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Breakfast of Champions
- Narrated by: John Malkovich
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
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Wasn't expecting this to be so interesting!
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Scary, but interesting for both adults and kids
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Walter Starbuck, a career humanist and eventual low-level aide in the Nixon White House, is implicated in Watergate and jailed, after which he (like Howard Campbell in Mother Night) works on his memoirs. Starbuck is innocent (his office was used as a base for the Watergate shenanigans of which he had no knowledge), and yet he is not innocent (he has collaborated with power unquestioningly and served societal order all his life). He represents another Vonnegut Everyman caught amongst forces he neither understands nor can defend.
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a fool and his self respect are soon parted
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Publisher's Summary
Audie Award Finalist, Best Male Narrator, 2016
Breakfast of Champions (1973) provides frantic, scattershot satire and a collage of Vonnegut's obsessions. His recurring cast of characters and American landscape was perhaps the most controversial of his canon; it was felt by many at the time to be a disappointing successor to Slaughterhouse-Five, which had made Vonnegut's literary reputation.
The core of the novel is Kilgore Trout, a familiar character very deliberately modeled on the science fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon (1918-1985), a fact that Vonnegut conceded frequently in interviews and that was based upon his own occasional relationship with Sturgeon. Here Kilgore Trout is an itinerant wandering from one science fiction convention to another; he intersects with the protagonist, Dwayne Hoover (one of Vonnegut's typically boosterish, lost, and stupid mid-American characters), and their intersection is the excuse for the evocation of many others, familiar and unfamiliar, dredged from Vonnegut's gallery. The central issue is concerned with intersecting and apposite views of reality, and much of the narrative is filtered through Trout, who is neither certifiably insane nor a visionary writer but can pass for either depending upon Dwayne Hoover's (and Vonnegut's) view of the situation.
America, when this novel was published, was in the throes of Nixon, Watergate, and the unraveling of our intervention in Vietnam; the nation was beginning to fragment ideologically and geographically, and Vonnegut sought to cram all of this dysfunction (and a goofy, desperate kind of hope, the irrational comfort given through the genre of science fiction) into a sprawling narrative whose sense, if any, is situational, not conceptual. Reviews were polarized; the novel was celebrated for its bizarre aspects and became the basis of a Bruce Willis movie adaptation whose reviews were not nearly so polarized. (Most critics hated it.)
Featured Article: 70+ Unforgettable Kurt Vonnegut Quotes
Kurt Vonnegut had an extremely productive career, penning everything from plays to short stories to full-length nonfiction. Drawing on his experiences of war, life, and love, Vonnegut’s powerful messages were delivered so creatively—and often quite satirically—ensuring that they stood the test of time. This assortment of Kurt Vonnegut quotes is just a glimpse of the gems found throughout the works of this great author.
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What listeners say about Breakfast of Champions
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- W Perry Hall
- 02-05-16
Funny..., Even if Malkovich Could Not Care Less
This book is amusing enough if you've enjoyed other Vonnegut works, and even uproarious at times regardless of whether you've ever read Vonnegut. And yet, I couldn't help feeling like a newcomer to a succession of inside jokes, or to a running gag that only Vonnegut devotees get. I think this insider-feeling to the novel is one reason why Vonnegut graded this book a "C" in hindsight.
I was peeved at John Malkovich's narration, particularly since it was the clincher in buying this audiobook. In steely staccato, he speed read through this book with an unrivaled indifference.
By comparison, I've found other renowned actors' narrations have exceeded my expectations; for example, Maggie Gyllenhaal's reading/acting of The Bell Jar, Tim Robbins of Fahrenheit 451, Richard Armitage of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, and Jennifer Connelly of The Sheltering Sky. I guess that's the difference between really caring and just cashing in.
56 people found this helpful
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- Dubi
- 01-10-16
Kurt Was Right to Grade This a C
Breakfast of Champions was the first of Kurt Vonnegut's novels that I read upon its original publication. Like many others, I was introduced to KV via Slaughterhouse-5 and went back and read his entire back catalogue while awaiting his next title. 40 years later, whenever a KV audiobook comes up in a sale, I get it and re-read it in a format that should be, in theory, ideal for conveying his idiosyncratic voice.
My results have been mixed in a specific way -- books I didn't care for as in my younger days (Mother Night, Rosewater) are ones I loved listening to, timeless classics still relevant today, while those long ago dubbed classics (Cat's Cradle and Breakfast of Champions) now come across as dated, juvenile, amateurish.
That I felt that way about BoC is no surprise -- KV himself gave it a C, the second lowest grade he gave his own novels. Listen: he was right. He tells you in the foreword (and he said it again over the years) that this is an exercise in dumping random ideas that were cluttering his brain. It sure reads that way. When he strays from his characters to pursue and purge these thoughts, he loses momentum from what could've been a good straightforward narrative, and he loses me. I'm all for metafiction, but his would've better as straight fiction.
I was hoping this version, with the great actor John Malkovich narrating, would make for a memorable audiobook experience. Malkovich should stick to acting. His deadpan delivery is all wrong -- he sounds like he is reading the lines for the first time. He takes long pauses in the middle of sentences and then runs on to new sentences without pause. I would normally blame myself for setting my expectations too high, but this performance by one of my favorite actors is technically and stylistically bad.
All that said, there are interesting angles for Vonnegut fans. Like Kilgore Trout, KV was dealing with newfound fame following the publication of S-5 and was not sure he wanted to keep writing, themes he explores. He was dealing concurrently with his son's schizophrenia (recounted in Eden Express), hence the primary themes madness, free will, perceptions of reality -- we didn't know about his when the book was published, but in hindsight, looking for this theme helped me get through the mediocrity of the overall work.
Be warned that there is potentially offensive language and subject matter. KV allows the racism of some of his characters to come through with frequent use of the N word, he informs the reader of the dimensions of every male characters' junk, and he also discusses female genitalia in detail.
On the other hand, KV has a genius for distilling things into simplistic language that really packs a punch -- he describes Vietnam as a war to save rice-fueled Asian robots from Communism by dropping things on them from the sky, and defoliants as chemicals used to destroy the trees the rice-fueled robots use to hide from the things dropped on them from the sky. (He doesn't call them Asian, he uses a slur that I will not repeat.)
85 people found this helpful
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- Sara Lynne
- 06-30-15
two comments
1) Vonnegut speaks honestly about relevant social issues without being sanctimonious.
2) Malkovich says "doodely-squat" and "wide-open beavers" beautifully and its everything you could hope for.
39 people found this helpful
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- Scott
- 12-12-15
Not one of his better ones
I love Kurt Vonnegut (and here there is a picture of a big heart). However, I don't believe that this is one of his better stories. Of course, he admitted it was not one of his better stories. In addition, because the drawings make the book a little more enjoyable, not having them makes it a little less enjoyable. John Malkovich (and here there is a picture of a bald man) does an OK job. However, his voice comes across as a bit bored.I'm curious how I would've experienced the story with a different narrator (and here there is a picture of a big question mark).
18 people found this helpful
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- Julie W. Capell
- 05-16-16
Brilliant narration of a brilliant book
Just finished listening to Breakfast of Champions as read by John Malkovich. I thought Malkovich did an amazing job, his descriptions of the hand-drawn illustrations from the book made me laugh, as did many, many things in the book. Far from being “just” a reaction to the state of the world in 1973 when it was first published, the book seems to me to have been scarily prescient of the state of the world around me right now (2016).
There was so much I loved about this book there is no way I can fit it all into one review. Here are just a few of the things:
1) The way Vonnegut explained in one or two sentences what common words meant, as if someone in the far future were reading the book and would need explanations, as here:
“Dwayne's bad chemicals made him take a loaded thirty-eight caliber revolver from under his pillow and stick it in his mouth. This was a tool whose only purpose was to make holes in human beings.”
“A lamb was a young animal which was legendary for sleeping well on the planet Earth.”
2) Spot-on observations about the human condition, which appeared practically every paragraph, as here:
“The women all had big minds because they were big animals, but they didn't use them for this reason: unusual ideas could make enemies and the women, if they were going to achieve any sort of comfort and safety, needed all the friends they could get. So, in the interest of survival they trained themselves to be agreeing machines. All their minds had to do was to discover what other people were thinking and then they thought it too.”
“The whole city was dangerous—because of chemicals and the uneven distribution of wealth and so on.”
“It didn't matter much what Dwayne said. It hadn't mattered much for years. It didn't matter much what most people in Midland City said out loud, except when they were talking about money or structures or travel or machinery - or other measurable things. Every person had a clearly defined part to play - as a black person, a female high school drop-out, a Pontiac dealer, a gynecologist, a gas-conversion burner installer. If a person stopped living up to expectations, because of bad chemicals or one thing or another, everybody went on imagining that the person was living up to expectations anyway. That was the main reason the people in Midland City were so slow to detect insanity in their associates. Their imaginations insisted that nobody changed much from day to day. Their imaginations were flywheels on the ramshackle machinery of awful truth.”
3) Sentences and sequences that made me laugh out loud, like this:
“Like everybody else in the cocktail lounge, he was softening his brain with alcohol. This was a substance produced by a tiny creature called yeast. Yeast organisms ate sugar and excreted alcohol. They killed themselves by destroying their environment. Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffocated in their own excrement. Because of their limited intelligence, they never came close to guessing that they were making champagne.”
“Thomas Jefferson High School [..] His high school was named after a slave owner who was also one of the world’s greatest theoreticians on the subject of human liberty.”
Brilliant, mind-blowing novel, totally different from anything else I have ever read. I would highly recommend this version narrated by Mr. Malkovich.
16 people found this helpful
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- Mia
- 10-04-15
Well read
It's was a little slow and fry for Vonnegut in my opinion but none the less a good novel with excellent reading. John Malkovich was an interesting choice but absolutely nailed the overall tone of the story. I probably would listen again but we'll worth it at least once. Anyone struggling with it: finish it. trust me the ending is worth it.
7 people found this helpful
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- Tim
- 07-03-15
Classic Vonnegut ; missed opportunity by Malkovich
What didn’t you like about John Malkovich’s performance?
Malkovich's deadpan tone is spot-on. Not spot-on is his frequent misreading of sentences and his weird tendency to run consecutive sentences into each other. I don't think Malkovich had his attention focused on the task. His mind was wandering. This performance was well done in many places, but in many other places it was distracting and off-putting.
If you are unfamiliar with Vonnegut or with this book Breakfast of Champions in particular, then I do *not* recommend listening to this audiobook. It will not make you a fan of Vonnegut.
38 people found this helpful
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- josiah
- 11-23-15
Loved it!
This was my first Kurt Vonnegut novel (not the conventional one to start with, I know) but it is the best novel I've listened to all year. John Malcovich is the perfect reader for this piece as well. Bravo! Excellent overall.
10 people found this helpful
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- harry
- 07-06-15
a match made in somewhere and so on
This is the ultimate match-up; Vonnegut read by Malkovich. Huge Vonnegut fan that I am, he can do no wrong in my mind. Sassy and cynical, with depth but accessible. Our foibles, and follies, and self absorbedness in black and white. The quirk of Vonnegut is timeless and apropos. But we never open our eyes, do we. Ironically, my favorite part is the epilogue; a place I can closely relate and oddly brought me to tears.
15 people found this helpful
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- Colin Park
- 07-02-15
etc and so on
splendid narration, please do more sir. likely most accessible work of author, bold and important ideas come to light; worthy of our complex times, vaccine to the many ills afflicting our current moment in a still young, confused civilization, with a simple clarity, and so on and so forth, that grows beautifully with repeated listing. love the treatment of author's sketches which I found so unusual and memorable when I first read as a high school student... now more powerful with the wisdom of years, etc. much love and gratitude to creators and all the people of our planet/dreams.
9 people found this helpful
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- Kaggy
- 06-28-18
A unique and biting wit
What can I say? This is after all by one of the most fascinating and daring novelists ever to have produced a book. Although written in the 70s, his faux innocent descriptions of America remain relevant today and his humour is as fresh and startling as any contemporary comedian. John Malkovitch’s dry and steady voice makes him the perfect narrator for Vonnegut and I loved to picture his face while he read some of the more outrageous passages. This was a real treat and I will be ploughing through the Vonnegut catalogue on Audible with real relish.
8 people found this helpful
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- Justine Appleby
- 12-20-19
Not for everyone
This is the first book I have read by this author after hearing him receiving such praise from others. I now realise this book was not well received when it was first released but its really not that bad. Its surreal but also very humorous. The narration first felt horrid and monotonous but it does actually suit the oddball tone of the story. If this is his worst, I can't wait to read his best.
4 people found this helpful
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- Diane Severson
- 09-26-19
Hilarious story and hilarious delivery
I have no idea what it all means, will have to think about it or read a bit about it to work it all out. But it was a very enjoyable romp. The metaness Of Vonnegut’s story and John Malkovich’s deadpan delivery were a perfect match. I am especially fond of his descriptions of the author’s drawings. Hilarious. I didn't know that a PDF of the drawings was included until just now. Listening on the app, there was no indication that there was a PDF at all. It would've been nice. They seem kind of integral.
3 people found this helpful
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- Lulubeth
- 10-08-17
Still pointed
Vonnegut revived by Malkovich's performance/reading in this audio recording. The sexism - not the worst of its times - is a little wearing but the book does stand up still, shifting wickedly between worlds, perspectives and outrageous calling-of-bluff regarding the usual conventions of fiction. I loved it.
3 people found this helpful
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- Jay
- 10-08-20
Malkovich is incredible
I'm bias because I love the man but his narration was great. As for the book itself, it had its moments, it was humorous and critical, but I couldn't help but feel it was a little jumbled at times and I was losing interest by the end.
2 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 01-15-19
Best reading I've heard
The performance by John Malkovich is by far the best I've heard so far. The book is fun and odd, although it hasn't aged very well (comes off as racist or misogynistic at times), but the writing is brilliant. It contains drawings, which Malkovich narrates nicely (I didn't miss seeing them). Overall: would definitely recommend!
2 people found this helpful
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- papapownall
- 07-07-21
There is more to Vonnegut than Slaughterhouse 5
Quite rightly, the classic anti war novel Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut routinely makes the "Greatest Books of All Time" lists. Until now I had not ventured into Vonnegut's other works and was intrigued when I saw that this Breakfast of Champions (not related to the Great Mills breakfast cereal) was narrated by veteran American actor, John Malkovich,
Written after Slaughterhouse this is typically eclectic and unhinged and considers such imponderables such as the astonishing greed of the sea pirates who colonised America and the unwatering band of light that is life. We are introduced to Rabo Karabikian who featured heavily in Vonnegut's later works. Disparaging of the American Dream, this is dark satire and endlessly quotable, my personal favourite being “he couldn't tell the difference between one politician and another. They were all formlessly enthusiastic chimpanzees to him.”
1 person found this helpful
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- Cliff Moyce
- 07-11-20
Great performance
A funny and clever post-modernist novel that spears many of the attitudes and behaviours of 60’s / 70’s America. Enhanced by a great performance from John Malkovich.
1 person found this helpful
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- Martin
- 06-12-19
Loved it.
Loved it. John Malkovich is a brilliant choice as the reader. Gets the tone and pace exactly as it sounds in my head. A real treat.
The story is typically Vonnegut who toys with his characters like an olympian god.
1 person found this helpful
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- Diane
- 06-10-19
Wow. What a crazy romp!
I’m not sure what it all means, but it sure was fun. Vonnegut’s very meta story read by the deadpan John Malkovich was a perfect synergy. I especially liked Malkovich’s descriptions of the drawings in the book. They are hilarious. I’m going to have to get a copy of the actual book so I can see them. I wonder why they didn’t supply a pdf of them for the listeners. They seem kind of integral.
1 person found this helpful
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- Adam M. Burnett
- 01-20-18
awesome
awesome book. Malcovich is amazing. would thoroughly recommend. listened to it while exploring Amsterdam in a fog of narcotics
2 people found this helpful
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- Jason Starling
- 12-30-19
Brilliant!!!!
John Malcovich was amazing narrating this truly modern classic. The audio gave me a different perspective of the story. Absolutely fantastic
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- Anonymous User
- 12-04-19
John Malkovich
John Malkovich, accompanying PDF? What more can I say? Brilliant. A more personal entry in Vonnegurt's body of work, something both highly metacritical of both fiction and Vonnegurt himself.
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-28-17
Malkovich reads one of Vonneguts (almost) greats.
What made the experience of listening to Breakfast of Champions the most enjoyable?
I'd read this book many times myself, but its been years. As an older, and more disappointing person I appreciated its themes of nostalgia and lost opportunities far more, and the astounding reading of Malkovich ratcheted the experience up many notches.
Who was your favorite character and why?
You have to love Kilgore Trout - the pseudo-profound almost-was that is a very thinly veiled personification of Vonneguts own fearful self-projection.
What about John Malkovich’s performance did you like?
His voice, my god - there is a thoughtful, learned, refined edge to his voice that makes it one of the best voices in existence in my estimation.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The opening of the book, with it's dedication to a lost friend and lost cultural values is playful, deeply mournful, and has wonderful impact despite being very self deprecating.
Any additional comments?
If you appreciate Vonnegut (and no, this isnt Cats Cradle, or Slaughterhouse 5, his masterpieces) and love the voice of Malkovich, this audiobook will push all your buttons. Vonneguts often unadorned prose doesnt always lend itself to reading aloud, but Malkovich rings every last drop from this one with his inflection and style.
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- dean
- 07-24-15
best vonnegut in my opinion
funny, beautiful and inspiring. . . . . . . . . . . . . ect !
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- Phillip
- 07-22-15
This is the breakfast of champions
Breakfast of Champions is by no means an easy book. It tumbled and meanders, always with one eye loosely tracking the central narrative while the others takes in the voluminous world that Kurt Vonnegut has created.
As a commentary on the failures of modern American capitalism - or capitalism and selfish individualism the world over - the novel challenges the reader to reconsider the price of the world we have created. How much of our planet will remain in years to come? How much of our soul can survive the onslaught of meaninglessness, the constant uncertainty of our place in and of this life?
Vonnegut is always a surprise. His novels are never what I expect and yet they still floor me with expertly crafted imagery and seemingly trite remarks that cut to the very core of what human existence is like.
This is a novel worth anyone's time. It is expertly read by John Malkovich with the kind of indifferent murmuring that it is easy to imagine Vonnegut himself adopting for the bleak truisms that his characters endure. Malkovich is enchanting with his croaking delivery, his voice echoing the uncertainty that Vonnegut's words encourage in mind of his reader.
This is a beautiful and tragic novel - equal parts humorous, shocking, and revealing.
Absolutely worth your time.
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- Tom
- 12-13-15
Hella monotone.
Could stand listening to John Malkovichs voice for more than 5 minutes at a time.
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- alan
- 08-14-17
malkovich is an actor
an actor who reads in a monotone almost all the way . not much acting going on .
shame