The city of Dresden was at the core of Kurt Vonnegut's sarcastic old heart, and so it's no surprise that his posthumous collection of short stories, Armageddon in Retrospect, deals so heavily with the experiences he had as prisoner of war and witness to the utter destruction of what he calls the most beautiful city in the world.  What strikes me as the best part of the collection, and what really made me wish more of the personal Vonnegut were available to the public, was his letter written to his family from a red cross camp in 1945 detailing what had happened to him since he'd been declared missing in action.  I've come to regard him, as I'm sure a lot of people have, as a personal friend over the years, that grumpy old uncle that knows better than the bullshit around him, and I wish there was more of that for me out there.  Maybe that's selfish.

The stories themselves are so-so.  I always though Vonnegut was a better novelist, and I always thought his short story ideas were better than the stories themselves (which is one reason why Breakfast of Champions, with it's quickfire half-ass story outlines littered throughout, is so good).  "Guns Before Butter" was probably my favorite, and the one that best captures I think what he was going for with these stories.  The rest of the stories read like late-period Vonnegut essays-- more humanist than literary (which is what he wanted to be, so I don't begrudge him for it), rougher around the edges, not quite so brim-filled with laughter at the world.  Instead, we get much more somber stuff.

All told, this is not a quick cash-in, which is obvious from the heartfelt introduction and the inclusion of lots of color illustrations.  These stories deserve a place on the bookshelf if you're a fan.  I give it three and a half points.

Also, if you work in my office or near my office, feel free to sit on our likely-bug infested loveseat and read some of it, as I left it in there as our very first "office book."  I'm thinking of bringing up some more short story collections I've got laying around for when we don't want to work but we want to look like we're working.  English department!
___________________

That new batman movie is much better than a "summer movie" should be, and rewards deep thought.  I won't dork out over it, but if you like things that are grim and at the same time kickass, you should go see it.  I give it four and a half points.

___________________

Fish tacos are pretty good.  Three points.