Where to begin? Kurt Vonnegut

[Ben_Robson]

Hello there!

I want to read Kurt Vonnegut...
Where do I start? What would be a good introduction to his novels?

[KirkB]

I would suggest to start with Breakfast of Champions

[Harishpi]

I have read only Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut and loved the book. It is easy to read and the climax is just spectacular. I would recommend it anytime.

[c_brvo]

A good quick introduction is "The Big Trip Up Yonder" or "Harrison Bergeron". From there you can either go with something more realistic like Mother Night or Blue Beard, or you can go with something much more science fiction like The Sirens of Titan or Cat's Cradle. Everything he writes is great, but I'd start with one of these four.

[jksteve]

I think you should start with Missing in action or Player piano. Both are the best books of Kurt Vonnegut.

[Dietzel]

'Man With A Country' might be a good place to start because it gives you a taste of who Vonnegut was and what his sense of humor was like. If you like short stories, 'While Mortals Sleep' is excellent. 'Cat's Cradle' and 'Slaughterhouse-Five' are Vonnegut at his best. The only book I wouldn't recommend is 'Breakfast of Champions', which was hugely disappointing for me. None of Vonnegut's satire or comedy worked for me the way it had in all of his other books.

[Happily Candied]

I absolutely loved Slaughterhouse-Five and would highly recommend adding it to your list. It was my first Vonnegut book and I'm glad it was; it gave me a true taste of what his capabilities were as a writer.

I haven't read enough of his pieces to suggest it being everyone's first read from him, but I'd still suggest picking it up whenever you get the chance.

Edit: I'm just now seeing that the OP was from 2011. My suggestion still stands for anyone interested in reading Vonnegut though!

[lady_charlie]

I absolutely loved Slaughterhouse-Five and would highly recommend adding it to your list. It was my first Vonnegut book and I'm glad it was; it gave me a true taste of what his capabilities were as a writer.

I haven't read enough of his pieces to suggest it being everyone's first read from him, but I'd still suggest picking it up whenever you get the chance.

Edit: I'm just now seeing that the OP was from 2011. My suggestion still stands for anyone interested in reading Vonnegut though!

I was younger when I read this and had never even heard of the fire bombing of Dresden in school, so those parts stayed with me for a long time. I think I should take another look at these books.
Do you have another one you like?

[Happily Candied]

I absolutely loved Slaughterhouse-Five and would highly recommend adding it to your list. It was my first Vonnegut book and I'm glad it was; it gave me a true taste of what his capabilities were as a writer.

I haven't read enough of his pieces to suggest it being everyone's first read from him, but I'd still suggest picking it up whenever you get the chance.

Edit: I'm just now seeing that the OP was from 2011. My suggestion still stands for anyone interested in reading Vonnegut though!

I was younger when I read this and had never even heard of the fire bombing of Dresden in school, so those parts stayed with me for a long time. I think I should take another look at these books.
Do you have another one you like?

I also read it when I was younger and hadn't known a lot about Dresden at the time. Even so, I found it extremely heavy with meaning.

Unfortunately, my experience with Vonnegut's books stops there. I was in the midst of college when I read Slaughterhouse and just didn't have the time to add more of his work to my list. I'd like to add more to my list now though-- this thread was a nice place to get some recommendations.

[lady_charlie]

Hey we should pick one to read so we can discuss it with people here.
You can pick and I will get it
I can't promise to read it very fast but this summer and we will start a discussion of it

or any other book

oddly enough this is the first time it has come to me that a group of people on here could pick their own book to read

I think this could work

[Justinne]

"Player Piano", "Cat's Cradle" or "Slaughterhouse-Five".

[saturday+deviant]

A good quick introduction is "The Big Trip Up Yonder" or "Harrison Bergeron". From there you can either go with something more realistic like Mother Night or Blue Beard, or you can go with something much more science fiction like The Sirens of Titan or Cat's Cradle. Everything he writes is great, but I'd start with one of these four.

I'm student teaching in an urban high school and I observed a sophomore class that was beginning to read "Harrison Bergeron". They loved it! A story that can get sullen teenagers to pay attention in class is an amazing find. I myself read Cat's Cradle and I found it easy to read as well.

[LeeMa]

I absolutely loved Slaughterhouse-Five and would highly recommend adding it to your list. It was my first Vonnegut book and I'm glad it was; it gave me a true taste of what his capabilities were as a writer.

I haven't read enough of his pieces to suggest it being everyone's first read from him, but I'd still suggest picking it up whenever you get the chance.

Edit: I'm just now seeing that the OP was from 2011. My suggestion still stands for anyone interested in reading Vonnegut though!

Agreed: Slaughterhouse Five is one of my favorite books of all times. I think it was his best. A truly "genreless" book.

[gipps]

I second the call of Bluebeard, which is my favorite of Vonnegut's. It just makes such a great statement, and remains a bit more coherent throughout than some of his works like Breakfast of Champions or even Slaughterhouse Five. Mother Night is also very good, and would be a good choice, too.

[Jenn+books]

Slaughterhouse-Five is, I think, probably his best. No one has mentioned Galapagos, though. What a crazy vision. The narrator of the book is someone who has died and traveled back in time (1 million years, I think) to the 1980's, to see the point in history where mankind ceased to be a land mammal and began to move into the oceans. Intrigued? It's a unique book--I wish I had a tenth of Vonnegut's creativity.