"Breakfast of Champions" (1973) - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s Bleak, Depressing, yet Humorous Portrait of America and Planet Earth

[DonRocks]

I'm about 25% of the way into "Breakfast of Champions," by Post-Modernist, Counter-Culture grump, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. The only other work I've read by Vonnegut is "Slaughterhouse-Five," and a beginning Vonnegut reader should probably start there, as it's most likely his best novel. "Breakfast of Champions" is a fine book, but "Slaughterhouse-Five" is its equal, and more important historically.
 
It would be pointless, as usual, to summarize the plot in this, or any other, book for you, so instead I seek intelligent discussion about the novel - I would love for this forum to evolve into a gigantic Book Club, where we can all chime in whenever we feel like it, about anything we want to chime in about.
 
My limited experience with Vonnegut is that he is cynical and nihilistic, hates people and what they've done to both the planet and to themselves, and has little or no hope for the future of mankind. And yet, he expresses those sentiments with biting humor, sarcasm, and literary weaponry. He's an important author, not necessarily a great writer, and the world would be a better place if everyone fit one or two of his works into their repertoire while not necessary buying into his entire philosophy.
 
**SPOILERS FOLLOW**
 
As a reader's guide, here are some brief Chapter descriptions:
 
Epilogue: Homage to Phoebe Hurty by the author, nicknamed Philboyd Studge.
1. Introduction to the novel's two main characters, Dwayne Hoover and Killgore Trout.
2. More depth about Hoover and Trout; the tale of Kago and the Zeltoldimarians.
3. Trout gets his first fan letter, and is invited to the Midland City Arts Festival.
4. Hoover briefly descends into madness, and is clearly having some trouble.
5. Trout goes to Manhattan to prepare for the Arts Festival; his novels are detailed.
6. Hoover continues his insanity, with more details given about his escapades.  
7. Trout is intrigued with and inspired in a pornographic theater, seeing meaning there.

8. Trout wanders down 42nd Street, and is battered by the Pluto Gang, scaring NYC.

9. Hoover checks in his own Holiday Inn at an odd hour, falling asleep like a lamb.

10. Trout gets picked up by the Lincoln Tunnel; rides in an olive truck through NJ.

11. Hoover gazes across highway; sinks into dimples; Wayne Hoobler is in Fairyland.

12. Trout heading west past Philadelphia in truck; chats with driver; his son is Leo.

13. Pontiac dealership has Hawaiian Day; Sacred Cave owned by Hoover's stepbrothers.

14. Truck in WV; Rosewater's mines; Books used for toilet paper; Hoover's a Hoobler.

15. 38-page chapter; Patty Keene; Bannister memorials; Penis sizes; Hoover and Francine.

16. Truck approaches cave; "Now It Can Be Told"; Adam and Eve; Trout closer to Hoover;

17. Bunny Hoover is a gay pianist; Military school; Bunny's mom expanded on; Skid Row

18. Truck is close, Hoobler misses prison; Author incognito; Keedsler and Kerebekian.

19. Cocktail lounge; Ned Lingamon; Eldon Robbins; Swimmer; Temptation of St. Anthony

20. Maritimo Brothers; Plastic in Sugar Creek; Milo; The Smart Bunny; Trout checks in

21. Lounge; Lynching in Shepardstown; E=MC2; Robo-Magic; Goodbye, Blue Monday

22. Lounge; WO1 Jon Sparks; Crispus Attucks; Bird calls; Hoover confronts Trout at last

23. Y-O-U; Hoover goes on rampage; Hoover attacks Hoobler; Payton Brown; Fairyland

24. Martha; Christmas Cards; Ukwende and Miasma; Eddie Key; Trout's fingertip; ETC.

25. Epilogue; Elgin Washington; Kazak; Trout transported; Weeping for parents; ETC.

[porcupine]

My limited experience with Vonnegut is that he is cynical and nihilistic, hates people and what they've done to both the planet and to themselves, and has little or no hope for the future of mankind. And yet, he expresses those sentiments with biting humor, sarcasm, and literary weaponry. He's an important author, not necessarily a great writer, and the world would be a better place if everyone fit one or two of his works into their repertoire while not necessary buying into his entire philosophy.

 

I was thinking of jumping in but... you totally nailed it.  I can add nothing.

[The Hersch]

I'm about 25% of the way into "Breakfast of Champions," by Post-Modernist, Counter-Culture grump, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. The only other work I've read by Vonnegut is "Slaughterhouse-Five,"

Two milestone books in my reading life. I believe Breakfast of Champions is the only full-length novel I've read in a single day. I was home sick, and someone had given me a copy. I think it was in 1994. Slaughterhouse Five was the last novel I read while it was actually on major best-seller lists. I don't remember much about either one, I'm sorry to say.

[DonRocks]

Wow.

If you want to see some pissed off people, watch this episode of "Real Time with Bill Maher" from 2005, not long after Hurricane Katrina.

After Bill Maher, George Carlin, and Cynthia Tucker dismantle (and dare I say "gang up on") an outnumbered Jim Glassman - who held his own surprisingly well given that he was being relentlessly pelted - an angry, cynical, Kurt Vonnegut (who is somehow able to make George Carlin look happy and joyful) is interviewed at the 44:10 mark, and man, this guy does not pull any punches. This is the first time I've ever heard him speak, and speak he does:

https://youtu.be/C2zyT1Gbbso?t=44m10s

Point to ponder: if Vonnegut is so fatalistic and nihilistic (I realize I've used that word twice now, but I can't think of a better one), then why is he writing books? Writing books for posterity is about the most egocentrical, *optimistic* thing someone can do, unless they're simply doing it to make a buck, and money does not seem to be what motivates Vonnegut.

I also have to *strongly* object to something Vonnegut says about Hurricane Katrina. Boldface type is my own: He says, "Well, this country was already financially and spiritually ruined before the hurricane ever hit New Orleans. I thought about this tsunami hitting Indonesia - nature was a piker compared to human beings when it comes to killing people. The tsunami killed, I think I calculated about 3% as many as the Holocaust killed."

Sounds good, right? Well, no. What about cancer, and heart attacks? Are they not "nature?" Sorry, Mr. Vonnegut, you were defeated by your own rhetoric on this one, and you're just plain wrong. And I mean your facts are wrong, and you're guilty of the sin of omission. Damn I wish I was the one interviewing him - he wouldn't have snuck that one by me.

[Steve R.]

Interesting guy"¦ not sure there's a biography around worth reading.  Have listened to him since I was in H.S. in the late '60s & relentlessly read all his stuff when in college and thereafter as it came out.

As an aside, pick up "Eden Express", his son's book about his own life, from his father to drug addiction to mental illness.  He became a Psychiatrist.  Great reading.

[DonRocks]

In the beginning of Chapter 20, the bartender's name is Harold Newcomb Wilbur. This seems innocent enough, but I suspect Vonnegut never wrote one, single innocent name.

Wilbur is the second most decorated serviceman in Midland City (he fought in Japan in WWII - against yellow robots that were powered by rice), and I believe his name means the following:

Harold: a synonym with Herald which could either mean 1) to foreshadow, or to be a harbinger of something, or 2) heraldry which is the craft that deals with coats of arms

Newcomb: a synonym with Nuke 'em!

Wilbur: a small town in Indiana (Vonnegut was from Indianapolis, and Wilbur is 30 miles SW of Indianapolis)

There may be other interpretations with this name, but I'm pretty certain about the middle name, and it's awesome.

I'd love it if anyone wanted to give other names a shot. I suspect most every name has a hidden meaning. Has anyone ever done this before with "Breakfast of Champions?" I've searched the internet, and haven't found anything - I'd hate to duplicate work that's already been done, so if someone finds something, please let me know ASAP.

This is why they got Hannibal Lecter to help catch Buffalo Bill - it takes one to know one, and I'm about as cynical as they come - so was Vonnegut.

There's definitely some overlap here with Midland City (Breakfast of Champions) and Pawnee (Parks and Recreation), or maybe this is all in my mind, and I'm like Mrs. Ross in "The Whisperers." who, incidentally, suspended my cynicism for precisely one hour and forty-seven minutes, in true Vonnegut fashion.

I was reading this at lunch yesterday in the Tysons Corner "Founding Farmers" (where "Inox" used to be), and my bartender recognized it, and said, "Vonnegut's my favorite author!" This is definitely the type of book people can recognize from afar. I wonder if *this* is the "splashy new restaurant" that Tom Sietsema mentioned in his chat today, saying how salty the food was (do a find on "splashy").

[JBag57]

Between 1975 and about 1982, I read pretty much everything Vonnegut had cranked out.  These were the first books, aside from Jim Bouton's "Ball Four" which I read as a 13 year old when it was published, that I read voluntarily (i.e., not for school assignments).  Although some were better than others, at least for me, I remember pretty much enjoying every one of them. 

[DonRocks]

Between 1975 and about 1982, I read pretty much everything Vonnegut had cranked out.  These were the first books, aside from Jim Bouton's "Ball Four" which I read as a 13 year old when it was published, that I read voluntarily (i.e., not for school assignments).  Although some were better than others, at least for me, I remember pretty much enjoying every one of them. 

I'm not going to sit here and say they're great works of literature, but they're a great deal of fun, and hard not to at least like. There are a couple levels of depth to be found, too, but I'm not sure just how many. Mainly, I think Vonnegut had a point of view that he wanted to get across, and he did a darned good job doing it. Note also that he was active in World War II in Dresden during the firebombing, so has first-hand knowledge of what it was like.

My copy of Breakfast of Champions (paperback) is shot, and I'm going to buy one to keep for posterity - preferably, I'd like to buy something decent, but the original 1973 hardcover version with dust cover is upwards of $100, and Franklin Library put out an autographed version in leather and 22K gold accents (each autographed by Vonnegut) that's going for over $500 - ideally what I'd like is a nice, hardcover copy, preferably leather-bound, but I don't need Kurt's autograph, and if it's close to $100, then so be it. Anyone know of any sources for a well-kept version in the two-digit range?

[DonRocks]

Well, I finished, and I'm not quite sure what I just read. If you look at my Chapter summaries up in Post #1, you see that they get very laconic because Vonnegut throws out *so* much information in each chapter, with each paragraph seemingly introducing a new, almost random, subject.

It's clear he wasn't too happy about either pollution or racism.

And I suppose if you ever need to get a really firm grasp of the term Deus ex Machina, all you need to do is read "Breakfast of Champions."

A question here for someone who knows anything about buying used books. Ebay has lots of hardcover, 1973 editions of this book, with nearly insane ranges in price - it seems I can get a perfectly decent copy for $30 or so, or, I can get what looks like the same thing for $300 (or, I can get the leather-bound Easton Press autographed edition for about $500, but I think I'll take a pass on that one). Does anyone have experience buying books on Ebay? Do people put things up there, just hoping and praying that some sucker will come along and pay ten-times what something is worth? (I suspect you could walk into many a used bookstore an find a hardcover copy of this book for $5.)

[DonRocks]

As I say, it's possible to get a bargain on Ebay if you know what you're doing. I gave up buying books in that venue quite a few years ago after some really unsatisfactory transactions. You will almost never get a real bargain in a used book-shop, as they're run by book dealers who do know what they're doing and know the value of their stock, but you won't get ripped off either. You can find bargains in junk/"antique" shops and charity shops, but it's an awful lot of effort.

Thanks, Herschel. I actually bought two used books about a month ago - I think one was on Amazon, and the other was on eBay. When I wear out a book, I *Wear* *Out* *A* *Book*, and my paperback "Breakfast of Champions" was literally in several pieces when I was finished with it. When I do this, I usually try to find a serviceable hardcover version - nothing special; if I can find affordable leather, I'll get it - but this is mainly a "trophy" to the relatively large number of hours I've put into something, and quite often I'll use it for future reference; I found a hardcover "Breakfast of Champions" for about $20, and it looks to be in pretty solid shape, but it's still wrapped in plastic.

On a related note, I *highly* advise people in their 20s to begin reading literature - just a couple books a year - and by the time you're my age, you'll be surprisingly well-read. And reading becomes a pleasure rather than a chore; for me, it did not come naturally, and I didn't read my first non-forced book until I was about 23 years old. On a whim, I picked up a copy of "Old Man And The Sea," and that got me started on a lifetime of literature.

I went ahead and split off your post into this thread because I think it will be useful to others in the future, and they won't be looking here.

[DonRocks]

Roses are red,

And ready for plucking.

You're sixteen, 

And ready for high school.

-- Kurt Vonnegut, "Breakfast of Champions," excerpt from Chapter 15

[saf]

Did you see the movie adaptation?

It was good, as was the movie of "Mother Night."

Yes, I have a large collection of Vonnegut.

[DonRocks]

Did you see the movie adaptation?

It was good, as was the movie of "Mother Night."

Yes, I have a large collection of Vonnegut.

I did not, and thank you for letting me know there even is one - this is now on my short-list.

[saf]

I did not, and thank you for letting me know there even is one - this is now on my short-list.

They made that, and Mother Night (which was the better of the two, IMO) and I really hoped it meant they would make more. But no.

[MC Horoscope]

I always loved the part about the Pluto Gang!

It's been a while since I read it so I might have it a bit mixed up, but basically Trout got mugged, a reporter asked him who did it, he said something like "I don't know. For all I know it could have been a gas from Pluto," the reporter misheard it and printed that the victim said it was "the Pluto gang," and a miserable bunch of punks changed the name of their gang to Pluto Gang to strike fear in the heart of the public.

Personally I think ISIL taking credit for San Bernardino and Istanbul is about like a Pluto Gang taking credit for striking fear in our hearts. I do not believe it at all.

"God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater" (1965) is more like my favorite.

---

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (The Hersch)

[porcupine]

Roses are red,

And ready for plucking.

You're sixteen, 

And ready for high school.

-- Kurt Vonnegut, "Breakfast of Champions," excerpt from Chapter 15

"chapter four

TENT RENTALS

Rented a tent, a tent, a tent;

Rented a tent, a tent, a tent.

Rented a tent!

Rented a tent!

Rented a, rented a tent.

-SNARE DRUM ON MARS"

--The Sirens of Titan

Vonnegut had a unique wit.

[DIShGo]

I just finished "Breakfast of Champions," and I really enjoyed it. It made me curious about Vonnegut because much of it seems autobiographical. I would love to read the book by his son, and to see the film adaptation of this book.

[DIShGo]

In the beginning of Chapter 20, the bartender's name is Harold Newcomb Wilbur. This seems innocent enough, but I suspect Vonnegut never wrote one, single innocent name.

Wilbur is the second most decorated serviceman in Midland City (he fought in Japan in WWII - against yellow robots that were powered by rice), and I believe his name means the following:

Harold: a synonym with Herald which could either mean 1) to foreshadow, or to be a harbinger of something, or 2) heraldry which is the craft that deals with coats of arms

Newcomb: a synonym with Nuke 'em!

Wilbur: a small town in Indiana (Vonnegut was from Indianapolis, and Wilbur is 30 miles SW of Indianapolis)

There may be other interpretations with this name, but I'm pretty certain about the middle name, and it's awesome.

I'd love it if anyone wanted to give other names a shot. I suspect most every name has a hidden meaning. Has anyone ever done this before with "Breakfast of Champions?" I've searched the internet, and haven't found anything - I'd hate to duplicate work that's already been done, so if someone finds something, please let me know ASAP.

Did you notice there are three characters named Don in this book? That isn't something authors usually do, especially in such a short book.

[DonRocks]

Did you notice there are three characters named Don in this book? That isn't something authors usually do, especially in such a short book.

Or, you could be like Gabriel-Garcia Marquez, and name everyone in the entire book Maria Buéndia.

"Don" is a title of respect and importance. Vonnegut made an enlightened, informed decision by doing this.

[DIShGo]

Or, you could be like Gabriel-Garcia Marquez, and name everyone in the entire book Maria Buéndia. 

"Don" is a title of respect and importance. Vonnegut made an enlightened, informed decision by doing this.

Hmmmm. Let's just say some of the Dons weren't pillars of society! And I had the exact same thought about "A Hundred Years of Solitude" as I was typing my comment.

[saf]

I just finished "Breakfast of Champions," and I really enjoyed it. It made me curious about Vonnegut because much of it seems autobiographical. I would love to read the book by his son, and to see the film adaptation of this book.

He wrote a good bit of autobiography. Some fictionalized, such as Slaughterhouse Five and Player Piano. Some not, as many of his essays.

His son's books are odd, but interesting.