Boom done (BoC part 3)
So I'm done with Breakfast of Champions.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
Overall, this was a great read. I really enjoyed the metafiction that was present in this book. Towards the end, Kurt Vonnegut himself appears in the book. Here, he consults kilgore trout.
This is when the last couple of words,Kilgore Trout saying "Make me young!", start to make sense. The last words of this book is kilgore trout pleading to Vonnegut to make him young. Considering that trout serves as an avatar of Vonnegut himself, what vonnegut is doing here is pleading to his creator to make him young again, so he can relive his life a better way. However, vonnegut in the novel is unable to change that about kilgore trout, representing how Vonnegut is unable to change how he turned out.
END SPOILERS
It is also interesting seeing the ways how Kilgore trout and Dwayne Hoover parallel. They frequently feel the same emotions, as shown by parallels of loneliness and isolation. This is a great setup for when they meet, and Hoover loses it. It is also interesting seeing how hoover is so easily influenced by an entirely fictional short story, as this makes a statement about how people can be easily influenced by any form of media, if they are deranged enough. This is a very powerful message today, on the onset of school shootings, where people blame the media a lot.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. Vonnegut's satire was immensly enjoyable. i found it to be very on-point at times. The messages that he conveys through Kilgore trout's stories are enjoyable, and the way he shows the degradation of Dwayne Hoover's mind is also fascinating. In fact, it feels alsmost like a Shakespearean tragedy, except, you know, more vonnegut.
However, there were some things that I didn't like about this book. Probably the biggest would be its ending. Normally, I think that the endings are the strongest part about vonnegut novels. However, I found this book's ending to be lacking, as it seemed like a twist that didn't really come from anywhere. However, I still found this to be a very enjoyable book.
Verdict: 4 Stars
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