Friday Memes and Vonnegut's 'Bluebeard'
I am incredibly busy with Armchair BEA at the moment but I didn't want to miss out on the Friday fun! These Friday memes are my favourite ones so here I am, doing my thing! However, I will only be doing two memes today!This week I'll be using Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut. Once I finished all my coursework I got bored within three hours so I decided I was finally going to try and read all the books on my 100 Classics list! And Bluebeard is one of those.
Broad humor and bitter irony collide in this fictional autobiography of Rabo Karabekian, who, at age seventy-one, wants to be left alone on his Long Island estate with the secret he has locked inside his potato barn. But then a voluptuous young widow badgers Rabo into telling his life story—and Vonnegut in turn tells us the plain, heart-hammering truth about man’s careless fancy to create or destroy what he loves.Book Beginnings and Friday 56 are hosted by Gilion at Rose City Reader and Freda at Freda's Voice respectively.
BB:'Having written "The End" to this story of my life, I find it prudent to scamper back here to before the beginning, to my front door, so to speak, and to make this apology to arriving guests: "I promised you an autobiography, but something went wrong in the kitchen. It turns out to be a diary of this past troubled summer, too! We can always send out for pizzas if necessary. Come in, come in." p.1I love Vonnegut's style, it's hilarious. And any author that is open to ordering pizza for dinner is a winner with me! Also, Vonnegut is very clever in how he addresses the reader and I simply can't wait to get cracking!
F56:
'I remember the afternoon I came home from school when I was about fifteen or so, and Father was sitting at the oilcloth-covered table in our little kitchen, with Marilee's letters in a stack before him. He had reread them all.' p.56I am really curious to see how this situation has come about! Who is Marilee, why is she writing letters and to whom? To the 'I' or to the father? This is also the beginning of a chapter, so is this a new situation or is this something already explained? I'm curious!!
So, does Bluebeard sound like something you'd enjoy? And what are you reading at the moment?
I've never read Bluebeard but is sounds really interesting. I might have to give it a try. I like the beginning. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Amanda
So far it is very interesting, but Vonnegut is always good! Thanks for commenting :)
DeleteHi Juli,
ReplyDeleteI keep promising myself that I should read more of the classics, but somehow it just never seems to happen!
I haven't come across Vonnegut's name before and I'm not really sure if I would enjoy 'Bluebeard' or not, although classical writing demands much closer scrutiny than mere enjoyment, don't you think?
I really like the opening paragraph, especially the first half, where he describes himself scampering back to his front door :)
I hope that you enjoy the book and you'll have to keep us updated as you progress through your 100 must reads.
Have a good weekend :)
Yvonne
Vonnegut is quite an a-typical classic author since his style is both hilarious and then surprisingly honest. You would have a lot of fun reading his books! I will do my best to get through my 100 reads in decent time! Thanks for commenting :)
DeleteI should read more classics, and this really makes me want to read Bluebird. Good choice!
ReplyDeleteHere's My Post
Classics can be enormous fun but can also be very difficult to get through! Thanks for commenting :)
DeleteI am intrigued by both excerpts...and this is one I've never heard of from Vonnegut, so thanks! And thanks for visiting my blog.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard about it either before I started looking for 100 classics! Definitely give it a try! Thanks for commenting :)
DeleteHi, Juli - I like how you're combining memes for one book. I'll have to check out 'Friday 56'; sounds interesting.
ReplyDelete@dino0726 from
FictionZeal - Impartial, Straighforward Fiction Book Reviews
Definitely check F56 out! A lot of the same people take part in it and it's fun to be able to share a bit more of your current read! Thanks for commenting :)
DeleteI've never read Vonnegut but I know I should.
ReplyDeleteHappy weekend!
Vonnegut is a really fun author so that is a definite bonus to giving him a try! Thanks for commenting :)
DeleteVery nice! I've never read any Vonnegut and feel that I really should be paying more attention to the classics. I'm intrigued with your excerpts although that cover seems quite odd to me!
ReplyDeleteHope your ABEA is going well! Did the chat turn out ok?
The cover is definitely an odd one, but that describes Vonnegut quite well! ABEA was really stressful but the chat was really fun! Thanks for commenting :)
DeleteI've not read this author and now I'm wondering what I'm waiting for. Lovely writing and what's with the potato barn? LOL
ReplyDeleteMy 56 - http://fuonlyknew.com/2015/05/29/the-friday-56-63-dark-places-by-gillian-flynn/
Vonnegut is a lot of fun and sometimes he definitely makes you go 'What?!' a lot of the times! Thanks for commenting :)
Deletegreat snippets you have there Juli. this is the first time i heard about Bluebeard. i'm familiar with Vonnegut's other works but not this. must include this in my TBR then. thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about this book either for ages, it's not one of his more famous ones so I'm looking forward to it! Thanks for commenting :)
DeleteNot heard of this one, so I hope you enjoyed it. :)
ReplyDeleteSo far I definitely am! Thanks for commenting :)
DeleteOhh great pick I've been really curious to read Kurt Vonnegut book because I heard nothing but great things about his book so I've been inching to try out his book and now I am most definitely going to try out his book they look and sound right up my alley! Thanks for stopping by my blog! :)
ReplyDeleteThey are a lot of fun and always give you the unexpected! Thanks for commenting :)
DeleteI haven't heard of this book. It does sound interesting though. I hope you've enjoyed it.
ReplyDelete