After Vonnegut's death, I went back and read Slaughterhouse 5, which I hadn't read since high school. Vonnegut is not a great stylist. His female characters are not really characters at all.

Nevertheless, he knows what he believes, but questions his beliefs mercilessly. He is straightforward and gets to the point. His heroes are often inept but teach us what it means to be human. Vonnegut was my hero in high schoool, and he still is.