A friend's first encounter with Vonnegut

[Orrex]

Last week I lent a copy of Slaughterhouse Five to a friend who knew almost nothing about it. I'd been recommending it to him for several years, largely because I knew that it would appeal to him, but he always sort of blew off my offer. He doesn't read much fiction, and I think that he figured that this would just be another science fiction story, and he was a bit put off by the title, since he didn't know what it meant.

Well, he returned it this morning, and he declared it probably his favorite read of all time. Everything about it delighted him, most particularly Vonnegut's style and voice. He almost never reads a book a second time, but he thinks that this is one that he could read over and over again and still enjoy it as much as the first time through.

While he was reading it he asked for a second recommendation, and I suggested Cat's Cradle. So he read the first few pages at Border's yesterday and already thinks that he'll enjoy it even more than Slaughterhouse.

I'm very pleased that he liked it so much, because I'd never actually introduced anyone to Vonnegut before. It's an added bonus that my friend mostly reads non-fiction, generally with a sort of new agey flavor that really doesn't appeal to me (and about which we therefore can't really have interesting discussions).