Loree Rackstraw
Auteur van Love as Always, Kurt: Vonnegut as I Knew Him
Werken van Loree Rackstraw
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Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle (Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations) (1963) — Medewerker — 389 exemplaren
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Their relationship, which Rackstraw several times hints was sometimes an intimate one, was a bit bizarre at times. As she puts it, the "friendship was sustained mostly by the U.S. Postal Service" and it was common for the pair to go more than a year at a time without actually setting eyes on each other. But there is no doubt that the relationship was a long and enduring one because it lasted more than fifty years. During that half century, Vonnegut shared his most intimate thoughts and feelings with Rackstraw and always made sure that she saw early drafts of his latest work. He also shared much of his artwork with her and continued to encourage her with her own writing.
Love as Always, Kurt is very much Loree Rackstraw's memoir. Although she structures the memoir around the chronological progress of Vonnegut's literary career, this is not a Kurt Vonnegut biography that can be depended upon for completeness or objectivity. That Rackstraw still deeply cares about Vonnegut is obvious on every page, and those readers looking for a more traditional biographical handling of the author are likely to be disappointed. Those hoping for a more intimate and emotional glimpse of what Kurt Vonnegut, the man, was like, are going to be pleased.
The Kurt Vonnegut portrayed by Rackstraw was an extremely naive man, one whose friends feared was easily exploited by those seeking to take advantage of his good nature. He was a man who believed that we were put on this earth "to fart around," and he said that he was having a "perfectly wonderful time." Love as Always, Kurt also focuses in on Vonnegut's strong anti-war sentiments and other politically far left views. That Kurt Vonnegut cut his political opposites no slack and he and Rackstraw (and the rest of their crowd) often took great glee in viciously ridiculing anyone who disagreed with them.
My most vivid takeaway from the memoir remains just how insecure Vonnegut was about his writing. Writing did not come easy for him, and he was often at odds with his publisher about delivering promised projects by contracted dates. I was also struck by the man's intolerance of those who did not politically line up with his own views. Rackstraw makes it clear that she, Vonnegut, and their friends preferred ridicule and laughter to the consideration of opposing viewpoints.
If you read Love as Always, Kurt just remember that Loree Rackstraw is very much Kurt Vonnegut's cheerleader. To her credit, she does not pretend otherwise. But even as one-sided as the memoir is, it deserves a look from Kurt Vonnegut fans because of the little details and insights into his personal world that Rackstraw reveals.… (meer)