Rubbish news all round, really – seminal American writer Kurt Vonnegut died yesterday in New York at the grand old age of 84.

A writer of uniquely biting and satirical vision – be they from sci-fi war analogies like Slaughterhouse Five or kaleidoscopic genre-busters like Breakfast Of Champions – Vonnegut will be sorely missed by anyone with a genuine passion for literature.

We're aware that in this age of Jordan autobiographies topping the book charts – i.e an age where someone can get a book published simply for existing – the pea-brained British masses will probably treat Vonnegut's passing with a feeble shrug (before returning to their copy of Bridget Jones Diary or Chris Moyle's memoir How I Shat On A Foreigner). So… don't expect to see many tributes to this great artist taking high priority in the mainstream media.

Instead, then… we hope you'll join us in raising a glass to him.

"So it goes."

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Obituary - BBC