Like others here, there is something magical about Vonnegut. I think jmduke summarized it very welll. > it's the conflict between his relentless hope for the

Like others here, there is something magical about Vonnegut. I think jmduke summarized it very welll. > it's the conflict between his relentless hope for the universe and the brutal cynicism he developed during his time spent in it. As for the war being a formidable cause for this worldview, I guess so. I was very close to my grandfather, a grizzly WWII veteran, for largely how it impacted him this way (I still walk around repeating the eerie phrase he would repeat during war stories: "They taught us to kill, but never how to turn it off," and how he resented it all). Vonnegut and much later Joseph Heller, I could never put down. My grandfather passed years prior, but I could find his vicious cynicism despair and unwavering humor in their writings I assume time in the army helped solidify. I was abroad when Vonnegut died. I was studying in the Middle East, and the library at the universiy had a table with a bunch of Vonnegut books one day. I was so happy and I commented to friends how wonderful it was. Then they told me he died last night. I screamed loudly in the library, scaring many people. I went outside and smoked a cigarette, and was in funk the next few days. Like someone else commenting, I slowly stopped reading so I do not run out of his work. In tribute, speaking of shameless hacks, I would watch Comedy Central re-runs of Dangerfield's Back to School just to see Vonnegut's cameo and here the comedian scream: "D [on a paper you wrote, Kurt, for my English class], SCREW YOU VONNEGUT!" The idea of someone so influential taking himself so lightly has always been an influence for my "I will make inappropriate comical comments at everything, consequences be damned approach" I cannot even help it anymore.