Hi ho

Daily Vonnegut – Day 4.

I’m not even quite sure if there is anything for me to say with this story. It is maddening, but somehow manages to keep me curious about it the entire time. It has all the wit and humour that you may or may not like about Vonnegut. So if you like Vonnegut, this is the Vonnegutest. Of course, I can find a lot of time for his repetition of “Time Flew” throughout the pages. I can also find a lot of time for this phrase:

“Why don't you take a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut? Why don't you take a flying fuck at the moooooooooooon?”

Vonnegut himself graded this book a D when he was going through his works in Palm Sunday. Fair enough.

Hi-ho.

In Slapstick, published towards the end of the Cold War, Kurt Vonnegut adopts Confucianism in the opposition to the state of war. Condemning the ultra-individualism begotten by the Founding Fathers, Vonnegut bemoans the ineptitude of the state and predicts the People's Republic of China's assent on the global stage.

Ըստ Կուռտի, այս գիրքը մասամբ ինքնակենսագրական է, իր ու քույրիկի հարաբերությունների մասին։ Այդքան էլ չհավանեցի, մանավանդ վերջը լրիվ աջաբ սանդալ էր սարքել։
Բայց մի քանի պահ կար որ շատ եմ հավանել, ավելի կոնկրետ մենակության դեմ պայքարի միջոցը որ հաջողությամբ գրքի հերոսին բերեց նախագահի պաշտոնը։ Այստեղ մի կարևոր պահ կա, որ ասում է ազգերը պատերազմը չեն ընկալում որպես անձնական մի բան, իսկ այ ընտանիքները՝ հակառակը, պատերազմը շատ անձնական ու ընտանիքին ուղղակիորեն վերաբերվող բան է, հետևաբար ընտանիքները չեն ուզում պատերազմել։ Հստակ չեմ փոխանցում ասածը բայց ես որ կարդամ էս ռեվյուն կհիշեմ ինչ էր ասելիքը։
Երկրորդ բանը որ շատ եմ հավանել դա էն էր, որ նախաբանում հեղինակը իր կյանքի մասին բավականին բաց ու անկեղծ է գրում, նոր բաներ իմացա Կուռտի մասին, որպես հեղինակ ինքն իր գինը իմ աչքերում էլ ավելի բարձրացրեց։
Վոննեգուտին բնորոշ սարկաստիկ հումորն ու հեգնանքը, որ էդքան շատ եմ սիրում, էս գրքում գրեթե բացակայում էր։ Չնայած սրան, բավականին արագ եմ կարդացել։
Գիրքը գնել եմ ինքս ինձ նվեր Երիտասարդականի բուկինիստի անգլերեն լեզվով գրականության բաժնից։ 2018ի առաջին գիրքն է։

“And how did we
then face the odds,
of man's rude slapstick,
yes, and God's?
Quite at home and unafraid,
Thank-you,
in a game
our dreams remade.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, Slapstick, or Lonesome No More!



My 15-ear-old son broke the screen on his iPhone 6s. I'm letting him buy down the debt (to me) by reading 6 Vonnegut novels before the end of the year. Every book he reads, drops his big OWE down by $10, upto $60. He is still on the hook for the other $80. This is what happens when daddy is an absurdist, but rules like a fascist King. Hi ho.

So, I've decided to read a lot of the Vonnegut novels he's going to be reading before the end of the year too. It has been 30 years since I went on a huge Vonnegut tear. It seems in an era of Donald Trump I'm going to need as many absurdist tools on my belt as possible. What better way than a book about loneliness, incest (perhaps not, or technically yes, but also not), disease, the destruction of America, and the Church of Jesus Christ the Kidnapped.

There are other, stronger Vonneguts where I could have started, but I'm also trying to go through my Library of America Vonnegut: Novels 1976-1985. Plus, it is hard to avoid a book that uses the phrase “Why don't you take a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut? Why don't you take a flying fuck at the mooooooooooooon?” often and with literary abandon.

As far as the stars, the book itself probably only warrants a Vonnegut 3-star (except for the fact that the autobiographical introduction is so good, I'm tossing in another star because, well, I can).

n  "I don't know, Albert," I said. "And maybe I'm glad I don't know."n

Ever felt lonely? Well. If we lived in the world of this novel, you'd be served a solution – would it be a better world? That will be up to you to judge...



Slapstick, or Lonesome No More! isn't Vonnegut's most popular novel, but it might be his weirdest: The story is told by Dr. Wilbur Daffodil-11 Swain, the last President of the United States. When we catch up with him, the world has turned into an odd dystopia, but to understand what has happened we have to follow the tale of his upbringing. The hideously ugly man has once had a similarly unappealing sister, Eliza. When together, they'd be of unmatched intelligence, when apart, nothing but half a brain. Eliza, the right: creative and emotional, yet illiterate. Wilbur, the left: logical and rational. To say anything more would be to take away from this truly weird plot.

Vonnegut called this the closest he ever came to writing an autobiography. The novel starts out with a rather long prologue in which Vonnegut explains the relationship with his late sister, whom he was apparently really close to and who unfortunately died from cancer in her early forties. Eliza and Wilbur were modelled after them, which makes this even more tragic, as they're relationship feels star-crossed. I loved the idea of the siblings being intelligent when together, but clearly lacking something when apart. The first half of the novel centres around their relationship, before moving into a firework of ideas – for better or worse.

One thing is certain: it never gets boring with Vonnegut. One theme he creatively tackles is social isolation. He also somehow manages to comment on the conflicted relationship of China and the United States, criticise the unstoppable modernisation of Western society and make fun of religious institutions while he's at it. At some point this gets a bit too frantic for my personal liking, with the plot seemingly all over the place. It's still essentially fun, but it also just doesn't feel very focus. But back to the isolation –

Wilbur and his sister create an outline to create extended families in which get random new middle names after animals, plants and such. Everyone with your middle name then becomes a relative of yours. Welcome to a world in which you have 10.000 siblings and even more cousins!

"There is no peace, I'm sorry to say. We find it. We lose it. We find it again. We lose it again. Thank God, at least, that the machines have decided not to fight any more. It's just people now. And thank God there's no such thing as a battle between strangers any more. I don't care who fights who – everybody will have relatives on the other side."

I'm not going to make a statement on whether this is a good approach, but considering this was written fifty years ago this definitely still feels relevant today. Isolation and loneliness in modern societies are still very relevant subjects, tragically so. This is for most part a funny read, with ideas popping up at every given moment, but there's still sadness and valid criticism underneath it all. Cat's Cradle remains my favourite novel by the author for now, but I'm still a long way from getting bored of his work.

As so often, big thanks and Hi Ho to my reading buddy Leonard, whose been treating me with sharing his own takes and thoughts on this journey.

This is definitely a farcical style Vonnegut novel that takes the reader into a satirical and dark world that Vonnegut fans love. The time is far into the future when the government of the United States barely exists and the protagonist of the novel, the president of the United States, explains how things got this way.

The book was written 40 years ago, and its is amazing how Kurt made predictions that have come into being. There are also many comical observations about politics that still hold true today. I liked his idea that everyone will have to change their middle name so they are related to someone else. He points out that political leaders in the USA are actually families of leaders that have been around for decades, much like our current leaders. If everyone had their names changed so that they are now "relatives" of powerful people, they would actually have a chance to become powerful too.

Like all Vonnegut novels I've read, I enjoyed every minute of it.

"History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised again." KV

If I could give no stars, I would. I hated every sentence of this book.

Як написав сам Воннеґут у вступі: «це найближча моя спроба написати автобіографію» тому, з усіх планів в яких можна розглядати цей твір, я перш за все зчитую авторський вислів стосовно власної старості, стосунків із соціумом, ставлення до світу в якому впевнено перемагає постмодерн, втрати сестри і тд.

Якщо ви не знайомі з творчістю Воннеґута то я би не радив вам починати з цієї книги. Для всіх інших вона не мала би здатися «абсурдною» як характеризують її деякі читачі. Вона глибоко метафорична і образна, правда образи Воннеґута геть не першого порядку.

A tragicomic dystopia that you cannot stop reading. It's probably a lot more relevant today than when it was written. Lonesome no more!

Slapsucked.

Hi-ho.

1 more Vonnegut novel to go! Story is wacky, not recommended for newcomers This is his most autobiographical and shows his best books were written for his sister. I think I connect with Vonnegut on a "younger brother" wavelength.