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Like Shaking Hands with God: a Conversation about Writing
 
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Like Shaking Hands with God: a Conversation about Writing (Paperback)

by Kurt Vonnegut (Author), Lee Stringer (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
US List Price: $9.95
UK Equivalent: £6.69
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Product details

  • Paperback: 80 pages
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd (1 Dec 2000)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0743410580
  • ISBN-13: 978-0743410588
  • Product Dimensions: 20.4 x 12.8 x 0.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 393,236 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #44 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > V > Vonnegut, Kurt
    #50 in  Books > Fiction > 20th Century Classics > Vonnegut Jr., Kurt

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
Like Shaking Hands with God is a transcription of two moderated conversations between Kurt Vonnegut (Breakfast of Champions), writer of wild, satiric, outrageous fiction, and Lee Stringer (Grand Central Winter), one-time homeless crack addict who discovered that pencils are not just drug implements.

Shaking Hands has a slender profile and a pretty cover but the only thing slight about the conversations within is that they leave the reader wanting more. The book is billed as "a conversation about writing" but it is as much about life as about writing. Neither Vonnegut nor Stringer is interested in holing up in a garret to write. Vonnegut makes any excuse to go out and rub elbows with the folks who buy lottery tickets, while Stringer wonders, "Can you write anything on Park Avenue, really?" Vonnegut laments his happy childhood as "no way for a writer to begin". Stringer panics that, while he wrote his first book as if on a high, the next one will emerge from an awareness of Oprah and marketability.

Vonnegut and Stringer are passionate about one another's work, passionate about life and passionate about writing. But not so much so that they ever, for a moment, lose their sense of irony or humour. Stringer praises writing, in that context, as "a struggle to preserve our right to be not so practical." And in Timequake, Vonnegut proclaims, "We are here on Earth to fart around. Don't let anybody tell you any different!" --Jane Steinberg --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
"The Writer"

Here is the transcript of their conversation about where the lives they live meet the art they practice, with candid thoughts on writing, humanity, salvation, art, and the struggle and joy of living.



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66% buy the item featured on this page:
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Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Strictly for the fans..., 10 Dec 2002
I bought this because I love Kurt Vonnegut's books. I guess I was hoping for some kind of insight into his writing brain, and to some extent, that's what I got. But what I got more was the realisation that writers communicate best through their writing.

It is essentially two interviews, the first focussed on their latest novels, (Vonnegut's 'Timequake' and Stringer's 'Grand Central Writer') which is taped in front of an audience. The second interview is without the audience and the questions more general and philosophical. Readings from both books are included and discussed.

I haven't read Lee Stringer's book, so I don't really know what his style is like. But the two of them talking together made me feel a little like they were in a club I couldn't possibly join. The general tone seemed ever so slightly condescending and exclusive, whereas I'm used to the accessible everyman style Vonnegut employs in his novels. There are still shades of that in this book of course, and what the hey, Vonnegut's pushing 80, he can say what he likes. Sure didn't make me want to stop reading and re-reading his books, and has definitely peaked my interest in Stringer's book. Maybe my expectations were a little high.

If you haven't read either of these authors, I wouldn't really recommend this as an introduction. Interesting for the die-hard fans.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars a small gem , 23 May 2008
By P. B. Hall "Ben Hall" (West Sussex, UK.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is a thin book, which is disappointing, but what there is of it makes compulsive reading for fans of these two writers. Perhaps a daft choice of title considering Vonnegut was an atheist and Stringer appears indifferent to religion. Also be aware that it will probably be meaningless if you haven't read any Vonnegut or Stringer's 'Grand Central Winter'. The book is a transcript of two public conversations held in New York in a format almost like that of a TV chat show. Artificial though this may sound, the regard that they have for each other shines through and a frank, unpressured sharing of views is recorded.

Despite differences in age and background the two men appear to share a very specific 'idea' of writing which is non-literary but seeks beauty, which draws heavily on experience but without egotism. They can see it in each other. They 'get' each other. A meeting of minds.
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