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145th out of 4,622 books
—
31,391 voters
Breakfast of Champions
In Breakfast of Champions, one of Kurt Vonnegut’s most beloved characters, the aging writer Kilgore Trout, finds to his horror that a Midwest car dealer is taking his fiction as truth. What follows is murderously funny satire, as Vonnegut looks at war, sex, racism, success, politics, and pollution in America and reminds us how to see the truth....more
Paperback, 302 pages
Published
September 23rd 2009
by Dell Publishing
(first published 1973)
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He was a graduate of West Point. West Point was a military academy that turned young men into homicidal maniacs for use in war.
Another brilliant ride through Vonnegut-land. Part comedy, part searing social satire, this book has its fourth wall broken more than any other book I’ve read. At times, I may not have understood where it was going or what the “point” was, but it certainly left me satisfied. Also, I am now completely convinced of Mr. Vonnegut’s influence over Douglas Adams.
The Creator of...more
Another brilliant ride through Vonnegut-land. Part comedy, part searing social satire, this book has its fourth wall broken more than any other book I’ve read. At times, I may not have understood where it was going or what the “point” was, but it certainly left me satisfied. Also, I am now completely convinced of Mr. Vonnegut’s influence over Douglas Adams.
The Creator of...more
The House of Trouts:
Kilgore Trout’s latest book, World’s Funniest Thermonuclear Accidents, was forthcoming from Michael O’Mara. He shared a bathroom with Kilgore Trout, whose latest book, Complications in the Chrono-Synclastic Infundibulum, had forthcome from Yale Press. The two Trouts co-rented a kitchen with Kilgore Trout, whose book I Was a Teenage Obergruppenführer, had not found a publisher. All three Trouts did not read each other’s books and did not discuss literary matters at all. When o...more
Kilgore Trout’s latest book, World’s Funniest Thermonuclear Accidents, was forthcoming from Michael O’Mara. He shared a bathroom with Kilgore Trout, whose latest book, Complications in the Chrono-Synclastic Infundibulum, had forthcome from Yale Press. The two Trouts co-rented a kitchen with Kilgore Trout, whose book I Was a Teenage Obergruppenführer, had not found a publisher. All three Trouts did not read each other’s books and did not discuss literary matters at all. When o...more
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Jul 06, 2007
Joe
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
People with bad chemicals in their heads
Good old Kurt (God rest his soul) has truly helped me understand what all this fuss is about "wide open beavers".
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 civilization which died out long ago and is addressing an audience who knows nothing of it.
This book is hilarious and heart-breaking at the same time. It follows a sci-fi author (Trout) of Vonnegut's own creation who meets a...more
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 civilization which died out long ago and is addressing an audience who knows nothing of it.
This book is hilarious and heart-breaking at the same time. It follows a sci-fi author (Trout) of Vonnegut's own creation who meets a...more
God, what a terrible book of nonsense.
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 have completely random ridiculous thoughts that do not have any purpose towards the message of the story. When you do that, its like the intellectual version of VH1 reality; people love it for shock value, while...more
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 have completely random ridiculous thoughts that do not have any purpose towards the message of the story. When you do that, its like the intellectual version of VH1 reality; people love it for shock value, while...more
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I should have liked this book more. It's about as "Vonnegut" as Vonnegut books go - with Kilgore Trout as a leading character, and Vonnegut mixing his views into the narrative to the point of eventually inserting himself, as author, into the story. And, of course, the book is filled with Vonnegut's humorous drawings and ability to return to an earlier observation in a way not unlike an incisive stand-up comedian. A modern-day Mark Twain, Vonnegut has been one of my favorite authors for years. So...more
15 likes
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A loveable, highly enjoyable and entranced satirical look at western culture (and the United States in particular), this might be rightly termed not as a novel but as one of the best examples of contemporary American parable. Vonnegut is witty, dry, matter-of-fact. His detached perspective gives fresh meaning to the subjects about which he writes, and he plays with words in a way that lets the reader know that, yes, the author is fully aware of the fact that this is fiction, not reality, and som...more
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Kurt Vonnegut sobre sua literatura, em Breakfast of Champions:
"I had become more and more enraged and mystified by the idiot decisions made by my countrymen. And then I had come suddenly to pity them, for I understood how innocent and natural it was for them to behave so abominably, with such abominable results: they were doing their best to live like people invented in story books. This was the reason Americans shot each other so often: It was a convenient literary device for ending short stori...more
"I had become more and more enraged and mystified by the idiot decisions made by my countrymen. And then I had come suddenly to pity them, for I understood how innocent and natural it was for them to behave so abominably, with such abominable results: they were doing their best to live like people invented in story books. This was the reason Americans shot each other so often: It was a convenient literary device for ending short stori...more
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I am about to finish Kurt Vonnegut's 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 enjoying the book because parts of it induce discomfort. There are many things in the universe that make me feel the opposite of discomfort. One of those things is a lava lamp.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
A lava lamp emits light but...more
I'm enjoying the book because it feels easy to read. I'm not enjoying the book because parts of it induce discomfort. There are many things in the universe that make me feel the opposite of discomfort. One of those things is a lava lamp.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
A lava lamp emits light but...more
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I can't believe that my first exposure to Vonnegut's brilliance happened an embarrassingly few years ago. And that this is only the second book of his that I've had the good fortune to spend some time with. My only complaint is that this proved to be far too quick of a read, as I could have happily spent hundreds more pages with this kind of storytelling. I have too much fun with the way Vonnegut navigates a story. It's an absolute treat to get lost in a book when the writing's this good.
I have...more
I have...more
Why Kurt Vonnegut is a genius:
As for the story itself, it was entitled "The Dancing Fool." Like so many Trout stories, it was about a tragic failure to communicate.
Here was the plot: A flying saucer creature named Zog arrived on Earth to explain how wars could be prevented and how cancer could be cured. He brought the information from Margo, a planet where the natives conversed by means of farts and tap dancing.
Zog landed at night in Connecticut. He had no sooner touched down than he saw a hous...more
As for the story itself, it was entitled "The Dancing Fool." Like so many Trout stories, it was about a tragic failure to communicate.
Here was the plot: A flying saucer creature named Zog arrived on Earth to explain how wars could be prevented and how cancer could be cured. He brought the information from Margo, a planet where the natives conversed by means of farts and tap dancing.
Zog landed at night in Connecticut. He had no sooner touched down than he saw a hous...more
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Re-read this after quite a few years - written in a faux-naive style that is occasionally just naive ("Communists...had a theory that what was left of the planet should be shared more or less equally among all the people"), it is still frequently good satire - unlike satirists who seem to hate everyone, Vonnegut really wants to find things to like about everyone, they just keep disappointing him.
Here's a quote I liked (remember this is from 1973) "When [Earthlings] built computers to do some thi...more
Here's a quote I liked (remember this is from 1973) "When [Earthlings] built computers to do some thi...more
Oct 12, 2008
Daniel
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Those New to Vonnegut
It was with trepidation that I revisited one of my favorite books from my teenage years. Rereading others that I loved in those years has proven disappointing. "Breakfast of Champions" holds up well, though, and seems to grow richer over the years. Some of Vonnegut's other books may be deeper or more emotional or less gimmicky than this one, but I don't know that any are better. I don't think anyone has done what is sometimes called metafiction, with the author participating in his own novel, as...more
Read this decades ago, and just read it again. I've never read a bad Vonnegut book, and even though he never gave this one his top rating, I'm giving it my top rating ... so there! It's pointless describing this book in a review - no description could do it justice - and anyway, it's incapable of description. Just put your alternative reality cap on, fire up a glass of red wine, settle back in the comfy chair (not ... the comfy chair!!!? NOBODY expect the ... etc etc) and enjoy!
When is the moment you realize that it isn't just the book that's a favourite of yours? It's the author as well? I love Kurt Vonnegut.
It's kind of difficult to explain his books, I suppose you can tell the plot, or explain what you think of it but you can't really convey the feel of them. You need to experience them.
Well, Breakfast of Champions is a very intimate book about life, humans, those of who we think matter, and those we don't, about dreams and how they mean the whole world to somebody,...more
It's kind of difficult to explain his books, I suppose you can tell the plot, or explain what you think of it but you can't really convey the feel of them. You need to experience them.
Well, Breakfast of Champions is a very intimate book about life, humans, those of who we think matter, and those we don't, about dreams and how they mean the whole world to somebody,...more
This was the first Vonnegut book I read, when I was 13. I chose it from the ones my mother had because, when scanning through, I noticed the little drawings. I am so grateful that those little drawings made me choose this book first. Since then, after reading many others, I know it was definitely the best to introduce me to the Vonnegut genre. It is lighthearted and funny, yet full of moments where the characters achieve great inner reflection, causing the reader to do the same. Vonnegut changed...more
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Jan 21, 2009
Michael
rated it
3 of 5 stars
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review of another edition
Shelves:
audio-book,
read-in-2009
I have to admit I'm not a huge Vonnegut fan. But as a "reading snob" I feel like I should at least be more aware of his novels than I am.
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 listening to it and reading up a bit more on how the printed novel has cartoon illustrations, I think I may have missed a vital part of the reading experience.
"Breakfast of Champions" is the story of two men on a random collision path. There are s...more
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 listening to it and reading up a bit more on how the printed novel has cartoon illustrations, I think I may have missed a vital part of the reading experience.
"Breakfast of Champions" is the story of two men on a random collision path. There are s...more
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Very fast read. First Vonnegut book I've read. Good stuff. Reminded me a little bit of The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Night-time...maybe it was just the drawings. I'll be reading more of his books.
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Solid 7/10 (or 3.5/5). I will always have a soft spot for this book. It's insane, yet brilliant. It's nonsensical and in other parts completely profound. In my teen years I adored this book and it still has some of my favourite quotes of all time. It's rare you come across a book that is so fucking weird, almost to the point of frustration and yet so completely unpretentious. This is the novel Kurt Vonnegut wrote for himself as a 50th birthday present, with every intention of hanging the hat up...more
In Breakfast of Champions, the author Kurt Vonnegut tells authentic and wise stories that lead to the encounter of the main characters Kilgore Trout and Dwayne Hoover. With Vonnegut’s black humor and use of strong similie’s he shows his capability to evoke the readers emotions. After the meeting of Trout and Hoover, Trout a struggling writer becomes successful and wins a Nobel Prize. However, Hoover is a businessman loaded with money and on the edge of insanity sent over that edge after he met...more
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A satirically instructive, but not didactic, foray into that special brand of American cultural illogic and consequence, special for the scale of its folly. Written simply, but with subtle power, Vonnegut is a Dr. Seuss for adults. At times he even rhymes. ("Dwayne Hoover slept until ten at the new Holiday Inn").
Vonnegut illustrated the book himself with simple drawings, symbolic of the packaged, robotic lifestyle he saw Americans living. Or sometimes not really symbolic at all, but perhaps more...more
Vonnegut illustrated the book himself with simple drawings, symbolic of the packaged, robotic lifestyle he saw Americans living. Or sometimes not really symbolic at all, but perhaps more...more
I had read Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut a while back and liked it well enough, so I thought I'd try something else out. Breakfast of Champions, a story about the fateful meeting between an eccentric science fiction writer and a half (and eventually completely) crazy car salesman, may not have been the best choice.
On the one hand, I like Vonnegut's sense of humor. It's very droll, very piercing, and it often makes you think. He can skewer concepts like patriotism, entertainment, sexuality...more
On the one hand, I like Vonnegut's sense of humor. It's very droll, very piercing, and it often makes you think. He can skewer concepts like patriotism, entertainment, sexuality...more
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Controlled randomness are two words I would stamp on this book by Vonnegut. The narrator is the creator of the characters and controlls their actions and thoughts with the stroke of his pen. That's kind of silly metaphor for all fiction pieces where it's the author's whim and fancy of who does what when and what repercusions result from these fabricated actions. So in a way, in Breakfast of Champians, Vonnegut is poking fun at serious fiction, because none of it is true and all of it is an autho...more
Vonnegut offers peeps a chance to examine American and Western culture as if it were a specimen lacking all logic and reason, which, for the most part it is. Through this approach, he reveals some of the most senseless aspects of history and the daily lives of Americans as if he were introducing them to readers for the first time (complete with concise spouts of background information). Of course, this is not the first time these things have been introduced to his readers, but it is possibly the...more
I was disappointed in this book because the only other Vonnegut I've read was 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 Vonnegut's points seem tired and cliche. The book is generally about a small section in the lives of an author (Kilgore Trout) and a salesman (Dwayne Hoover). Most of the book is comprised of Vonnegut pausing to exp...more
I'm certain that this book was a lot better when it was published (1973). Nowadays, however, most of Vonnegut's points seem tired and cliche. The book is generally about a small section in the lives of an author (Kilgore Trout) and a salesman (Dwayne Hoover). Most of the book is comprised of Vonnegut pausing to exp...more
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Best passages:
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 into my head, at any rate, do not fit together nicely, are offten useless and ugly, are out of proportion with one another, are out of proportion with life as it really is outside my head. I have no culture, no humane harmon...more
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 into my head, at any rate, do not fit together nicely, are offten useless and ugly, are out of proportion with one another, are out of proportion with life as it really is outside my head. I have no culture, no humane harmon...more
I read this book during a trip to Australia in 1996, and it passed the time on Greyhound Pioneer (where we were otherwise forced to endure Disney movies)nicely. Full of pointed humor, true irony and a dark sensibility, this is a short, but eye-opening read about the human condition.
When it comes to Vonnegut, I find it impossible to choose between my three favorites: Cat's Cradle, Sirens of Titan, and of course Breakfast of Champions. Each is a perfect example of the unmatched wit and creativity of Kurt Vonnegut.
Breakfast of Champions is the story of Dwayne Hoover, a car salesman who's slowly losing his mind. He has the misfortune of coming across a short story by classic Vonnegut character Kilgore Trout. This story, taking the form of a letter from The Creator, tips Hoover...more
Breakfast of Champions is the story of Dwayne Hoover, a car salesman who's slowly losing his mind. He has the misfortune of coming across a short story by classic Vonnegut character Kilgore Trout. This story, taking the form of a letter from The Creator, tips Hoover...more
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This is, maybe with the exception of Slapstick, the worst Vonnegut book I've ever read. People seem to like it because it is very Vonnegut-y, but no one seems to realize that it fails to ever become coherent, or even become coherent in its incoherence like some of his other books. If you like Kurt Vonnegut because you think he is funny, you may like this book. But if you like Kurt Vonnegut because of his keen insight into human nature and the inherent folly of human existence, then this book is...more
Mar 20, 2009
Jonathan
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
devoted Vonnegut fans who know what they're getting into.
Shelves:
general-fiction
This book, thankfully, was not my introduction to Vonnegut. If it were, I probably would not have cared to sample any of his other works, and would have missed out on some of the last century's most brilliant satire. Here, however, Vonnegut is engaged in either some bizarre parody of himself, or simply being lazy (or, most probably, both).
Sitting down to write this review, I had to read the Wikipedia summary of the book, simply to remind myself exactly what it was about. As my impression goes, t...more
Sitting down to write this review, I had to read the Wikipedia summary of the book, simply to remind myself exactly what it was about. As my impression goes, t...more
This was a popular seller back in the days of peace, love, and dope. I recently read a yellowed copy a few paragraphs at a time between sets at the home gym, so the lack of flow I ascribe to it may be due, in part, to that. Actually, with all his inserted drawings and the bullet-point structure, it seemed like Vonnegut was more interested in piecing together Dunkin’ Munchkin-like observations on American society than in any kind of narrative flow. The plot was very much beside the point.
Vonnegut...more
Vonnegut...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Vonnegut | 11 | 97 | Jan 31, 2013 06:19am | |
| The Tragic Death of Kurt Vonnegut | 21 | 354 | Jan 04, 2013 01:20am | |
| Bokt goodreads gr...: Kurt Vonnegut - Breakfast of Champions | 1 | 14 | Aug 05, 2011 06:12am |
Kurt Vonnegut, Junior was an American novelist, satirist, and most recently, graphic artist. He was recognized as New York State Author for 2001-2003.
He was born in Indianapolis, later the setting for many of his novels. He attended Cornell University from 1941 to 1943, where he wrote a column for the student newspaper, the Cornell Daily Sun. Vonnegut trained as a chemist and worked as a journali...more
More about Kurt Vonnegut...
He was born in Indianapolis, later the setting for many of his novels. He attended Cornell University from 1941 to 1943, where he wrote a column for the student newspaper, the Cornell Daily Sun. Vonnegut trained as a chemist and worked as a journali...more
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