Love as Always, Kurt: Vonnegut as I Knew Him
New York Post“Page Six”, 11/14/08“Vonnegut's private correspondence with a student he bedded in the mid-'60s is about to be bared for the first time.”Kirkus, 2/1/09“Rackstraw’s account offers enough interesting material on Vonnegut and his work to please his many fans.”Robert Weide, director ofKurt Vonnegut: American Madeand screenwriter ofMother Night“If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to log some serious face time with one of the world’s great writers, Rackstraw’s memoir brings it home in a way that only the closest of confidantes could. It’s intimate without being exploitive, touching but not sentimentalized. I daresay Vonnegut himself would have loved it for its honesty, humor, and insight.”Jerome Klinkowitz, author ofThe Vonnegut EffectandKurt Vonnegut’s America“Kurt Vonnegut says he considered Loree Rackstraw his wampeter. That was his pet name for ‘an object which the lives of many otherwise unrelated people may revolve.’ Thanks to her importance in his life, Loree can present a memoir that captures the essence of both his writing and his character. Kurt was always fascinated by how certain people worked together for a common purpose that might not be immediately apparent. He called this mastery a karass. Kurt and Loree shared one, the secret of which is revealed here.”Robley Wilson, author ofThe World Still Melting“The English language has no proper name for the affection Loree shared with Kurt, a connection that was neither love nor passion nor friendship nor admiration, but all of the above. This is a fond and beautiful book.”Entertainment Weekly, 3/20/09“WhenLove as Always, Kurtis at its best, the ‘love’ in Rackstraw's title seems to refer not just to Vonnegut's love for her, but his love for all of us.”Curled Up with a Good Book“[Rackstraw’s] insider descriptions of the great author are at times delightful and always insightful.”Wall Street Journal, 3/16/09“Rackstraw’s Vonnegut-focused memoir…gives us a chance to track Vonnegut’s private life and public persona and, inevitably, to revisit his literary reputation.”ForeWord, May/June 2009“As only one who knew him well could, Rackstraw conjures a robust portrait of this paradoxical legend, drawing on their voluminous correspondence to provide singular insights that both contradict and celebrate his iconic status…Rackstraw’s forte is finding that satisfying balance of objectivity and subjectivity that memoirists must bring to their work…Artfully blending her confidante’s understanding of Vonnegut’s kaleidoscopic personality with an academician’s assessment of his timeless and universal themes, Rackstraw manages to offer both a dignified testimonial to a literary master and a loving tribute to a lifelong friend.”Chronicle of Higher Education, 3/20/09“A memoir that honors the man and his works.”San Diego Union-Tribune, 3/22/09“An affectionate memoir.”Library Journal, 4/15/09“Rackstraw appreciably enhances Vonnegut’s renown with her own interpretation of the events of Vonnegut’s life and with excerpts of his letters spanning four decades…Rackstraw reveals many insights into Vonnegut—his marriages, friendships, sense of the comic and the ridiculous, and melancholy, which later developed into severe depression…Rackstraw’s compelling portrait is recommended."Daily Iowan, 4/9/09“A biography of Vonnegut’s life and a more intimate portrait of a man most readers only know through his semiautobiographical fiction.”Film.com“It's interesting to see the struggles of a literary giant through the eyes of a close friend.”Newsweek, 4/27/09“Rackstraw does not come across as a mercenary, fame-grubbing type.”Maisonneuve, Spring 2009“When Kurt Vonnegut said, ‘write to please just one person’ there’s a good chance he meant longtime friend and love interest Loree Rackstraw.”Cedar Rapids Gazette, 4/12/09“A major event for Vonnegut lovers…Reveal[s] some interesting details.”Minneapolis City Pages, 4/16/09“Reads like a who’s-who of the male, American literary canon of the second half of the 20th century…Aside from the glittering glimpses into the private lives of these literary giants, her memoir…is a study in both relationships that seem to defy easy categorization (like Rackstraw and Vonnegut’s) and the role of the artist in modern society…Rackstraw gives us a rich and complicated Vonnegut.”Shepherd Express, 4/20/09“The "tell-all" aspects…are handled with a dignity and old-fashioned discretion.”The Onion (A.V. Club), 4/23/09“Kurt Vonnegut’s well-worn image seems impossible to deflate, and thankfully, longtime friend and professor emeritus Loree Rackstraw doesn’t do anything to tarnish the man’s reputation with her new memoir…The excerpts from Vonnegut’s correspondence are entertaining…Her honesty in detailing Vonnegut’s waning years give the book…weight.”Brooklyn Rail, 5/09“[Rackstraw] helps us feel, in a time of seemingly world-wide insanity, the loss of one of the 20th century’s most critical and compassionate voices…Offer[s] another space where fans can get a few degrees closer to the cherished American icon she loved.”Augusta Spirit Metro, 4/29/09“A touching and poignant account…Gripping in its detail…A lovely piece of history for fans of Vonnegut and those interested in the creation of written art.”Waterbury Republican-American(CT), 5/3/09“A highly personal memoir.”Boston Globe, 5/17/09“Riveting…Absorbing…Rackstraw, to her credit, refuses to traffic in juicy details…[She] does a fine job of suggesting Vonnegut's intellectual vitality, the breadth of his moral concerns, and the insecurities that plagued him…Love as Alwaysis perhaps most fascinating for what it suggests about the tumult of the artist's life.”Indianapolis Star, 6/14/09“Hardcore Vonnegut fans who have read everything about the man and are thirsting for more might find a snippet of interest here.”Iowa City Press Citizen, 7/11/09“There is nothing conventional aboutLove as Always, Kurt…A thoughtful rumination on Vonnegut as a literary and cultural phenomenon.”Iowa City Press Citizen, 7/13/09“[Rackstraw’s] memoir includes photos and never-before-published correspondence that provide insight into the experiences and forces that shaped Vonnegut's writing, portraying him as a deeply humane person who sought humor and absurdity in order to survive.”Magill Book Review, October 2009“[A] leisurely told memoir…Worth having, both for reminding readers of a significant literary and, for many, personal, loss, and to whet appetites for the full-sca