God Bless You Dr. Kevorkian

God Bless You Dr. Kevorkian

In this short concept novel, Kurt Vonnegut writes from a medical center in Huntsville texas. Where he hires Dr. Jack Kevorkian, A very famous Dr. specializing in supervised deaths, to perform controlled lethal injection experiments on the author. He does so in order to travel into the afterlife to experience and document what it is like when someone dies.  After a near death experience, Vonnegut gets the idea that maybe he could take vacation trips to the Pearly Gates. But the main reason Vonnegut choses to kill himself over and over again is so he can interview those who have passed away. Some of his interviewees include Saint Peter, who oversees the entrance to heaven, Adolf Hitler, Sir Issac Newton, James Earl Ray, Admitted killer of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and an extremely unpleasant discussion with William Shakespeare. If your asking yourself how is it that Adolf Hitler made the cut into heaven, according to Saint Peter, there is no Hell. There is only an afterlife. We also learn that you can be whatever age you want to be in the afterlife.

I find this concept very interesting. Imagine having the opportunity to walk down what Vonnegut describes as the “Blue Tunnel” and talk to anybody who has ever graced the earth. think of the things you could learn, the people you would meet. It is a thing that literally everybody that has ever lived has thought about. What happens after we die? And the beautiful thing is that nobody knows. Nobody will ever know. until we die, only then will we see what there is after this thing called life. 

All in all, this book has a really thought provoking theme. The interviews are very interesting, and Vonnegut’s writing ties the book together beautifully. He brilliantly blends death with comedy, and in turn has attracted me to his style. I have already found myself owning two others of his books. I give this book 4 Big Wangs out of 5.

S: Kurt Vonnegut

O: To Interview past lives.

A: Those interested in the afterlife.

P: To gain Knowledge about what happens after we die.

S: The Dead

Tone: Kurt Vonnegut seems to be excited and curious throughout the book.

IV

IV

It is not very often the a young man such as myself finds a writer that he can connect to. You see, I have never been much of a reader. It was always hard for me to have interest in a book. They never really grabbed me. During the first quarter of this year, my good friend and the girl next door Annie Elizabeth Aries informed me that she was currently reading a book that the brilliant and dashing Mr. Potts turned her onto. It was called The Visible Man by Chuck Klosterman. (see below for report) She talked this book up so much to me that I decided to read it for second quarter. I enjoyed the writing style so much that I looked for other books by this Author. Turns out, Klosterman has quite the track record. The book I landed on for this quarter Is called IV A Decade Of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas.

This novel is unlike most books I've ever read. It consists of three sections. Things that are true, Things that Might Be True, and Something that isn't true At All. The first section consists of interviews and profiles of everything ranging from athletes to actors to musicians. I really enjoy the way he constructs his interviews. He is able to provide multiple perspectives. He successfully befriends his subjects while simultaneously being able to ask critiquing questions. These pages are also loaded with footnotes and secondary thoughts Klosterman had after the fact. The second section is made up of opinion articles. These essays also have footnotes based on his present thought process. The cool part about this section, is that the stories are preceded with hypothetical questions. These questions are used to open your eyes to the section you are about to read. One of the Questions I found interesting was one in which Mr. Klosterman asked his readers to envision themselves away on business, and receiving news that the plane your spouse was on went down in the middle of the ocean. After a month of mourning, you see a national headline that there were survivors found from your spouses plane. After investigation, you find that your wife lived through the crash and survived on a nearby island with one other person. In the press conference you notice this person is very attractive, you also learn that these two only survived because they had each other. After finally reuniting with your spouse, you question the idea of asking if she stayed faithful. Would it be more appropriate to never ask? Would cheating be justified in these circumstances? Klosterman then rolls into a story relating relationships. In the third and final section, There is a beginning of a fictional short story. This is a departure for Klosterman in the sense that he usually writes in non-fiction. The main character, jack, is rumored to have similar traits to Klosterman. He claims the character is completely fictional.

All in all, this book is a solid read. I would strongly suggest this book to anybody that enjoys music. Klosterman loves to write about artists and their inside stories. Also if your a deep thinker, The rhetorical questions provide some cool situations to think about. I would give this book four Big Wangs out of five.

S: Chuck Klosterman

O: To share the authors stories

A: Lovers of music/introspective thinkers

P: To let people in on the world of entertainment

S: The subject changes constantly throughout the book

Tone: Interested and insightful

The Visible Man

The Visible Man

The Visible Man is an entertaining and thought provoking book by modern successful writer Chuck Klosterman. I constantly find myself deep in thought between chapters while reading this book. It has such interesting themes and stories and with the way Klosterman writes, he is quickly becoming a favorite writer of mine.

The Visible Man is told from the position of a therapist named Victoria Vick. Victoria finds her entire professional life being turned upside down by a brand new patient named “Y___”. Y___ has an interesting field of study. He believes that people can only be the person they truly are when they are alone. When they don't have to constantly be impressing and acting for the amusement of the people around them. In order to do this, Y___ uses a suit he personally created to break into peoples homes, sit in a corner of a room, and simply observe for hours on end. The way he does this is interesting. Y___ has conditioned his body to survive off around 500 calories a day and he takes constant amphetamines to stay sharp on his observations.

Y___ chose to seek Victoria’s profession for interesting purposes. During their sessions, He specifically requests that she not talk. rather she just sits and listens to these compelling and intimate stories of regular everyday people spending time on their own. The entire book consists of Y___’s monologues, and Victoria’s notes and observations between therapy sessions.

This writing arises some seriously stimulating conversation between me and the people I talk to this book about. In the novel, Y___ explains that not enough people cherish their time alone. They think of it as though it doesn't count. People only consider their time on this earth valid if they’re spending time with other people. I find it interesting because I personally feel alone time is when you really define yourself as an individual. You choose to do things for yourself. Nowadays, a person can choose to build themselves and read an article or play the guitar. Or that same person can just choose to sit there, eat and watch 2 and a half seasons of Arrested Development (Personal Example). Everything about success has to do with personal drive and how badly you want something in life. So find importance in your alone time. It is an important part of who you are.

S: Victoria Vick
O: This story is set in modern time
A: Those interested in therapy, psychology, or human behavior
P: to tell the story of Y___
S: Y___’s expeiriences and memories

Tone: Victoria is constantly interested in everything Y___ is saying. Nothing ever gets old for her.