Back in the 60s,
everyone read Kurt Vonnegut – for his humor, his satire, his snarky comments,
and his off-beat and quirky style. I
tried Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse 5. I rated both “Meh!” Recently I came across some of his later
works, and I went back and re-read the two early novels. While I didn’t really enjoy, the novels, I
was curious about them. Then, along
comes a new biography of Vonnegut, And So
It Goes, by Charles J. Shields. Now
I have a much better understanding of Vonnegut and a greater appreciation for
his work.
Shields authored Mockingbird, a best-selling biography of
Harper Lee. A former teacher, Shields
has served as a reporter for NPR, a journalist, and the author of several
non-fiction books for children. His
biography of Vonnegut, is detailed, well-documented, and illustrated with
several photos of important people and moments in the life of the quirky
author.
Kurt Vonnegut had a
difficult life. He constantly found
himself in the shadow of his older brother, Bernard, who informed the young
Kurt he was “an accident.” He also had a
difficult relationship with his father.
Added to that was a rocky marriage complicated by the arrival several
nieces and nephews orphaned by a train wreck (their father) and the death of
Alice (their mother) of cancer a few days later.
At a party, Kurt sat
down to play the piano. Two women joined
him, and the bench collapsed. Shield’s
writes, “Beneath the hilarity, though, several women got the impression that
[Kurt’s wife] Jane, pregnant, already had two children on her hands: three-year-old
Mark and her husband. ‘Being Mrs.
Vonnegut,” said one of her friends, ‘was not a nine-to-five-job because he was
not inclined to do things for himself.’
When attention strayed from Kurt, she tried to direct it back to
him. He didn’t deem like the typical
father, either, at least to another dad at the party – rather distant, in
fact. When Mark [Kurt’s son] rode his
tricycle into the room, Kurt said quietly, ‘Mark, that’s gauche,’ and let it go
at that. Nevertheless, Jane whisked
around the party, floating on happiness. // Two months later, on December 29,
their second child Edith was born.”
(110).
Vonnegut also had a
peculiar relationship with his wife.
Kurt wanted to move to Cape Cod where he could befriend other writers,
and have the peace and solitude he needed to write. Shields explains, “From now on, they would
live for the arts. They would read the
best and latest books, discuss them, make notes to each other in the margins,
and give full rein to Kurt’s career in a location that couldn’t be more
salubrious for creativity. They must do
it – to be true to themselves. And for
Kurt it was the vicarious realization of his mother’s dream to live and write
on Cape Cod’ (118). Vonnegut also
agonized over the suicide of his mother.
This tragedy, together with his knotty relationships and his World War
II experiences as a P.O.W. in Dresden during the horrific firebombing by
British and American air forces, shaped his personality and informed his style.
Kurt Vonnegut is an
important figure in post-war fiction.
Charles J. Shields’ biography, And
So It Goes, Kurt Vonnegut: A Life sheds a brilliant light on this quirky writer.
It also led me to a better understanding
of his fiction. 5 stars.
--Chiron, 6/2/15
