Reviews tagging 'Death'

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut

8 reviews

kierank's review

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Reading this after “the bluest eye” was an interesting experience. Both books had sprawling narration of minor characters and delved into psyches of people who won’t be seen after the next chapter. I think morrisons use of racial slurs and epithets was more impactful that Vonnegut’s since her black characters are front and center, not the racism they experience, if that makes sense. I was p frustrated by vonneguts professed objective narration even though he had obvious biases. Idk. I struggled at parts but I did like the ending, and I’m always a sucker for a meta narrative. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Violence, and Car accident

Moderate: Death and Suicide

meekumoh's review

challenging dark funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

First book of Vonnegut's I've finished. You can really tell he's been trying to unclog that pipe for a while (he says so in the prologue). His view of American humanity is both a wide lens yet steeped in underfoot ugliness. I can't say I enjoyed the commentary on racism but overall it was a provoking read. A little like being fed eight experimental meals at once. Would recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Slavery, Racism, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Addiction, Death, Grief, Ableism, and Death of parent

krisroll's review

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

I usually love Vonnegut, this one was very scattered. It kept my attention throughout the first half, but the last parts of the book I found myself skimming. I understand the nuances, but the ending was very hard to push through. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Car accident, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Rape, Self harm, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Slavery, Blood, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual content, War, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment

leoniefnk's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.25

Though there are moments that make you think (I like the idea of an author inserting themselves in a very meta way), overall, I found this vulgar and extremely unfunny. The random scatterbrain-ness of it is something which I've enjoyed in the past, but in books like Hitchhiker's guide, where there is far less offensive language for - what seems to be - the sake of offensive language. Was this supposed to make me think of something new or groundbreaking? What's worse, was this supposed to make me laugh?

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Death of parent, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Alcohol, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Sexual violence, Death, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Classism

basilaquinas's review

dark reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Alcoholism, Car accident, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, and Slavery

sashpointah's review

challenging dark funny reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This ping-pongs from being so prescient and representative and understanding of the human condition and the systems of oppression it's constructed to being outright transphobic, homophobic, misogynistic, and devolving into racial stereotypes. Severe whiplash but generally well-meaning, and a potential queer interpretation save this one. If you can get past the ugliest bits there's some pretty powerful philosophy to take away from it, it just would be far better if it weren't about race at all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Misogyny, Death of parent, Hate crime, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Rape, Racism, Mental illness, Violence, Suicide, Death, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Blood, Classism, and Alcohol

Minor: Fatphobia

slugmilk's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Mental illness, and Suicide

Minor: Rape and Homophobia

abbyomlor's review against another edition

adventurous funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Violence, Suicide, Rape, Racism, and Racial slurs