have you read any of his books?

I read three or four of them when I was in my early twenties, back in the seventies. You were sort of expected to read them if you wanted to be considered hip. I found them rather dull and pretentious. Today they are badly dated products of their time.

I’ve read Slaughterhouse-Five and Galapagos - both of which I loved - and, just last week in fact, Breakfast of Champions, which I liked but with major reservations. Definitely an important and singular writer, but certainly not for everyone.

Yes, I've read quite a few of them and appreciate his creativity. It's definitely not for everyone, though. You kind of have to be in the mood or his stuff might seem a little odd.

I've been re-reading them lately, and they not only hold up beyond any nostalgia factor, so much of what he has to say seems all the more timely. The novels are still wonderful, but I'm especially enjoying the non-fiction collections of articles, essays, reviews & talks. I don't find him dated in the least. An essential American writer!

He was very much a writer of his time. An early practitioner of the game of poking holes in the established order of things.

Two: Slaughthouse-Five and Timequake. I plan to read more. He's very good, very funny, insightful, and is a unique voice.

Yep. One of my favorite authors. He was once asked why his characters were 2 dimensional. He responded, " the world is filled with 3 dimensional characters. I didn't feel like we needed more."

Classic response from a genuinely funny guy.