So here we are on Book Review Tuesday, tackling an icon of the canon - Kurt Vonnegut - and his novel Breakfast of Champions to boot. Let me start by saying that I already had my doubts about Vonnegut. I’ve already admitted that I could never get into Slaughterhouse-Five, and while I’d not given it as many tries, Cat’s Cradle didn’t do anything for me either. So why, one might ask, did I pick up yet another Vonnegut? It was more than just a burst of misguided optimism - I got a solid recommendation from a trusted source (Paul Dail) who claimed that this one was different and had influenced him a great deal. It was, in fact, one of the ten books that had the biggest influence on him as a writer, and a number of his other choices were books that I also enjoyed a great deal. Plus it was actually about a writer and the gestalt between writer and character. And if that doesn’t total a solid recommendation, I don’t know what does…

Well, Paul, I have good news and bad news.

First the good. I actually finished this one. So right off the bat you achieved what no one else has ever been able to - you got me through Vonnegut. And I did really dig the whole writer-writes-himself-into-the-story thing - Vonnegut himself plays a role (and not entirely minor, either) in the story.
Continue reading They Call it “Breakfast of Champions” - But Not Really, At Least Not for Me