#256 Thanasphere- Kurt Vonnegut
“…a short story, because of its physiological and
psychological effects on a human being, is more closely related to Buddhist
styles of meditation than it is to any other form or narrative entertainment.”
The second and last collection of short fiction by Kurt
Vonnegut, Bagombo Snuff Box, is his stories which appeared in magazines. This
was the hey-day of magazine writing. Households would have subscriptions to
dozens of magazines and these small fictions would be entertainment for the
whole family.
Because of the large scale number of these magazines and
stories, much of what was printed was of relatively low value, probably the
same value as what’s on TV. Sure there maybe a good show here and there, but
most of it was blind entertainment. Vonnegut, however became a sought after voice
in post-war American letters, so this collection should be fun.
We begin with Thanasphere (dead space so to speak), a tale
about the first manned space craft as it orbits the earth. It was launched for
military purposes, but when reports come back from its pilot Major Rice, all he
can do is talk about the voices he hears, voices of dead people talking in the
cosmos.
Vonnegut taps into the age’s imagination like no one else.
Space, the great unknown. What is out there and how does it effect us? Great
thought often happens before we know the truth of such mysteries…and with it,
interesting fiction.
Notable Passage: “Maybe that was the spirit of this era of
the atom bomb, H-bomb, God-knows-what-next-bomb—to be amazed at nothing.”
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