Who wrote Venus on the Half-Shell?
This has been by far the most frequently asked question of the newsgroup. The book is attributed to Kilgore Trout, a fictional author appearing in many of Vonnegut’s works. In actuality, Venus on the Half-Shell was written by Philip Jose Farmer. There have been reports from numerous sources that this is the case, and that Vonnegut and Farmer themselves have each identified Farmer as the real author. No, Kurt didn’t write it. No, Kilgore Trout is not a real person. A later publication of the work even correctly names Farmer as the author. If you’re looking for it, I’d recommend looking in used books stores under both the names Trout and Farmer; if you find it under Vonnegut, it’s been misfiled. For fun I’ve collected a few reviews of Venus from main stream publications where the reviewers believed Vonnegut was the actual author. On the subject, Chris A.
This has been by far the most frequently asked question of the newsgroup. The book is attributed to Kilgore Trout, a fictional author appearing in many of Vonnegut’s works. In actuality, Venus on the Half-Shell was written by Philip Jose Farmer. There have been reports from numerous sources that this is the case, and that Vonnegut and Farmer themselves have each identified Farmer as the real author. No, Kurt didn’t write it. No, Kilgore Trout is not a real person. A later publication of the work even correctly names Farmer as the author. If you’re looking for it, I’d recommend looking in used books stores under both the names Trout and Farmer; if you find it under Vonnegut, it’s been misfiled. For fun I’ve collected a few reviews of Venus from main stream publications where the reviewers believed Vonnegut was the actual author. On the subject, Chris A. Hall writes: In the introduction to his story ”The Phantom of the Sewers” in Riverworld and Other Stories, Farmer talks about his occ
