Customer Reviews

Fates Worse Than Death

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Here in this book we get Vonnegut's cynical but honest commentary on everything from talk show hosts to his own experiences with suicidal depression. Some of the chapter's are extremely pessimistic in their outlook, but hit home so well that they can leave you feeling quite down about the human race and it's apparent race headlong towards suicide. However, Kurt's dark sense of humor is here as always and even more prevalent than usual. You'll be laughing out loud at things that are really anything but funny. But that is the genius of Vonnegut, he can have you laughing and wryly amused while reading, but after done, his greater impressions stick in your head and leave you provoking thought. He is truly a gifted writer. Although not as fast-paced as his fiction, this book is a fine and interesting read. Most notable to many readers, surely, will be his perceptions and thoughts on his experiences in World War II and the effect it has since had on him. His religious observations are interestings as well, and funny, to wit: "In order not to appear a spiritual quadripelgic to those trying to get a hold on me, I sometimes say that I am a Unitarian Universalits (I breathe.)" This is certainly a must-read for any Vonnegut fan, but you will want to have devoured a significant amount of his fiction and know a little bit about the man before tackling it.

To borrow a verb from Hawthorne, I was "purposed" here. Having eaten the garbage of the day's media reports, I picked up this book for the "cleansing" redux. Some bittersweet sorbet it was- here are some of the things that made me laugh.
Charleton Heston played Jesus with shaved armpits.
To describe our nation, he quotes Amos an' Andy, "De mess we's in"
Re: Thomas Jefferson's owning slaves- "It was as though he had an infected growth on the tip of his nose the size of a walnut and everyone thought that was OK."
When KV's father was dying he apologized for calling him 'Bozo.' Then about five minutes later he called him Bozo again.

Here are things that made my heart stop:
The average age of an American to die in Vietnam was 20. (My own son had just joined- against my wishes- the military, at 20.)
If Western Civilization were a person, we would be directing him to War Preparers Anonymous.

...

That's the kind of stuff you'll read in essays that are distressing and comforting and hilarious- if you know Vonnegut, you know what I'm saying. Personally, I like a bit more fiction, but as I said, I was purposed here, and I think you may be too.

These essays give us a rare look in to the mind of a genius. He expounds on subjects ranging from mental illness, family relationships, death and war. Sounds depressing, but an optimism shows through. Vonnegut masterfully points out the adsurdity around us and shines the light of sanity on it. The essays are as relevant and mind opening today as they were when he wrote them over a decade ago. Although this is not the Veonnegut work I would recommend to someone unfamiliar with his work, anyone will benefit from reading it.

This is a great book for anyone who likes Kurt Vonnegut. If you enjoyed Slaughterhouse Five, you will enjoy hearing him recount stories about his experience in WWII, and also others. The thing that I love about Kurt Vonnegut is his ability to make you laugh on the surface, but hours after you have read his work, you think about the more serious issues raised. There are some parts of this book that are somewhat slow, but if you stay the course you will enjoy this one.

I prefer non-fiction works and this one from Vonnegut is very entertaining and presents his views of society and the world. His social commentary is very funny and I highly recommend it. The absolute worst part of this book is that it ends.

I read "fate worse than death" during wait for outcome of my husband's heart surgery in Indianapolis hospital. Husband was 42 years old, kids were 11, 9, and 4--failed heart valve, very unexpected. Fate Worse than Death talked about literature as western meditation, versus eastern "uhmmn." Literature as suspension of belief, relief from everyday care. Worked for me. I read, calm as could be--essays from Vonnegut's life. When I finished the book, I started pacing and worrying. Started over to stay calm. Thanks to Kurt for compelling prose to last thru hours valve replacement!.Conclusion--this man is a hoosier. You may move to New York, but you are always home. Thanks--you pulled a thorn from my paw. I owe you. Jen

Vonnegut's take on the 1980's applies tenfold to the 21st century.

He was very angry. Upset over greed and injustice.

So much so he tried at one time to kill himself, as he relates in this most candid retrospective of the decade where greed became acceptable and even virtuous in Reagan's America. (As Vonnegut reveals, both he and Reagan were at times PR men for General Electric. Vonnegut quit shilling for corporations, Reagan continued from his seat in the Oval Office.)

This is Vonnegut at his angriest and most straightforward. He does not mince words as he lambastes Reagan, Bush, and their hyperprivileged ilk. (Later, in 2006 he famously said, "The only difference between [G.W.] Bush and Hitler is Hitler was elected." Zing!)

But these fits of justified pique are tempered with rapturous meditations on love, friendship, empathy, and the secular sanctity of life and art.

When Vonnegut died he was working on a novel titled If God Were Alive Today. If Vonnegut were alive today I wonder what he would say. (The lead actors have changed but the play remains the same.)

Who will take his place as a voice of sanity, compassion, and outrage in American letters? I suspect someone or ones are out there but can't find a platform to reach a critical mass despite the illusory promises of the internet.

I suppose Vonnegut never reached a critical mass, either. Or did he? One of the highlights of this book is the reprint of a speech given to the graduating class of U. of Rhode Island in 1990, where he posits that American liberty may have been *conceived* in 1776 but it has yet to be born--and needs people like you and me to be its midwives.

The more people who read this book, the better. Perhaps it's not too late.

I read Kurt Vonnegut--not for his stories (though fun and interesting and. . .) but to see how he thinks. For me, the three books of collected (mostly) non-fiction: "Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons", "Palm Sunday", and this are his cream. God Bless you, Kurt Vonnegut; thanks for your gadget!

More than a great writer, Kurt Vonnegut must have been an amazing person. From his novels, you get the feeling that he was smart and funny, from his non-fiction you realize that he really was smart and funny. His autobiographical collage "Fates worse than death" readers can experience the man behind the fictionist.

In his essays, speeches, lectures and even a Requiem, Vonnegut displays the same charm and sagacity that made his work noteworthy with novels such as "Slaughterhouse Five Or The Children's Crusade" and "Breakfast Of Champions". "Fates worse than death" collects texts from many sources linked by a comment provided by the author.

It is a chance for Vonnegut revisit his war experience, his institution experience, his fatherhood experiences... and many other. The point is: he tells everything - even the saddest ones - with such a touch of humor and melancholy that it becomes one of his best books.

As a huge fan of Kurt Vonnegut, I enjoyed the insight that Fates Worse Than Death provided. This book gave me a better sense of Kurt Vonnegut the man, not just the writer and gave me a better appreciation of his other novels.