Editions

Kurt Vonnegut: Letters

  • Imprint: Vintage Classics

  • ISBN: 9780099582946

  • Length: 464  Pages

  • Dimensions: 198mm x 30mm x 129mm

  • Weight: 343g

  • RRP: £14.99

Kurt Vonnegut: Letters

This collection of Vonnegut’s letters is the autobiography he never wrote – from the letter he posted home upon being freed from a German POW camp, to notes of advice to his children: ‘Don’t let anybody tell you that smoking and boozing are bad for you. Here I am fifty-five years old, and I never felt better in my life’. Peppered with insights, one-liners and missives to the likes of Norman Mailer, Gunter Grass and Bernard Malamud, Vonnegut is funny, wise and modest. As he himself said: ‘I am an American fad—of a slightly higher order than the hula hoop’.

Like Vonnegut’s books, his letters make you think, they make you outraged and they make you laugh. Written over a sixty-year period, and never published before, these letters are alive with the unique point of view that made Vonnegut one of the most original writers in American fiction.

  • Imprint: Vintage Classics

  • ISBN: 9780099582946

  • Length: 464  Pages

  • Dimensions: 198mm x 30mm x 129mm

  • Weight: 343g

  • RRP: £14.99

Reviews

  • "The collected letters of Kurt Vonnegut include some remarkable examples of epistolary eloquence… it is the tender letters to his youngest daughter, Nanette, that are the jewel of this collection"

    Jane Shilling, Sunday Telegraph Seven

  • "One closes this volume...full of gratitude for Dan Wakefield...the editor of this labour of love that gives us one more reason to love Kurt Vonnegut"

    John Sutherland, The Times

  • "This collection is perhaps the best insight into the everyday needles of a prolific author you could hope to read"

    Ed Caesar, Sunday Times

  • "Splendidly assembled and edited by Dan Wakefield . . . [Vonnegut’s] familiar, funny, cranky, acute voice . . . is chronicling his life in real time."

    New York Times Book Review

  • "Droll and self-deprecating letters offer intriguing insights into Vonnegut’s life"

    Sunday Times

More from this Author

View all View all
View all View all

About the Author

Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis in 1922 and studied biochemistry at Cornell University. An army intelligence scout during the Second World War, he was captured by the Germans and witnessed the destruction of Dresden by Allied bombers, an experience which inspired his classic novel Slaughterhouse-Five. After the war he worked as a police reporter, an advertising copywriter and a public relations man for General Electric. His first novel Player Piano (1952) achieved underground success. Cat's Cradle (1963) was hailed by Graham Greene as 'one of the best novels of the year by one of the ablest living authors'. His eighth book, Slaughterhouse-Five was published in 1969 and was a literary and commercial success, and was made into a film in 1972. Vonnegut is the author of thirteen other novels, three collections of stories and five non-fiction books. Kurt Vonnegut died in 2007.

Kurt Vonnegut

Related articles

/content/dam/prh/articles/adults/2019/december/VC_diaries_article_promo_safe_area.jpg

Recommendations

VINTAGE letters and diaries to inspire you

You already know that your favourite authors know how to wield a pen when it comes to writing fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, but have you ever read any of their personal writing? We’ve compiled a list of outstanding diarists and correspondents to inspire you to pick up a pen this year.
/content/dam/prh/articles/adults/2019/february/vintage-article-promo-safe-area-VONNEGUT.jpg

Recommendations

Where to start reading Kurt Vonnegut’s books

Kurt Vonnegut was one of America’s greatest literary satirists and a counterculture icon. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of his renowned anti-war novel Slaughterhouse-Five, we’ve put together a reading guide to help you choose which Vonnegut book to read next – or first.
/content/dam/prh/articles/adults/2018/december/article-promo-vonnegut.jpg

Features

11 of the best Kurt Vonnegut quotes

Kurt Vonnegut wrote over 25 books in his career, from Slaughterhouse 5 to Breakfast of Champions. Within their pages are some of the wisest words on love, life, war, kindness and aliens. VINTAGE editor Frances Macmillan picks her favourite Vonnegut quotes.

Our Use of Cookies

We use cookies on this site to enable certain parts of the site to function and to collect information about your use of the site so that we can improve our visitors’ experience.

For more on our cookies and changing your settings click here

Strictly Necessary

Strictly Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions. See More.

Analytics

Analytics cookies help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on how you use it. These cookies may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages. See More.

Preferences & Features

Preference and Feature cookies allow our website to remember choices you make, such as your language preferences and any customisations you make to pages on our website during your visit. See More.

Targeting / Advertising

Targeting cookies are used to make advertising messages more relevant to you and your interests. They perform functions like preventing the same content from reappearing, ensuring ads are displayed and, in some cases, selecting content based on your interests. See More.