false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165517166m/4980.jpg 4980 30 "We are healthy only to the extent that our ideas are humane." So reads the tombstone of downtrodden writer Kilgore Trout, but we have no doubt who's really talking: his alter ego Kurt Vonnegut. Health versus sickness, humanity versus inhumanity--both sets of ideas bounce through this challenging and funny book. As with the rest of Vonnegut's pure fantasy, it lacks the shimmering, fact-fueled rage that illuminates <i>Slaughterhouse-Five</i>. At the same time, that makes this book perhaps more enjoyable to read. <p> <i>Breakfast of Champions</i> is a slippery, lucid, bleakly humorous jaunt through (sick? inhumane?) America circa 1973, with Vonnegut acting as our Virgil-like companion. The book follows its main character, auto-dealing solid-citizen Dwayne Hoover, down into madness, a condition brought on by the work of the aforementioned Kilgore Trout. As Dwayne cracks, then crumbles, <i>Breakfast of Champions</i> coolly shows the effects his dementia has on the web of characters surrounding him. It's not much of a plot, but it's enough for Vonnegut to air unique opinions on America, sex, war, love, and all of his other pet topics--you know, the only ones that really count. 2859378 book 1973 Breakfast of Champions total:28416|5:10389|4:11194|3:5542|2:1029|1:262| 28416 115667 34677 1239 5 6 true false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 05 09:54:38 -0700 2007 Fri Jul 06 10:39:35 -0700 2007 This is a quick and rewarding read (with funny drawings) that makes you think about the world in a totally new way. I love how Vonnegut writes about America as a civiliza...more...]]> 5 3 false false Fri Aug 24 23:56:03 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 09 20:16:45 -0700 2007 Fri Aug 24 23:55:48 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 4 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri May 25 11:30:33 -0700 2007 Fri Aug 17 05:26:08 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 15 false false Tue Aug 05 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 24 10:20:55 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 06 11:33:51 -0700 2008 Breakfast of Champions. I checked out the book from the Multnomah County Library four weeks ago. I've never read anything by Kurt Vonnegut before. The book looks like this:



I'm enjoying the book because it feels easy to read. I'm not enjoyi...more...]]> 3 2 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 08 20:37:09 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 08 20:46:35 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Sat Mar 21 23:21:39 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 21 23:26:18 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Tue Jan 13 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 11 03:16:30 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 21 08:33:36 -0800 2009
So, when I saw "Breakfast of Champions" as an audio book, I thought I'd give it a try.

And I have to say that after list...more...]]> 4 2 false false Mon Sep 01 22:24:53 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 14 14:42:10 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 01 22:24:53 -0700 2008 5 1 false false Tue Aug 19 18:06:00 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 16 15:55:56 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 19 18:06:00 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sun Sep 02 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 03 05:58:51 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 03 05:59:30 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false false Wed Jul 09 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 09 09:28:06 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 09 09:28:23 -0700 2008
The two main characters are just overly weird and bizarre for the sake of being bizarre. And I mean really really bizarre. (I suspect many people say they like Vonnegut because he is so damn weird, but theres gotta be a purpose to it. You can't just ...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Jul 06 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 02 19:13:40 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 06 12:23:32 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Wed Jun 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 09 11:59:40 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 18 16:55:41 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sat Jun 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed May 14 13:39:49 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 28 00:10:17 -0700 2008 Slaughterhouse-Five. If that book is one where everything works, this is a book where almost nothing does.

I'm certain that this book was a lot better when it was published (1973). Nowadays, however, most of Von...more...]]> 5 1 false false Mon Apr 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 30 15:22:00 -0700 2008 Thu May 08 16:35:49 -0700 2008
I think I am trying to make my head as empty as it was when I was born onto this damaged planet fifty years ago.

I suspect that this is something most white Americans, and nonwhite Americans who imitate white Americans, should do. The things other people hae put ...more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Sep 19 00:00:00 -0700 1996 Wed Dec 17 18:50:51 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 17 18:53:16 -0800 2008 5 1 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Fri Apr 04 17:22:43 -0700 2008 Fri Apr 11 09:07:30 -0700 2008
Breakfast of Champions is the story of Dwayne Hoover,...more...]]> 5 1 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Jan 17 08:53:26 -0800 2008 Sun Oct 12 14:31:20 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false false Thu Jan 08 13:28:03 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 08 13:32:57 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Fri Mar 20 14:17:04 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 20 15:01:25 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=4980