This month’s read is Kurt Vonnegut’s The Drone King, from his short story collection, Complete Stories (2017). The story was published in The Atlantic in October 2017.
Once you’ve read The Drone King, join in the conversation below!
Hi Mek, Thanks for sharing this one. (I listened to the audio.) I love the way Vonnegut uses dialogue to propel the narrative, but also to hint at larger themes. Dialogue is so versatile bc you can use it to show tension, disagreement & gaps between what is said and thought. It’s clearly an allegorical story…. Though when I started to drill down I wasn’t entirely sure what or how to think about that allegory. Is it a comment on capitalism? Colonialism? Patriarchy? The Anthropocene? Etc… But because it’s done in a playful and humoured way, I enjoyed the uncertainty of it. I guess the uncertainly means readers are less likely to feel like they’re being lectured at, & they can bring more of themselves to the story.
On another note, I’ve started noticing my attention drawn to adverbs in text: wretchedly, bravely, gamely. I’d not have looked twice at them before studying writing. Though, maybe I’m misremembering.
Hi Mek, Thanks for sharing this one. (I listened to the audio.) I love the way Vonnegut uses dialogue to propel the narrative, but also to hint at larger themes. Dialogue is so versatile bc you can use it to show tension, disagreement & gaps between what is said and thought. It’s clearly an allegorical story…. Though when I started to drill down I wasn’t entirely sure what or how to think about that allegory. Is it a comment on capitalism? Colonialism? Patriarchy? The Anthropocene? Etc… But because it’s done in a playful and humoured way, I enjoyed the uncertainty of it. I guess the uncertainly means readers are less likely to feel like they’re being lectured at, & they can bring more of themselves to the story.
On another note, I’ve started noticing my attention drawn to adverbs in text: wretchedly, bravely, gamely. I’d not have looked twice at them before studying writing. Though, maybe I’m misremembering.