Hocus Pocus (Bookcassette(r) Edition)

Rating:
Summary: A model of insanity
Review: Forget the plot for a second and all of the witty banter, the sheer layout of this novel is enough to make one laugh. If anyone can show me someone who isn't intrigued enough by the editor's note to read the book, I will show him an obvious product of the American education system. I swear it made me chuckle everytime I saw a black line running the width of a page. Back to the plot, it is of course original as are all the plots in Vonnegut's novels and will at the very least make you scratch your head once or twice if it doesn't keep you enthralled and laughing. I would recommend this book to anyone with a sense of humor and a distaste for humanity, essentially any Vonnegut fan.

Rating:
Summary: Vonnegut needs more attention
Review: Hocus Pocus may constitute one of the most compelling examples of why Kurt Vonnegut deserves more critical acclaim as one of the foremost authors of our time. In my opinion, (I do have a doctorate in American Literature) Kurt ranks with Faulkner, Borges, and Phil Dick as the greatest of the great authors of our time. While Vonnegut lightly dances with his prose, he is actually showing us, just as Joyce, Faulkner and Kerouac did, how the past interacts with us on a daily basis. The past is present. Our pasts remain a part of us. In this whirlpool of time swirling by with all the force of a hurricane, (picture Edvard Munch's, The Scream) Vonnegut makes us aware that by being cognizant of time, and our place in it, we can become better navigators of this life.

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Summary: One of his best.........
Review: Hocus Pocus provides the typical Vonnegut parodies of everything society holds dear. It is extremely funny and has many memorable sarcastic gems. The bizzarre sequence of events interlaces with flashbacks and philosophical reflections. I really enjoyed reading something that frequently made me laugh out loud, particularly now when laughs are harder to come by.

Rating:
Summary: What Happened to Vonnegut?
Review: How could the man that turned out Galapagos, Slaughterhouse-Five, and Cat's Cradle turn out this? Yes, I will give the favorites credit: Parts of Hocus Pocus are excellent, parts. Sections are creative and funny, but it drags. The glue of the novel is Elmers; nothing interesting. No abnormal material holds this novel together. The more you get into the novel the worse it gets. It's all the same, droaning on and on. Then the reader hits a good part; and the good part is GOOD. Typical Vonnegut rules the good part, but Kilgore wrote all the stuff in between. Read this if you have time, but don't prevent yourself from reading something else first.

Rating:
Summary: It's a big disappointment and goes nowhere
Review: I am a big fan of Vonnegut's most famous books but found this dull and pointless. By the time I reached the end I had no idea why I was reading it.

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Summary: Can you say "NUTTY" ?
Review: I am a rabid Vonnegut fan, and this is one of my favorites. All the biting sarcastic humor you have come to expect from Vonnegut is in this book, along with all his commentary on this messed planet we inhabit. Honestly this book has everything, a prison break, a war, mental patients, and of course, like all Vonnegut, a story by the one and only Kilgore Trout.

Rating:
Summary: lost in Vonnegut
Review: I have read many of his novels and by now I am lost in his maze of words. I think he shows some attitudes of modern market society and makes fun of them. Very weird stuff and by now I can't believe his stories, so, it doesn't do much for me, but this is true Vonnegut, even if he is critical of the prison system with out hitting the nail on the head. Maybe this book will get at least one white collar criminal busted? We can only hope.

Rating:
Summary: There Have Been Better
Review: I have read many of Vonnegut's books, and this one has the same structure as all the others, but it just didn't excite me like many of his other books have done. It is worth checking out, but know that Vonnegut has written better material.

Rating:
Summary: just a real good book
Review: I have to say that this may be Vonnegut's best book in my eyes. While it has the same biting satire that identifies his style, it lacks the contempt for humanity that Vonnegut often shows in his later novels(ie. Galopagos, Timequake) While it isn't the important novel SlaughterHouse Five is, I found it to be a more enjoyable read. All in all, it's just a real good book.

Rating:
Summary: Hocus Pocus is among Vonnegut's top 3!!!
Review: I LOVE Vonnegut and have read almost all his stuff. It is tough to pick a favorite, but this one is very, very well written and thought provoking. He truly is a master satyrist. A must read for Vonnegut fans. A good one for people who want to catch a glimpse at the master at his best