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More Quote Porn
On The Road
"I shambled after as I've been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars."
"Lucille would never understand me because I like too many things and get all confused and hung-up running from one falling star to another till I drop. This is the night, what it does to you. I had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion."
Slaughterhouse-Five
"I have this disease late at night sometimes, involving alcohol and the telephone."
"She was a dull person, but a sensational invitation to make babies."
"Trout, incidentally, had written a book about a money tree. It had twenty-dollar bills for leaves. Its flowers were government bonds. Its fruit was diamonds. It attracted human beings who killed each other around the roots and made very good fertilizer. So it goes."
Head-to-Head
Characters: If a reader enjoys Kurt Vonnegut, it's a given that the same reader will enjoy Billy Pilgrim. The character walks through the horrors of the second world war and through the apparition of space-time with Vonnegut's trademark cynicism and wit. I claimed in round one that Billy Pilgrim is the only memorable character, but reflections this round give me pause. Add Paul Lazzaro, Roland Weary and Edgar Derby to Pilgrim's equation, and it's a shame that more pages aren't spent with the unlikely foursome. Maybe the next Kilgore Trout book will have a feature on them.
But, I'll also stick to my guns on my round one On The Road thoughts: Dean Moriarity is among my favorite characters in fiction. He's delightfully insane and completely unique, but everybody knows a Dean Moriarty. Paradise (Kerouac's alter-ego) is likable as well, and adds pensive context to the blur of the American experience in the fifties—but I'll be honest; it's all about Dean.
Advantage: Push.
Setting: America by day, as viewed in time-lapsed photographs. America by night, with the haze of the drink on a thousand lively nights. Kerouac vividly brings the country to life.
But then, equally vivid (but nowhere near as fun) is Vonnegut's depiction of the firebombing of Dresden and a POW situation. Also, maybe an alien zoo. While I can't discount Vonnegut's skill, I like how cohesive On The Road is against its backdrop.
Advantage: On The Road.
Plot: Both books feature non-linear advancement of plot; Slaughterhouse jumps all over the place like a postmodern book should, while On The Road is sort of a half dozen capers experienced by Sal & Dean with all the interstitial, non-fun chaff cut away. Both are fun, both have aged well, neither feels contrived.
Advantage: Push.
Ending: While the fights for plot and character see the books draw because they both excel, the fight for an ending falls flat because neither book really follows the old English class plot graph. Not that nonstandard plots aren't a lark (both of these are), but it's hard to give either one points for an ending when they just peter off with more story available after the pages have ceased.
Advantage: Push.
Language/Writing: This is another category where both authors and both books are standouts. Vonnegut manages a level sobriety in the most ridiculous of situations (both real and imagined), while Kerouac's charm often lies in his lack of sobriety.
Kerouac's On The Road was adapted to film similarly to how Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas was adapted: with artisan passages from the text narrated over the film because their essence can't be fully captured outside of the author's words. Not to take away from Slaughterhouse, which I loved, but the vibe from the language in On The Road has a feverish optimism that is thankfully more infectious than its opponent's ironic musings.
Advantage: On The Road.
Philosophy: On The Road needs to grow up. One of the principle criticisms against it by fuddy-duddies, both at the time of its release and today, is that it's just plain irresponsible. The saxophones of a hundred nights spent in the music scene of mid-century USA most often result in a flat-broke beatnik. While this is a harsh criticism, it's true for pretty much anybody who isn't Kerouac, and all of Kerouac's artful writing doesn't save it from being a little vapid in the real world.
Meanwhile, despite a premise that's not even on planet Earth, Vonnegut manages some real thoughts and lessons on some weighty topics. It's not the easiest thing to seriously ponder morality and a real war in the same text that delves into aliens and time travel, but that's part of what makes Vonnegut a one-of-a-kind zeitgeist candidate.
Advantage: Slaughterhouse Five.
Setting: America by day, as viewed in time-lapsed photographs. America by night, with the haze of the drink on a thousand lively nights. Kerouac vividly brings the country to life.
But then, equally vivid (but nowhere near as fun) is Vonnegut's depiction of the firebombing of Dresden and a POW situation. Also, maybe an alien zoo. While I can't discount Vonnegut's skill, I like how cohesive On The Road is against its backdrop.
Advantage: On The Road.
Plot: Both books feature non-linear advancement of plot; Slaughterhouse jumps all over the place like a postmodern book should, while On The Road is sort of a half dozen capers experienced by Sal & Dean with all the interstitial, non-fun chaff cut away. Both are fun, both have aged well, neither feels contrived.
Advantage: Push.
Ending: While the fights for plot and character see the books draw because they both excel, the fight for an ending falls flat because neither book really follows the old English class plot graph. Not that nonstandard plots aren't a lark (both of these are), but it's hard to give either one points for an ending when they just peter off with more story available after the pages have ceased.
Advantage: Push.
Language/Writing: This is another category where both authors and both books are standouts. Vonnegut manages a level sobriety in the most ridiculous of situations (both real and imagined), while Kerouac's charm often lies in his lack of sobriety.
Kerouac's On The Road was adapted to film similarly to how Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas was adapted: with artisan passages from the text narrated over the film because their essence can't be fully captured outside of the author's words. Not to take away from Slaughterhouse, which I loved, but the vibe from the language in On The Road has a feverish optimism that is thankfully more infectious than its opponent's ironic musings.
Advantage: On The Road.
Philosophy: On The Road needs to grow up. One of the principle criticisms against it by fuddy-duddies, both at the time of its release and today, is that it's just plain irresponsible. The saxophones of a hundred nights spent in the music scene of mid-century USA most often result in a flat-broke beatnik. While this is a harsh criticism, it's true for pretty much anybody who isn't Kerouac, and all of Kerouac's artful writing doesn't save it from being a little vapid in the real world.
Meanwhile, despite a premise that's not even on planet Earth, Vonnegut manages some real thoughts and lessons on some weighty topics. It's not the easiest thing to seriously ponder morality and a real war in the same text that delves into aliens and time travel, but that's part of what makes Vonnegut a one-of-a-kind zeitgeist candidate.
Advantage: Slaughterhouse Five.
Winner Winner Turkey Supper
Billy Pilgrim is the man, and his duty-dance with death is compelling and important. While Sal Paradise's travels are anything but important, his book imbues a sense of adventure in a way that so few have done successfully. Boiling down the difference in this battle to one point: Vonnegut's horrific painting of fire and napalm is striking, as is Kerouac's painting of defiance in the face of the decade of conformity. Today, I'm choosing the happier one with the brighter color palette. So it goes.
On The Road narrowly moves on to round 3.
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