Slapstick

De: Kurt Vonnegut

Narrado por: Adam Grupper

Perhaps the most autobiographical (and deliberately least disciplined) of Vonnegut's novels, Slapstick (1976) is in the form of a broken family odyssey and is surely a demonstration of its eponymous title. The story centers on brother and sister twins, children of Wilbur Swain, who are in sympathetic and (possibly) telepathic communication and who represent Vonnegut's relationship with his own sister who died young of cancer almost two decades before the book's publication. Vonnegut dedicated this to Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

Like their films and routines, this novel is an exercise in non-sequentiality and in the bizarre while using those devices to expose larger and terrible truths. The twins exemplify to Swain a kind of universal love; he campaigns for it while troops of technologically miniaturized Chinese are launched upon America. Love and carnage intersect in a novel contrived to combine credibility and common observation; critics could sense Vonnegut deliberately flouting narrative constraint or imperative in an attempt to destroy the very idea of the novel he was writing.

Slapstick becomes both product and commentary, event and self-criticism; an early and influential example of contemporary "metafiction". Vonnegut's tragic life - like the tragic lives of Laurel, Hardy, Buster Keaten and other exemplars of slapstick comedy - is the true center of a work whose cynicism overlays a trustfulness and sense of loss which are perhaps deeper and truer than expressed in any of Vonnegut's earlier or later works. Slapstick is a clear demonstration of the profound alliance of comedy and tragedy which, when Vonnegut is working close to his true sensibility, become indistinguishable.

©1976 Kurt Vonnegut (P)2015 Audible Inc.

Not the best Kurt but, a must read

To anyone who loves Kurt V this is a required read and will be be a delight. To someone who is not familiar with his style/ work there are better starting points, and this book may be confusing. I'd recommend breakfast of champions or cats cradle before diving into this book. Overall good book and a very "Kurt" book.

Wisdom and wit beyond imagining

Bizarre and whimsical and dark and disturbing and transcendent and prescient and unfortunately. It's impossible to describe this book, but I hope those words capture its essence to some degree. Also as far as the performance goes -- just wonderful. I think his voice and delivery are perfect for a Vonnegut work. He sounds weary and wonderstruck in turn.

Vonnegut at his best?

So many clever ideas in this book, and so fun. Vintage Vonnegut. My only qualm is that the ending is a bit soft.

Not Vonnegut's best, still enjoyable

Known as one of Vonmegut's least favorite work. In his own thoughts and critics. The story is still uniquely Vonnegut with his sci-fi, satirical and humanist approach. The narration is top notch as well.

Slap it all on and see what will Stick

In the summer of 1976, while I was doing my semester abroad in Germany, I read an excerpt in Playboy of Kurt Vonnegut's forthcoming novel, Slapstick. And loved it. I had only recently discovered Vonnegut via Slaughterhouse-Five, then read his entire back catalogue, endlessly quoted Between Time and Timbuktu after it aired on PBS, and even liked in that particular moment his first novel post-S-5, Breakfast of Champions.

These days, I periodically return to Vonnegut to re-"read" him in audio, under the presumption that his idiosyncratic style would be especially suited to this format. I'm constantly surprised by my reactions -- the books I loved best rarely hold up (other than the always great S-5) while the ones that didn't really grab me then I now love (Mr. Rosewater, Mother Night).

I especially find myself agreeing with Vonnegut's self-assessment of his post-S-5 novels. He gave Breakfast of Champions a C and Slapstick a D. In hindsight, we know that Vonnegut was having trouble adapting to the fame and pressure that followed the success of S-5, the mental health issues experienced by his son Mark (chronicled in The Eden Express and part of the inspiration of Breakfast of Champions), and the passing of his sister, which he cited as the driving force behind Slapstick.

The passages of Slapstick that are about the history of Wilbur and Eliza Swain, the oversized Neanderthaloid genius twin siblings, are still good. The rest of it, not so much. Part of the problem is the blizzard of metaphor and symbolism, none of it subtle (e.g. variable gravity, artificial extended families, the Hooligan). And the cynicism is just relentless -- a selling point to a 20-something idealist in the 70s, but no longer attractive to a thoroughly jaded 60-something in post-truth pandemic times.

Strangely, the pandemic that led to the post-apocalyptic setting of Slapstick has many parallels to Covid, particularly the Chinese connection, and Vonnegut's imagined apocalypse seems quite possible in the current climate, and yet it feels all wrong, at least to me. Maybe that's part of my discomfort. That and not really liking this narrator's take on Hi-Ho (although to be fair, the whole conceit really leaves him no margin for error).

John Updike reviewing Slapstick in The New Yorker in 1976 loved it, Roger Sale reviewing it in The New York Times hated it and had harsh words for Vonnegut fans like myself, calling us ignorant youth -- 45 years later, I think he was wrong about the ignorance, although we were youth, wasting it away, but not wasting it on Vonnegut, even if I can no longer see why I liked Slapstick at the time, other than the iconoclasm. But Vonnegut's own self-rating is the one that endures.

Deep simplicity

Perhaps it's too direct to say that you either get it, or you don't. Layers upon layers of allusion, touching on loneliness, populism, collaboration and sectarianism. And the inherent paradox of family as both a bonding agent and force for further subdividing humanity. It may not be Vonnegut's best (who's to say?), but it is not an incoherent mess as some of those who don't get it claim. Art is what you make of it, and this has plenty to offer. And I'm thankful for the light gravity, as well.

Typical Vonnegut Strangeness

When I was in high school through my early 20s I read a lot of Vonnegut. I didn't think I had read this, but after about an hour I realized I had. It is strange, like most Vonnegut. It is relevant today because there were pandemics and unrest.

The beginning is autobiographical. Vonnegut talks about his family, his sister that passed away, his children, including his sister's children that he adopted. I had expected more about his life, but I think he did this through his story instead.

The main character is a twin with a sister, children of Wilbur Swain. We learn of their early life when doctors told the parents that the ugly children would be mentally incompetent. It reminded of how so many young children used to be institutionalized with things like Downs Syndrome, and how they never reach the potential they have when that happens.

The book is written from first person perspective of the son who becomes President of the United States. His sister passes away much like Vonnegut's sister passed away.

I like the book, but it's not my favorite of his, as evidenced by my 4 star review. The narration is good. It makes me want to get in the Vonnegut books I've missed. One additional note - I thought about "Welcome to Night Vale" and hadn't really thought about how much it seems to be inspired by writers like Vonnegut.

Escape for such a time as this.

A perfect narration for this comic tale. Definitely hits home for my demographic...50 something year-olds

Great story

I really enjoyed this book. The narrator was excellent. I thought the story was great

Vonnegut at his best

Terribly dark and horribly funny. Excellent part of his overall collection of brilliantly meta works!