Breakfast of Champions

I used to read Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., back in the day, back in the 1970's. I didn't remember which books but I remember I liked his writing enough to read more.  I read quite a few of his books.  So I saw this one, Breakfast of Champions, on the library shelf and picked it up expecting I would like it as much as an old fashioned dinner of comfort food.  I was wrong. I did not like this book. In fact I was shocked and appalled by this book. I read it on CD and actually turned it back into the library because I was disgusted and confused. I accidentally left one CD in my car and the library called me back. I had to go back into the library and talk to the librarian. I explained what happened. She said she understood.  She said she could not read that book herself unless it was on CD. The fact that she said she could not read that book made me want to read that book.  If a librarian can hardly stand it, I felt the need to read this book. So I finished it. The fact that Stanley Tucci read it to me helped quite a bit. I could picture Stanley reading with his dark glasses and bald head. What else helped me finish it was to relax and quit trying to make sense of the story because there is no sense to be made. The plot?  What plot? Relax and read between the lines. Vonnegut talks about race in a way I never heard before (or maybe I did hear it before but I can't remember anymore). The writer makes snarky remarks about Nelson Rockefeller Jr. and if I just substituted the name of our current president in that sentence it was funny as all get out. This book was published in 1973.  The problems in our nation remain the same in 2017 as 1973. The names of the politicians have changed.  We have more Honda's on the road and fewer Oldsmobile Toronado's but other than that, life in the US of A remains basically unchanged. I would not recommend you read this book unless you like to be shocked, provoked, disgusted, confused, amazed, and disillusioned. At the end of the book there is an interview with the actual Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. himself. I hear his voice talking about his work and he is laughing so hard he can hardly talk. He said he just wanted to free his mind of clutter when he wrote this book. That statement explains everything.