately taken prisoner. His saga is akin with the adventures of the Good Soldier Svejk.
After his return to America, Vonnegut continued his exploits - as a crime reporter, a salesman, and a teacher in a school for mentally disabled children. The adventures stopped when he started writing novels. "Utopia 14," "Cat's Cradle," "Slaughterhouse Five," and "Breakfast of Champions" have brought him fame which he himself was quite skeptical about.
By the way, Vonnegut also laughed at death. He thought it was utter nonsense and that in reality there was no death, nor life. What is there then?
The laughter of the Lord, who created the world to laugh at it.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
