Breakfast of Champions
Ratings387
Average rating3.9
Vonnegut here is like a shaman who throws a bunch of knuckle bones in the air, sees how they land, and tells the client what they mean. The novel is a crazy ramble through whatever Vonnegut had tucked away in the absurdist corner of his mind. It's dark and dangerous, reaching past satire to the edges of savagery.
SciFi author Kilgore Trout appears again alongside other Vonnegut regulars. He's been invited to an arts festival where one of his books about a lone human on a planet of robots sparks a psychotic episode in a paticipant. The narrator has made many references to 'bad chemicals' effecting human behaviour, but the assumption has been drug references. As the story progresses we see that he means the chemicals our brain makes for itself. Humanity is little more than a bunch of robots being controlled by our own chemistry.
To add to his theme, the narrator becomes a character in the book towards the end, demonstrating how he can make any character in the story do whatever he wants them to do. It's a weird flex that adds to the feeling of insanity that threads its way through the whole story.
A lot of people put this pretty high in their KVJ canon. I do not. For me, it's like trying to watch Family Guy when I grew up with early Simpsons.
Summary: This novel depicts the slow, steady, inevitable movement of little-known author Kilgore Trout and mentally ill car salesman Dwayne Hoover toward a fateful meeting with one another.
The book is a study in absurdity that invites the reader to consider themes of free will, inequality, and mental health.
Very funny and dark. Vonnegut moves freely through many, many ideas throughout with a surreal, but also very grounded perspective.
The incredible relevancy of a book published 40 years ago is really a testament to the genius of Vonnegut's timeless writing
Kurt Vonnegut's 7th novel and followed his most and popular. How did he go? Not too bad at all in this reader's opinion.
Free will is as ever to the front and centre of his work, with mental illness a major theme in this novel. It was initially hard to tell the direction this novel would take, as it began as a satire on what he may have thought of the life of US citizens at the time of writing. Some may say nothing has changed, some may not. What do I know? Nothing, as I have never lived there. As the story took shape it was certainly very funny at times, and with all Vonnegut's writing so far more ideas driven with absurdist plot than some literary attempt at fine writing. Vonnegut is not subtle, he just bangs the reader around the head.
The story reached a climax in that an unknown Sci Fi writer meets a spiralling into madness used car salesman who read the writer's meaning of life novel and goes on a rampage as he interprets the book, called Now It Can Be Told, I laughed out loud at that, as a truth that we are all robots and lack free will. Is this a comment about some of mankind's absolute faith in religious dogma as fact? I think so.
I did enjoy the crappy little line drawings on the way through. They kind of made the satire more satirical.
Recommended to the Vonnegut reader as they will get a lot out of this one.
My review of number 1 Player Piano.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6205354368
My review of number 2 The Sirens Of Titan here. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6267103559
My review of number 3 Mother Night here.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6287961968
My review of number 4 Cats Cradle here.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/231371451
My review of number 5 God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater here
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/231371734
My review of number 6 Slaughter House Five
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/231370983
The actual plot of Breakfast of Champions will leave plenty to be desired. However, as an analysis of the author's struggles with the world around him and his own purpose, Breakfast of Champions is a masterpiece of metafiction.
Kurt Vonnegut's capacity of constantly breaking the fourth wall, bending time and space, observational comedy - reminds me why I wanted to pick this up.
However, it's that same back and forward that just feels like the story moves too slowly and takes too long. To the point where I just wanted to get to the end.
Hadn't read this in decades, and revisiting it now pointed a new lens on it; it did not age well. The concept is strong, but the gratuitous use of the n-word — and the context of its use — made it less than enjoyable.
Leave it to Vonnegut to be able to take this huge sweeping look at all levels of society in less than 300 pages. The surprising power of his prose, the haunting beauty of his scenes, his tongue-in-cheek satire, balanced by a thorough sadness, and his sheer unwavering truth all make this book one hell of a literary achievement. honestly, it hit me like a truck.
There are some authors who can write pertinent social commentary in a way that is both humorous and horrifying at the same time. Kurt Vonnegut is one of those writers. Most of his satirical takes start off like classic SNL skits to hook you, and then, as you're being dragged down the rabbit hole, he hits you over the head with candid facts. “Breakfast of Champions” makes your head swim. You won't forget its sobering lessons about the value of our climate, social insecurities, nature, race relations, and how we should all live much more peacefully until the last page is turned.
The book is, among many other things, a satire. A book composed of a compilation of Vonnegut's true-to-life observations and anecdotes about the world. The story follows Kilgore Trout, a struggling science fiction writer, and Dwanye Hoover, a businessman who is losing his mind. Trout accepts an invitation to go to a local arts festival while we follow Hoover's business dealings before an eventual meeting of the two minds. It's sporadic and hypnotic, much like a Mel Brooks film. As the two characters navigate their respective futures, Vonnegut uses their interactions as a vehicle to shine a light on topical issues such as unequal distribution of wealth, mental health, consumerism, art, the environment, etc., etc. It's an interesting and entertaining structure, to say the least.
One of the hallmarks is the content of Kilgore‘s science fiction books. Plague on Wheels, for example. It's a story about a planet filled with automobiles that leave oil in their wake as they reproduce, and they all inherently thrive off fossil fuels. These entities ultimately extinguish the planet's atmosphere and look to space travelers to borrow oxygen. You get the picture. It's sort of like reading your favorite comic strip. Sporadic ideas and musings that make you think about a topic in a different way. It's an adult version of Calvin and Hobbes.
Although some may find portions of the book preachy or irreverent, I believe every one of us can take something from the text to use as inspiration, a warning, or a good chuckle. Whatever way you look at it, the knee-jerk reactions of each thought might bring about this face:
9/10
I already held Vonnegut in very high regard after Slaughterhouse 5. This book is in a similar vein but much funnier because it lacks the grim nature of WW2. Vonnegut is one of the funniest authors I've ever read. The way he deconstructs mundane human concepts is masterful and hilarious. Social satire at its best.
Malkovich's narration was excellent. One thing to note is that the book has a lot of funny drawings. On audio, those drawings are described verbally, which is not ideal but works well enough if you find and look for those drawings separately.
DNF at 25%.
Look I just don't get it. What is this book? Why have so many people read it? What are they getting out of it? Maybe Vonnegut just ain't for me, man. This book is so short and read by JOHN MALKOVICH and I still would rather slap myself in the face than keep listening to it.
Vonnegut's second piece I'm getting around to (after Slaughterhouse Five) is a witty and satirical post-modernist piece that is about nothing and everything. The prose takes time to get used to, there is little to no plot to speak of, and there's no point to the novel, which Vonnegut himself indirectly admits at one point, telling us that the worst books are one which do have a lesson - because there's no such thing in real life.
BoC follows a uniquely original medley of characters and backstories who live in a town colloquially known as “the asshole of America”, as they go about their everyday lives. The satire ranges from Trout's stories poking fun at how seriously we take our arbitrary notions, to pointing out ingrained and internalised sexism, racism, consumerism and even some throwaway discussions on the environment.
Vonnegut's self-insertion, the amateurish drawings on display (always prefaced with “they look something like this”), and his warped worldview make for quite the ride. Even though I can understand why some might deride this, it made for brutal, maximalist and hilariously poignant reading. You go from “how the fuck did someone think of this?” to “yeah, I'm going to hell for laughing at this” in five seconds flat, and those are the best kinds of novels, as we all know. And so on.
Books change over time. Or we do. I first read this book when I was 20. Some 30-whatever years later it's different. It is. That's my review.
Gritty, sarcastic and amusing would be the words that come to my mind when I talk about this book. Vonnegut has an unique style, when he talks about the human race he makes you think that him, the narrator, might actually be an alien, it feels like a documentary created by an extraterrestrial being that is trying to understand human behaviour and strenght. A solid analysis of the human and its nature and a satyre to the american way of life, possibly one of the best books of this year?
How do you review this book? The writing was inspiring. The depth of thought and analysis of culture was almost devastating. His cynicism was refreshing and beguiling. I loved it but I acknowledge how dangerous this book could be. Not danger in the “harmful” sense but danger in the “shatter the illusion” sense. I had no expectations. Now, I'm reeling. I'm afraid to give it five stars but I want to. I'm not sure I could adequately back it up. This was odd, important, and I'm glad I had this experience.
Unconventional style of writing. It inspired me to write one of own meta stories which I will publish once I get around to typing it
I'm having a hard time deciding whether I liked this book less than the rest of Vonnegut's, or such time has passed since my Vonnegut phase that I wouldn't like others either anymore. Regardless, it didn't click: the ratio of insight to connecting narrative seemed off, such that the book felt like a disjointed series of one-liners.