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Three by Vonnegut: Cat's Cradle/Slaughterhouse Five/Breakfast of Champions
Product Description
588 pages, paper
First published January 1, 2007
About the author
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
570 books34.5k followersKurt 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 journalist before joining the U.S. Army and serving in World War II.
After the war, he attended University of Chicago as a graduate student in anthropology and also worked as a police reporter at the City News Bureau of Chicago. He left Chicago to work in Schenectady, New York in public relations for General Electric. He attributed his unadorned writing style to his reporting work.
His experiences as an advance scout in the Battle of the Bulge, and in particular his witnessing of the bombing of Dresden, Germany whilst a prisoner of war, would inform much of his work. This event would also form the core of his most famous work, Slaughterhouse-Five, the book which would make him a millionaire. This acerbic 200-page book is what most people mean when they describe a work as "Vonnegutian" in scope.
Vonnegut was a self-proclaimed humanist and socialist (influenced by the style of Indiana's own Eugene V. Debs) and a lifelong supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The novelist is known for works blending satire, black comedy and science fiction, such as Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), Cat's Cradle (1963), and Breakfast of Champions (1973)
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 journalist before joining the U.S. Army and serving in World War II.
After the war, he attended University of Chicago as a graduate student in anthropology and also worked as a police reporter at the City News Bureau of Chicago. He left Chicago to work in Schenectady, New York in public relations for General Electric. He attributed his unadorned writing style to his reporting work.
His experiences as an advance scout in the Battle of the Bulge, and in particular his witnessing of the bombing of Dresden, Germany whilst a prisoner of war, would inform much of his work. This event would also form the core of his most famous work, Slaughterhouse-Five, the book which would make him a millionaire. This acerbic 200-page book is what most people mean when they describe a work as "Vonnegutian" in scope.
Vonnegut was a self-proclaimed humanist and socialist (influenced by the style of Indiana's own Eugene V. Debs) and a lifelong supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The novelist is known for works blending satire, black comedy and science fiction, such as Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), Cat's Cradle (1963), and Breakfast of Champions (1973)
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 6, 2017
The only reason I'm giving it three stars is because I liked Slaughterhouse 5. Cat's Cradle was a not too distant second place, and Breakfast of Champions barely crossed the finish line for me. Both Slaughterhouse 5 and Cat's Cradle were at least somewhat cohesive stories with some interesting philosophic anti-war musings, among others. I wasn't extremely satisfied with their endings or able to find many thought-provoking morals or lessons the reader was supposed to ponder. Breakfast of Champions seemed like disjointed musings and ramblings that were oftentimes unnecessarily salacious. Although I could also say that EVERYTHING in Breakfast of Champions was unnecessary to put on paper. However, near the end I came upon a quote that I finally found interesting and seemed to explain why the book was soo bad (which the author expressly stated several times):
"I thought Beatrice Keedsler had joined hands with other old-fashioned storytellers to make people believe that life had leading characters, minor characters, significant details, insignificant details, that it had lessons to be learned, tests to be passed, and a beginning, a middle, and an end.
As I approached my fiftieth birthday, 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, and 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 stories and books.
Why were so many Americans treated by their government as though their lives were as disposable as paper facial tissues? Because that was the way authors customarily treated bit-part players in their made-up tales.
And so on.
Once I understood what was making America such a dangerous, unhappy nation of people who had nothing to do with real life, I resolved to shun storytelling. I would write about life. Every person would be exactly as important as any other. All facts would also be given equal weightiness. Nothing would be left out. Let others bring order to chaos. I would bring chaos to order, instead, which I think I have done."
Here's the thing: I like stories with all of these aforementioned flaws. That's what makes them interesting. If I wanted to hear more about reality, I would read non-fiction, or watch paint dry, or something.
So in conclusion, I enjoyed Slaughterhouse 5, give it a try. Otherwise, Vonnegut is a very interesting guy, but not for me. Too bad he couldn't make some more of his characters as interesting as himself.
"I thought Beatrice Keedsler had joined hands with other old-fashioned storytellers to make people believe that life had leading characters, minor characters, significant details, insignificant details, that it had lessons to be learned, tests to be passed, and a beginning, a middle, and an end.
As I approached my fiftieth birthday, 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, and 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 stories and books.
Why were so many Americans treated by their government as though their lives were as disposable as paper facial tissues? Because that was the way authors customarily treated bit-part players in their made-up tales.
And so on.
Once I understood what was making America such a dangerous, unhappy nation of people who had nothing to do with real life, I resolved to shun storytelling. I would write about life. Every person would be exactly as important as any other. All facts would also be given equal weightiness. Nothing would be left out. Let others bring order to chaos. I would bring chaos to order, instead, which I think I have done."
Here's the thing: I like stories with all of these aforementioned flaws. That's what makes them interesting. If I wanted to hear more about reality, I would read non-fiction, or watch paint dry, or something.
So in conclusion, I enjoyed Slaughterhouse 5, give it a try. Otherwise, Vonnegut is a very interesting guy, but not for me. Too bad he couldn't make some more of his characters as interesting as himself.
March 16, 2022
Strangely, this app doesn’t provide the choice of Slaughterhouse-Five on its own. But that’s what I read. Re-read after maybe 45 years. It unstuck me in time, as I think about it. I’d read it in high school and it was the same copy. I’d read the rest of Vonnegut’s books since then, a few of them several times. Why didn’t I reread this one? I’m feeling slightly delirious from the experience. Perhaps my high school brain was jazzed up from it in a way I couldn’t thoroughly process. But it started a lifelong relationship with Vonnegut’s way of communicating that I treasure. Anyway, what a book. Wowee.
March 11, 2019
I read Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat’s Cradle years ago. I picked this book up a few years back, and finally got around to reading Breakfast of Champions. Not my favorite Vonnegut, by any means, but it was entertaining and a quick read. To me, when Kilgor Trout meets his creator, I was in awe. How cool was Vonnegut to do that. All in all, great book, but it’s strange and weird, and I’m sure not for everyone!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 5, 2020
Finally finished the 3rd feature in the book. For the first two I did my review of a separate version. The whole book together would be 5 stars because the stories are all great and you get all 3. I believe I gave Cat's Cradle a 4 and S5 a 5. It's hard to shock me but BoC did it a number of times. I can see why the movie was such a flop and rated poorly because I have no idea how you would make this into a movie. Glad I read it though.
December 5, 2023
I loved Cat's Cradle the best out of all three books. Cat's Cradle was a super fast read, and was hilarious. Slaughter-House 5 was also really good, and I am struggling with Breakfast of Champions. Breakfast of Champions feels outdated, as there are a lot of N-word drops, and other racial biases written into the story. I can't tell exactly why Vonnegut chose to include slurs so frequently throughout the book.
July 11, 2008
I bought this book for $8.00-can you believe that? (Well, $6.99 plus tax, but that's not relevant.) So for 8 bucks I got The Three Vonnegut Masterpieces. Now, gasoline in my city has hit 4 bucks a gallon. The average car on the road, and I am just speculating here, gets between, what, 15 and 25 miles per gallon? So 8 dollars got you something between 30 and fifty miles of road. And it was probably road littered with soda cans, plastic sacks, and bottles of urine and fast food places. Here's what it got me:
I got to see the world destroyed. I saw what happens when humans are unable to learn from their mistakes. And that those mistakes are sometimes hidden in the glare of progress. I got to travel to Tralmfamadore. I was given a spectacular lesson in the gospel of absurdity and the anti-narrative. Because, after all, what is life but a tale told with the complete absence of a cognizant, informed narrative? The plot never thickens, just keeps going. And I got to see 135,000 innocent civilians loose their lives when Dresden was bombed in the Second World War. I needed to see that; what's more, I needed to see it through Vonnegut's eyes. That war is brutality, irreversible and terrible, with effects that last long after the final guns are silenced. Thank God Vonnegut was crazy enough to write it all down, and that I was crazy enough to immerse myself in his world, for a little while, at least...
I got to see the world destroyed. I saw what happens when humans are unable to learn from their mistakes. And that those mistakes are sometimes hidden in the glare of progress. I got to travel to Tralmfamadore. I was given a spectacular lesson in the gospel of absurdity and the anti-narrative. Because, after all, what is life but a tale told with the complete absence of a cognizant, informed narrative? The plot never thickens, just keeps going. And I got to see 135,000 innocent civilians loose their lives when Dresden was bombed in the Second World War. I needed to see that; what's more, I needed to see it through Vonnegut's eyes. That war is brutality, irreversible and terrible, with effects that last long after the final guns are silenced. Thank God Vonnegut was crazy enough to write it all down, and that I was crazy enough to immerse myself in his world, for a little while, at least...
May 24, 2012
I actually picked this book, because I couldn't put that I was re-reading a book, and I didn't want to lose the date stats.
I only re-read Slaughterhouse Five. Much like seafood, every few years I read this again, trying to see if it is still my least favorite Vonnegut. Perhaps in my old age, it's growing on me.
I only re-read Slaughterhouse Five. Much like seafood, every few years I read this again, trying to see if it is still my least favorite Vonnegut. Perhaps in my old age, it's growing on me.
December 23, 2015
Vonnegut was so brilliant in his ability to meld reality and fiction. And these stories are all about how, as humans, we have a penchant for destroying ourselves. There are profound messages in his work. True, he was fatalistic, but he wrote with such wisdom, and wit, that I am propelled forward, and with pleasure. This was my second read, yet I loved it all as much as the first.
September 16, 2009
I'm re-reading Cat's Cradle. Once I finish that, there's an excellent chance I'll just plow through the other two books in this collection, and give them their second read-through as well.
I suppose it's time, I read Slaughterhouse-Five over 10 years ago!
I suppose it's time, I read Slaughterhouse-Five over 10 years ago!
Want to read
July 13, 2010Hrm. I read Cat's Cradle and started Slaughterhouse Five and then got sucked into other things. I think Goodreads needs a "stalled" shelf or something since I seem to have a handful of books that I manage to get about half way through lately and then get.. distracted.
October 15, 2012
I loved the first two, just couldn't get into breakfast of champions until the reveal where he sort of explains why he wrote it the way he did. Extremely thought provoking and nihilistic and lugubrious and wonderful. I think it was just what I needed.
January 2, 2009
not one of my more favorite books
October 9, 2009
Cat's Cradle - 2 stars
Slaughterhouse-Five - 5 stars
Breakfast of Champions - 4 stars
Slaughterhouse-Five - 5 stars
Breakfast of Champions - 4 stars
August 16, 2009
My second (or third possibly) time around with Slaugherhouse. Always worth a reread.
May 27, 2013
I read these all separately, but it was convenient that they all were bundled into one.
May 13, 2015
Cat's Cradle is not my favorite Vonnegut book, but I still give it five stars. It is well written, but the theme is depressing. Will not disclose the ending as tha would be a spoiler.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews