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ranflanflana91's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
paulwesterberg's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-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
3.5
I am better now.
Word of honor: I am better now.
probably my least favorite vonnegut thus far—but also the kurt vonnegut, jr. narrator feature is simply peak. not sure if this was the perfect time of my life, or absolute worst time, for me to read this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Mental illness, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide, Transphobia, Rape, and Homophobia
crabbynico's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This being my third Vonnegut novel, I knew roughly what to expect: tongue-in-cheek dark humor, a universal inter-connectedness, random asides with no point but enriching the world of the story.
At some point, I will review this more in depth when it is fresher in my mind. For now, I will say that this was a wild ride that goes almost nowhere, like a roller coaster making a loop, and is no less fun for it. There’s more slapstick here than some of his other works, the narration is at times absurd and there is rather heavy usage of some racial slurs and stereotypes. Yes, they are used to mock racist ways of thinking and the systems that support it, but it’s done in a very dry way that might not be immediately apparent to everyone. That’s not so much a criticism as a caution. There is also a smaller amount of similar content regarding homophobia and one thing near the end that is quite upsetting in that regard.
My big takeaway was mostly just feeling sorry for everyone involved. It wasn’t a bummer of a book by any means, with Vonnegut’s trademark absurdist humor providing the levity to float me through it all. That said, I would not relish another trip to the city of Midland, as it is a very bleak place.
At some point, I will review this more in depth when it is fresher in my mind. For now, I will say that this was a wild ride that goes almost nowhere, like a roller coaster making a loop, and is no less fun for it. There’s more slapstick here than some of his other works, the narration is at times absurd and there is rather heavy usage of some racial slurs and stereotypes. Yes, they are used to mock racist ways of thinking and the systems that support it, but it’s done in a very dry way that might not be immediately apparent to everyone. That’s not so much a criticism as a caution. There is also a smaller amount of similar content regarding homophobia and one thing near the end that is quite upsetting in that regard.
My big takeaway was mostly just feeling sorry for everyone involved. It wasn’t a bummer of a book by any means, with Vonnegut’s trademark absurdist humor providing the levity to float me through it all. That said, I would not relish another trip to the city of Midland, as it is a very bleak place.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Suicide, and Mental illness
To put it bluntly: a violent hate crime is perpetrated on a man by his father, in the midst of a psychotic episode. While not deeply graphic, it is implied that his face is barely recognizable as a face afterwards. Also, a former convict waxes nostalgic about prison sex and fucking cows so—yeah, there’s that.krisroll's review against another edition
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.
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
zosiablue's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
We all know Vonnegut juxtaposes tragic and absurd because that's exactly what life is and through the first half of this, I thought - ah, we're going only absurd here, OK, I'm in. And then there was an astonishing perspective change that nailed me so hard I started crying! I'm not a crier and it came on so suddenly that I shocked myself. He does this every fucking time to me. What's this book about? A writer on a road trip to speak at an arts festival. What's this book about? The festival of everything (TM).
(Though I know what he's doing, the race stuff doesn't age well at all. That's worth more than a parenthetical for sure, but just a warning.)
(Though I know what he's doing, the race stuff doesn't age well at all. That's worth more than a parenthetical for sure, but just a warning.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Mental illness
Moderate: Sexism, Classism, Suicide, and Grief
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?
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
vipsahtanut's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I don't know what to think of this book. I'd recommend cheking the content warnings before reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Mental illness, Racial slurs, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Misogyny, Suicide, Violence, Rape, and Sexual violence
jwells's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
This was something like my fourth book by Vonnegut, and I can't quite decide whether I actually enjoy him or not. (Should I keep reading until I decide? Or give up? lol)
About halfway though I lost patience somewhat, and decided that I'd finish this one, but it would be my last. His tendency to throw out the rules began to strike me as self-important. The book meanders all over the place and includes a lot of seemingly pointless detail, some of which is apparently supposed to be shocking. Or, actually, what would the 1970s readership have made of the penis measurements and stuff? Would it have been funny? I started skimming past them, TBH. (Though I did observe that absolutely every woman described by bust-waist-hip measurement has an hourglass figure. LOL. You aren't as observant - or as subversive - as you think, Mr. Vonnegut. Outside of porn, women have more than one body type.)
I started to feel like all of this breaking of fictional convention was Vonnegut's way of saying that he alone had some sort of special access to secret truth, which he could only convey by making his books Difficult (read: tedious). He thinks he is too special to obey the Rules (which are there to make fiction enjoyable to us mere readers). I started to think, I don't need to suffer through this; there are plenty of men ready to tell me all about how special and insightful they are, without me having to spend my leisure reading time on it.
What I didn't expect was that Vonnegut had the clarity to say exactly what he thought was wrong with the Fiction Rules, and why he's spending the entirety of Breakfast of Champions flouting them. It's in the middle of chapter 19, using the poor writer character Beatrice Keedsler as a scapegoat representative of traditional fiction. That's what she writes, the kind of fiction with "leading characters, minor characters, significant details, insignificant details... lessons to be learned, tests to be passed, and a beginning, a middle, and an end." The kind of fiction I was wishing this book was. lol
Vonnegut, self-inserted into this book, says he thinks that some of the problems in society come from treating each other as if we are living in this kind of fiction. He therefore won't tell stories like that. Instead:
"I would write about life. Every person would be exactly as important as any other. All facts would also be given equal weightiness. Nothing would be left out. Let others bring order to chaos. I would bring chaos to order..."
If that's not a perfect mission statement of this book. In the last chapter, he's still introducing new characters and telling us their back stories (the doctor in the ambulance and his inability to handle criticism).
Maybe we'd question whether he's right; does traditional fiction really cause us to mistreat one another? I've read that fiction readers actually develop more empathy, compared to non-readers. But at least you can't say he didn't explain what he's doing, and why. He just doesn't want anyone to be treated as a "minor character" in real life.
Two other points:
About halfway though I lost patience somewhat, and decided that I'd finish this one, but it would be my last. His tendency to throw out the rules began to strike me as self-important. The book meanders all over the place and includes a lot of seemingly pointless detail, some of which is apparently supposed to be shocking. Or, actually, what would the 1970s readership have made of the penis measurements and stuff? Would it have been funny? I started skimming past them, TBH. (Though I did observe that absolutely every woman described by bust-waist-hip measurement has an hourglass figure. LOL. You aren't as observant - or as subversive - as you think, Mr. Vonnegut. Outside of porn, women have more than one body type.)
I started to feel like all of this breaking of fictional convention was Vonnegut's way of saying that he alone had some sort of special access to secret truth, which he could only convey by making his books Difficult (read: tedious). He thinks he is too special to obey the Rules (which are there to make fiction enjoyable to us mere readers). I started to think, I don't need to suffer through this; there are plenty of men ready to tell me all about how special and insightful they are, without me having to spend my leisure reading time on it.
What I didn't expect was that Vonnegut had the clarity to say exactly what he thought was wrong with the Fiction Rules, and why he's spending the entirety of Breakfast of Champions flouting them. It's in the middle of chapter 19, using the poor writer character Beatrice Keedsler as a scapegoat representative of traditional fiction. That's what she writes, the kind of fiction with "leading characters, minor characters, significant details, insignificant details... lessons to be learned, tests to be passed, and a beginning, a middle, and an end." The kind of fiction I was wishing this book was. lol
Vonnegut, self-inserted into this book, says he thinks that some of the problems in society come from treating each other as if we are living in this kind of fiction. He therefore won't tell stories like that. Instead:
"I would write about life. Every person would be exactly as important as any other. All facts would also be given equal weightiness. Nothing would be left out. Let others bring order to chaos. I would bring chaos to order..."
If that's not a perfect mission statement of this book. In the last chapter, he's still introducing new characters and telling us their back stories (the doctor in the ambulance and his inability to handle criticism).
Maybe we'd question whether he's right; does traditional fiction really cause us to mistreat one another? I've read that fiction readers actually develop more empathy, compared to non-readers. But at least you can't say he didn't explain what he's doing, and why. He just doesn't want anyone to be treated as a "minor character" in real life.
Two other points:
- The theme of free will wraps up in the dual metaphor that humans are both "meat machines" and "bands of sacred light." Extremely Vonnegut, to spend an entire book being gratingly cynical and then end on a note of touching humanity. Still can't decide if I want another book like that or not. LOL
- Trigger warning for the N-word. Second god-damned book in a row for me. W-t-everloving-F. I got to read something that's either prior to the 60s or later than the 70s.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Violence, and Racism
N-word used multiple timeswhysoserious's review against another edition
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, and Suicide
Minor: Excrement and Homophobia
msawyer77's review against another edition
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, and Racial slurs