Breakfast of Champions

There are some authors who can write pertinent social commentary in a way that is both humorous and horrifying at the same time. Kurt Vonnegut is one of those writers. Most of his satirical takes start off like classic SNL skits to hook you, and then, as you're being dragged down the rabbit hole, he hits you over the head with candid facts. “Breakfast of Champions” makes your head swim. You won't forget its sobering lessons about the value of our climate, social insecurities, nature, race relations, and how we should all live much more peacefully until the last page is turned.

The book is, among many other things, a satire. A book composed of a compilation of Vonnegut's true-to-life observations and anecdotes about the world. The story follows Kilgore Trout, a struggling science fiction writer, and Dwanye Hoover, a businessman who is losing his mind. Trout accepts an invitation to go to a local arts festival while we follow Hoover's business dealings before an eventual meeting of the two minds. It's sporadic and hypnotic, much like a Mel Brooks film. As the two characters navigate their respective futures, Vonnegut uses their interactions as a vehicle to shine a light on topical issues such as unequal distribution of wealth, mental health, consumerism, art, the environment, etc., etc. It's an interesting and entertaining structure, to say the least.

One of the hallmarks is the content of Kilgore‘s science fiction books. Plague on Wheels, for example. It's a story about a planet filled with automobiles that leave oil in their wake as they reproduce, and they all inherently thrive off fossil fuels. These entities ultimately extinguish the planet's atmosphere and look to space travelers to borrow oxygen. You get the picture. It's sort of like reading your favorite comic strip. Sporadic ideas and musings that make you think about a topic in a different way. It's an adult version of Calvin and Hobbes.

Although some may find portions of the book preachy or irreverent, I believe every one of us can take something from the text to use as inspiration, a warning, or a good chuckle. Whatever way you look at it, the knee-jerk reactions of each thought might bring about this face: