I read Look At The Birdie by Kurt Vonnegut.
It is a collection of short stories unpublished during his lifetime – the second such collection published since his death in 2007. The other, Armageddon In Retrospect, didn't impress me. Birdie did. Some of the stories rival the quality of those collected in Bagombo Snuff Box and I am puzzled that they weren't published by the author himself long ago. Perhaps he wasn't finished revising them or was unhappy with them for some reason. These stories could have been polished to shinier gems but each are fun to read and feature Vonnegut's relentless optimism and a satisfying ending. I'm thrilled his estate chose to publish them.
I have read all of Kurt Vonnegut's books except his first: Player Piano. An unread copy sits on my bookshelf. On the television show Lost, there is a character named Desmond Hume who wants Charles Dickens' Our Mutual Friend to be the last book he reads before he dies. Reportedly, the inspiration for this was author John Irving, who stated something similar in an interview. I don't anticipate a death bed reading of Player Piano but I plan to save it for later. There will be no new Vonnegut work besides the occasional collection like Armageddon and Birdie. Eventually, that well will run dry. At least for now, I'm content that there is a Kurt Vonnegut book I haven't read.
