Breakfast of Champions

Executive Summary: I didn't like this as much as I'd hoped. However it hasn't put me off from trying some of his other work at some point.

Audiobook: This book is strange. Was it made more strange by John Malkovich? It's hard to say for sure. It probably didn't help. Don't get me wrong, I like strange, but I wonder how much was simply the presentation. The real reason I'd recommend against doing this audio isn't the narrator however. There are apparently a bunch of drawings. I didn't know that. Mr. Malkovich “describes” them but I'd rather have been able to see them for myself.

Full Review
I first heard of Kurt Vonnegut when I was growing up in the 90s. He seemed to be one of my older sister's favorites. Maybe I'm wrong, but I recall seeing several of his books laying around the house. For some reason I never picked them up myself.

I'm not sure if this was the best choice for my first book of his. Only time (and reading another book or two) will tell. I owned 2 of his books already, as I needed an audio book, I opted for this one first.

I never really got into it. It was strange. I'm not really sure how I feel about it. I didn't really like any of the characters for one. The premise was interesting, but I never really got caught up in it.

I was born after this book takes place. That may have hurt my enjoyment as well. There were a few funny parts. There were several parts and language that made me uncomfortable to read. It's certainly more literary than most of what I read. Maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind to really enjoy it.

Either way I'm glad I did, and I do plan to try out at least the other book of his I already own at some point, but probably not as quickly as I would have if I enjoyed this one a bit more.

“This was in a country where everybody was expected to pay his own bills for everything, and one of the most expensive things a person could do was get sick.”
I've only read one Kurt Vonnegut book before this, Slaughterhouse Five. That one dealt more with the Vietnam war, and while I did like it, I wasn't as into it. This one, however, was much more general and applicable to me. Vonnegut had a lot of commentary about social issues like mental health and environmental issues. I really enjoyed his sarcastic commentary on everything. Vonnegut was extremely matter-of-fact about the issues and it was very enlightening and enjoyable to read. I highlighted so many passages throughout this book because I was just in awe of how brutally honest Vonnegut was. I enjoyed this book immensely and was pleasantly surprised. I also loved how Vonnegut put himself in the story and actually talked to the characters he created and discussed how he wrote them and created them. Overall, it was an extremely fascinating and enjoyable read and I liked this so much more than Slaughterhouse Five.

Dwayne on a rampage
expertly illustrated
wide open beavers.

3.5 stars.

First time reading Vonnegut. It was a fun book and interesting, but maybe not the best introduction to his works.

A metafictional treat of pure “unwavering light” about America, art, and the meaning of life as an essential and impossible question of contemporary life on planet earth.

Vonnegut famously gave “Breakfast of Champions” a grade of C, but I liked it.

So now when I think of Vonnegut, I think ‰ЫПWIDE-OPEN BEAVERS!‰Ыќ

‰ЫПHe made carbon copies of nothing he wrote. He mailed off manuscripts without enclosing stamped, self-addressed envelopes for their safe return. Sometimes he didn‰ЫЄt even include a return address. He got names and addresses of publishers from magazines devoted to the writing business, which he read avidly in the periodical rooms of public libraries. He thus got in touch with a firm called World Classics Library, which published hard-core pornography in Los Angeles, California.‰Ыќ

I read this in the 7th grade. I don't think my parents had any idea what it was.