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Breakfast of Champions

Breakfast of Champions

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Vonnegut's most entertaining read
Review: This book doesn't hold quite the weight as "Slaughterhouse Five" or "Cat's Cradle" to critics and many readers, but I believe it to be his funniest work without a doubt. Even thought it doens't make quite a grand of statement as those two books, it nonetheless is filled with brilliant satire and comments on our ridiculous society. The book may be even stronger because it was probably more difficult to make this subject matter work so well. The characters are memorable and you won't stop laughing. Any first-time Vonnegut reader would be doing fine to start here if they aren't as inclined to delve into his science-fiction works, and for those who started with them, you will not be dissapointed with this one.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Postmodernism's Mad Scientist
Review: Perhaps not revered by literary scholars quite to the extent of "Slaughterhouse Five" or "Cat's Cradle," in the hearts of Vonnegut fans (so far as I can tell) "Breakfast of Champions" is just as beloved. It is not difficult to see why: for an author known for his bizarre humor, it is perhaps Vonnegut's most bizarre and his most humorous.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A fantastically free-form, interesting book!
Review: Vonnegut breaks through so many conventions in this writing. It is, I feel, one of his most creative piece, which is something Vonnegut readers can appreciate. I will never forget this book for breaking down the idea that a novel or book had to conform to a certain structure. The sinker for me was when Vonnegut walks into his own narrative, and talks to Kilgore Trout, his counter-ego, who bows to him as his creator and controller. Now that's cool!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: breakfast of "champions"?
Review: Many times one reads a book for an intricate plot and brilliant character development. Breakfast of Champions does not quite live up to these conditions, but it is the amazing wit and poignancy of Vonnegut which really makes this book a must read. Whether it is about racial prejudice, economic lust, the problems with American society, or simply the stupidity and ridiculousness of the average person's life, Vonnegut has something to say. As an American who knows what it is like to live in a society that is overwhelmed by ignorance and greed, I advise those who have not realized the true state of the country to read this book and to contemplate their previous beliefs. Social satire is utilized at its best in this worthwhile book which I recommend wholeheartedly.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Sensational
Review: Breakfast of Champions is a trademark used by General Mills for the advertisement of Wheaties cereal. The use of this trademark as the title for this book is not intended to imply a partnership nor disparage their fine product...

Or something like that.

It's been a long time since I read this book. The author describes it as a birthday present to himself, and states that he will be walking backward through his life and recapturing his youth. I don't know about any of that, but I do know that Kurt Vonnegut Jrs. meandering sarcasm and dangerously risque wit add a certain sparkle and charm that few books have. He is, in one moment, unbelievably urbane and civilized, while the next he is shockingly crude, vulgar and base. It's a book that you don't expect. I never saw it coming, and it took several reads until I finally felt that I understood the somewhat Zen message that Vonnegut was trying to say. I'm not going to tell you that part. That you have to read and discover on your own. Read! Enjoy! And if you don't like it... then I'm sorry that I led you astray.

BERMUDA SHORTS!

The Smiling Bandit (Strikes Again/Ha Ha Ha)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Why isn't this required reading in the public schools??!!!!
Review: Never before has KV given us a clearer account of his view of society. His subject matter couldn't be more familiar...America in the 20th century with all its artificiality and blandness...but Vonnegut manages to make it as fresh and foreign as if he were telling us about a planet in a distant galaxy. Vonnegut challenges his readers to reexamine our own perceptions of reality and points out how bizarre some of the things we take for granted really are. As usual, KV uses characters that have already appeared or later appear in other novels. For instance, the Drano eating Celia Hoover is a character in "Deadeye Dick," and the modern painter Rabo Karabekian is the central character in "Bluebeard." Kilgore Trout is included in countless KV novels. This overlapping web of characters serves to weave Vonnegut readers into an extended family of standouts and nobodies...so that every book provides insight into every other book, and you've never fully heard anyone's story until you've finished them all. I highly recommend this and any other KV novel you can get your hands on!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Disappointing compared to his other work.
Review: Though I typically find KV's books very entertaining, this one just didn't do much for me for the first 9/10 of it. Vonnegut usually has some phrase or idea he repeats extensively in his novels; you may remember "ting-a-ling" or "So it goes"; well, in this novel, which is excessively badly pornographic in passing, Vonnegut feels the need to tell you the size of every male character's member upon introduction; It really doesn't serve any central purpose to the story.
Two of the key characters, Rabo and Kilgore, are served up much more fascinatingly and entertainingly in other books. He also includes a TON of drawings, which are only necessary maybe one fifth of the time. I guess I believe he has a problem with moderation!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A must read
Review: If you are a Vonnegut fan than this book is a must read. His quirky humor and abstract delve into the idiosyncracies of our human existence are not only hysterical, but will make you put down the book, think, and re-read sections to truly grasp the absurdity of our existance and question the monotony of our everyday lives.

If you enjoyed this also read Slaughterhouse Five!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: 4 1/2 stars
Review: This book was, like everything else I've read by Kurt Vonnegut, highly entertaining and very strange. It is definitely worth reading, but I think other books by him are far better. Even though it's not his best, it's better than most can do. If you like Vonnegut, you will like this book, too.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Highly Entertaining
Review: Breakfast of Champions has to be one of the wittiest and cleverest books I've ever read. Witty for the irrevent, and quite hilarous, first few chapters; clever for the way that the seemingly random plot elements fall together, and the ingenious way in which Vonnegut inserts himself into his own novel. (What would you do if you met your Creater? Ha!) This book doesn't have very much in the way of plot, but then, this is Vonnegut we're talking about here. The story here is really secondary to the social criticism that Vonnegut doles out. Here we get his views on many things (America, slavery, racism, pollution, sex, God) all woven into the story in a clever and entertaining way. Vonnegut has an odd way of keeping you reading, he's not a master of suspense per se, but his books are always hard to put down. For one thing, his prose is always clear and lucid, and the writing is extremely fast-paced, also he drops here and there hints of what is to come in the novel without actually spelling out the details. One would think this would make it pointless and useless to finish the book, but it has, in fact, the opposite effect. I highly reccommend Breakfast of Champions to anyone looking for a good, fast, and funny read, or to those who can appreciate something truly off-kilter.


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