Things You Should Know About, Volume 6: Bluebeard

Here's the Deal:

Kurt Vonnegut had it going on. With Cat's Cradle, Sirens of Titan, Breakfast of Champions and Slaughterhouse Five, he, along with a few others, redefined what science fiction could be, catapulting it from its usual status as "penny dreadful" fodder and into a literate and compassionate realm. His novels were crisp and acerbic, funny and cautious, and more often than not, foreboding. He kept this tendency towards Gallows Humor well into his later years of writing, which, unfortunately, tended to only produce works of a "ho hum" malaise, lacking much of the power of his early pieces.

Bluebeard is an exception.

The novel is one of Vonnegut's most human works, focusing upon more personal subject matter than his more sensational books. Essentially, it is about art; both the role and responsibilities of the creator and the goals and purpose of the finished product. With the protagonist, Rabo Karabekian, Vonnegut at long last developed a character that was less than a cartoon. That is not to say that I don't love his more absurdist fare--just that I merely respect that Vonnegut could delve deep and deliver something a little bit different at that late stage of his career (1988, nearly forty years after his first novel).

In many ways, this is his swan song. He wrote two more novels following this, as well as some essays, but this book can be held up with his well-known works any day of the week, while those others, for the most part, cannot.

He's left us now. Yet another hero of mine returned to the murky twilight of the unknown. But his work will live on, inspiring and challenging generations far into the future. That may sound cliche, but after reading this book, you'll realize just how important making your mark can be.

But seriously, so it goes.

Check This Shit Out.