Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., was a thought-provoking novelist who wrote satirical, black comedy and science fiction settings. He is also famous for Cat's Cradle and Breakfast of Champions
Brief Biography of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Born in Indianapolis on November 11, 1922, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was the son of an architect. Before going to Cornell University, where he studied chemistry, he wrote for his secondary school newspaper. The United States entered World War II when Vonnegut was 20 years old. He joined the army and was sent to Europe.
Within a few days at the front line, he was captured by the Germans and sent to work in a factory at Dresden, a German city. In 1945 the city was destroyed by Allied bombers, and Vonnegut was one of the fortunate people who survived. After returning from the war, Vonnegut continued his studies at the University of Chicago, then worked as a public relations office for a news agency and for a large multinational company.
Science Fiction Novelist
His fist novel, Player Piano, was published when he was 30. Science-fiction, it is set in a future where scientists and corporate engineers have attempted to automate practically anything. His second novel, Cat's Cradle, is about a scientist working on the atomic bomb who absent-mindedly creates a chemical that turns water into ice. The result brings about the end of the world.
Slaughterhouse-Five
Vonnegut was a great admirer of Mark Twain and a good friend of fellow science fiction writer, Isaac Asimov. His best-known book, Slaughterhouse-Five, is based on his wartime experiences. The story is about an American prisoner in Dresden, Germany who survives the bombing and through time, is transported by a race of super-intelligent beings from a distant planet who eventually put him in a zoo. He died at the age of 85, April 11, 2007.
Vonnegut's Books
- Player Piano, 1952
- The Sirens of Titan, 1959
- Mother Night, 1961
- Cat's Cradle, 1963
- God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, 1965
- Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968
- Slaughterhouse-Five, 1969
- Breakfast of Champions, (Goodbye Blue Monday), 1973
- Slapstick (or Lonesome No More), 1976
- Jailbird, 1979
- Deadeye Dick, 1982
- Galapagos, 1985
- Bluebeard, 1987
- Hocus Pocus, 1990
- Timequake, 1997
Vonnegut's Short Stories and Essays
- Canary in a Cathouse, 1961
- Welcome to the Monkey House: A collection of Short Works, 1968
- Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons, 1974
- Palm Sunday, 1981
- Fates Worse than Death, 1991
- God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian, 1999
- A Man without a Country, 2005
- Armageddon in Retrospect, 2008 (posthumous)
Sources:
Chambers Biographical Dictionary, edited by Una McGovern, Edinburgh, Chambers Harrap, 2002
Larousse Dictionary of Writers, edited by Rosemary Goring, Larousse, 1994
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