The Vonnegut Encyclopedia: Revised and updated edition

(Hardback)

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Description

The authorized, updated, and comprehensive catalogue of characters, themes, phrasing, and imagery found in Kurt Vonnegut's beloved work. Vonnegut's five decades of writing yielded many worlds-worth of people, places, and things. This book is an invaluable tool for looking up the marvelous facts that exist only in the pages his work - the place of birth of Kilgore Trout, the chief highlights of Breakfast of Champion's Midland City, the number of times Robert Kennedy appears in Vonnegut's fiction (twice). The Encyclopedia identifies every major or minor Vonnegut character (from Celia Aamons to Zog), as well as recurring images and significant themes from all of Vonnegut's books and short stories, including his essay collections. Editor Marc Leeds provides italicized notes explaining the significance of many items, but relies primarily on extended quotations from Vonnegut himself. This is a vital reference source for both fans and scholars of the great American writer.

Reviews

An essential collection for fans of the singular satirist.San Francisco Chronicle

Indispensable.Publishers Weekly

If youre somebody who has read one Kurt Vonnegut book then theres a chance youve read them all. For the devout reader of Vonnegut theres a voracious sense of completism. And, Marc Leeds and his new [The Vonnegut]Encyclopediaare here to guide you through it all. Just dont blame him if you become unstuck in time while youre reading.Inverse

Vonnegut enthusiasts will be delighted with Leedss exhaustive, almost obsessive, treatment of the characters, places, events, and tantalizingly mysterious references for which Vonneguts five-decade writing career is celebrated. . . . A wonderful and beautifully designed reference source.Booklist (starred review)

Leedss scholarship and genuine love for his subject matter render this encyclopedia a treasure trove for Vonnegut readers.The Nameless Zine

Author Bio

MARC LEEDS is a graduate of the University of Buffalo, New York University, and Brooklyn College, and directed computer-based writing programs at East Tennessee State University and later at Shawnee State University in Ohio. He is the co-founder of the Kurt Vonnegut Society, a board member at the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, and the author of The Vonnegut Encyclopedia.