Kurt Vonnegut leaves for Tralfamadore

The celebrated writer Kurt Vonnegut, author of such influential classics as Slaughterhouse-Five, Breakfast of Champion and Cat's Cradle, died yesterday at the age of 84, following head injuries he suffered during an accidental fall last week. So it goes.

It's not often that the death of someone I don't personally know affects me emotionally, but for some reason the news of Vonnegut's passing really saddens me. It was only recently that I discovered this unique writer, who often blended science-fiction and satire to paint a sometimes bleak but always profoundly human portrait of our world. I also saw him on The Daily Show last year, and found him very endearing. He seemed like the kind of man you would just like to meet and have coffee with (along with some of his trademark Pall Malls). I remember his criticism of George Bush to be both scathing and funny.

Perhaps the reason this affects me so is that I actually read both Slaughterhouse-Five and Hocus Pocus this year, in the course of writing my own book. While I was somewhat surprised by their occasional levity, I was deeply touched by both of them. In fact, I had put a few not-so-subtle references to the man and his work in my novel (I'll refrain from revealing them here so as not to spoil the surprise). I guess I somehow entertained the unlikely notion that he would at some point read the book and get a kick off of these. This will of course never happen now, but I will leave them in as my personal homage to his genius.

It's a cliche to state that an author goes on living after his death through his books, but like many cliches it has a ring of truth to it. I will pick up another one of his books tonight, maybe Cat's Cradle as it's been recommended to me by a couple of people. If you have not yet had the opportunity to read his books, I wholeheartedly encourage you to do so. You will not regret it.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Vonnegut. You have done well.

Kurt Vonnegut in 1991. No copyright information.