Kurt Vonnegut

I read and enjoyed Slaughterhouse Five, which seemed like a solid critique of war. Cat's Cradle, on the other hand, I did not; it was too general in its absurdist take, and felt something like Alice's Wonderland. Or am I missing something?

I'm debating what other, if any, Vonnegut novels I should pursue, given this split decision. Which one(s) have a more solid message to them like the first instance?

I've only read one, but I quite liked it -The Sirens of Titan and was surprised at how much Douglas Adams stole from it.

Timequake is hilarious. Features Kilgore Trout. I don’t recall if reading other Vonnegut books adds to comprehension as it’s been a while since I read any of his works. All with fondness.

>1 Cecrow: Try Mother Night.

>4 amanda4242: I second Mother Night. If you like that one, my next rec would be Bluebeard. But Mother Night is closest to Slaughterhouse in that it is about something truly tragic, which I guess only Vonnegut manages to make hilarious as well.

>2 Bookmarque:, I watched a Youtube video, and it mentioned three books while explaining Vonnegut's approach to fiction, the two that I've read and The Sirens of Titan. So I was thinking it probably ought to be next.

>4 amanda4242:, I hadn't looked at that one at all, Mother Night sounds like it has a great premise.

>6 Cecrow: It's my favorite of his novels. There's also a pretty good movie based on it.

I concur on Mother Night!

I liked Bluebeard a lot, but I see it is quite hit or miss with readers. If find it funny (I did) and like books about crotchety artistic types (I do) it could be a hit for you.

I personally really liked both Player Piano, his debut, and Goodbye Mister Rosewater. The latter is quite political -- I found in a poignant way, but naturally any reader's mileage may vary.

Finally, I did not care for Slapstick at all and suggest you avoid it if you found Cat's Cradle too absurdist.

My poor memory! The correct title is, God Bless You, Mister Rosewater