Vonnegut’s message

Re “His popular novels blended social criticism, dark humor,” obituary, April 12

Kurt Vonnegut was our generation’s conscience, writing about the horrors of war and assassinations, racial unrest, destruction of the environment and the tribulations of everyday life in his own truly unique way.

Whether writing about other worlds or life on Earth, he evoked wisdom and a moralistic message with the help of cynical humor, becoming a modern-day Mark Twain in the process. Rather than being a master of our fate, he believed we had little control over it.

He was an ideal writer for an era of rapidly changing social values, unrest, religious doubt, excessive governmental intrusion and anti-war sentiment. Rather than being staunchly moral or religious, he was continually searching for the meaning of human existence and, whether or not there was a God, trying to reconcile the goodness of a God with the suffering and misery of everyday life.

The uniqueness of Vonnegut, from his transformational ideas, emphasis on the anti-hero, sarcastic humor right down to his rumpled clothing and unruly curly hair, will be missed.

KENNETH L. ZIMMERMAN

Huntington Beach