Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut is a legend within the science fiction genre, an honorary president of the American Humanist Association he managed to create a unique blend of satire, deadpan humour and science fiction.
He is probably best known for his landmark novels Cat's Cradle (which earned him his Master's Degree and is part of Gollancz SF Masterworks), "Slaughterhouse 5" (a semi-autobiography novel that uses time travel as a plot device) and "Breakfast of Champions".
In his short story collection "Palm Sunday", he even gives a grade rating to each of his own novels which also doubles as an affective reading order for those wishing to start learning more about his works. It must be noted however that as this list was published in 1981, those novels published after this date remain sadly ungraded.
I've included the grades below, sorted by grade given.
Cat?s Cradle - A+
Slaughterhouse-Five - A+
Jailbird - A
God Bless You, Mr Rosewater - A
Mother Night - A
Player Piano - B
Welcome to the Monkey House - B-
Breakfast of Champions - C
Palm Sunday - C
Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons - C
Happy Birthday, Wanda June - D
Slapstick - D
Bibliography
- Player Piano (1954)
- The Sirens of Titan (1959)
- Mother Night (1962)
- Cat's Cradle (1963)
- God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965)
- Slaughterhouse Five (1969)
- Breakfast of Champions (1973)
- Slapstick (1976)
- Jailbird (1979)
- Deadeye Dick (1982)
- Gal?pagos: A Novel (1985)
- Bluebeard (1987)
- Hocus Pocus (1990)
- Timequake (1997)
- Canary in a Cathouse (1961)
- Welcome to the Monkey House (1968)
- Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons (1974)
- Palm Sunday (1981)
- Nothing Is Lost Save Honor (1984)
- Fates Worse Than Death (1991)
- Bagombo Snuff Box (1999)
- God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian (1999)
- A Man Without a Country (2005)
- Armageddon in Retrospect and Other New and Unpublished Writings on War and Peace (2008)
- Look at the Birdie (2009)
- While Mortals Sleep (2011)