Palm Sunday

I'm a long time fan of Kurt Vonnegut. When he is on, his work is sublime. When he is off, his work is still pretty good. He somehow managed to combine humor, sci-fi, and social commentary. At times he is too cute and sometimes his prose comes off as sloppy. Still he is a member of the last generation of great American novelists.
I borrowed Palm Sunday, one of Vonnegut's memiors, from the library last week. I find Vonnegut's non-fiction more problematical than his fiction. He is a convicted humanist and his forthrightness often makes his prose stilted. The humor comes through, but it can be obvious that it is a thin finish on strongly held and long considered positions.
I'm personally fond of his expositions on the value of human life and the importance of reading. These are ideas that are not given enough coverage. The book is a good reminder that we are all flawed, but still valuable, creatures. We need to laugh at ourselves and act in ways that make the world a happy place.