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Slapstick: Or Lonesome No More!
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780385334235
ISBN: 0385334230
Label: Dial Press Trade Paperback
Manufacturer: Dial Press Trade Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 288
Publication Date: May 11, 1999
Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback
Release Date: May 11, 1999
Studio: Dial Press Trade Paperback
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Editorial Review:
Dr. Wilbur Daffodil-11 Swain, centenarian, the last President of the United States, King of Manhattan, and one-half (along with his sister, Eliza) of the most powerful intelligence since Einstein, is penning his autobiography. He occupies the first floor of a ruined Empire State Building and lives like a royal scavenger with his illiterate granddaughter and her beau. Buffeted by fluctuating gravity, the U.S. has been scourged by not one, but two lethal diseases: the Green Death and the Albanian Flu. Consequently, the country has fallen into civil war. (Super-intelligent, miniaturized Chinese watch the West self-destruct from the sidelines.) Swain stayed at the White House until there were no citizens left to govern, then moved to deserted New York City, where he writes a thoughtful missive before death.
In Slapstick, Vonnegut muses on war, man's hubris, and the awful, crippling loneliness humans are freighted with--but, miraculously, the book still manages to delight and amuse. Absurd, knowing, never depressing, Slapstick kindles hope--for the possibility of wisdom, perhaps; for human resiliency, surely.
It's best to end with a quote from the prologue wherein the author discourses on The Meaning of It All, or at least This Book: "Love is where you find it. I think it is foolish to go off looking for it, and I think it can often be poisonous.
I wish that people who are conventionally supposed to love each other would say to each other, when they fight, 'Please--a little less love, and a little more common decency.'"
Amen.
Slapstick presents an apocalyptic vision seen through the eyes of the current King of Manhattan (and last President of the United States), a wickedly irreverent look at the all-too-possible results of today’s follies. But even the end of life-as-we-know-it is transformed by Vonnegut’s pen into hilarious farce (a final slapstick that may be the Almighty’s joke on us all.)“Vonnegut’s ongoing puppet show…that fabulous is reborn.”—John Updike“Both funny and sad…just about perfect!”—Los Angeles Times
“Imaginative and hilarious…a brilliant vision of our wrecked, wacked-out future.”—Hartford Courant*The New York Times
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - not the right book for first time Vonegut readers
I didn't know what to expect because this was my very first time reading Kurt Vonnegut's work. I hated it. It seemed silly, pointless, and strange. I couldn't deal with it. I don't ever want to read Kurt Vonnegut ever again. It's not awful. It was a shock. I've never read anything like it before, and it doesn't gently ease you into it.
If you do read it, know that it's extremely quirky. If that's your style, go for it.
Rating:  - Slaptastic
Slapstick is a novel that can be misread on so many levels. Having read many of Vonnegut's works, it is obvious that he recycle themes, and even characters. However, the point that he is trying to ram home never diminishes. Unlike many post apocalyptic novels, this one is light-hearted, and the world does not seem much worse off than it was before. That is the real crux of this piece, that it is not the conditions of the society around us that determines happiness, but rather the value and condition ... Read More
Rating:  - Read over and over! Fascinating subjects! Utopian society!
This is the first Vonnegut book that I read. I am so glad I read this book. It got me hooked. I've read all of Vonnegut's work and it is brilliant! But this book has remained close to my heart, and my favorite. That's because of all the heartfelt convictions about family that Vonnegut writes about. His memoirs about his sister, are really sweet, and I can identify with his perspective, because I have a brother who I think is hilarious. I also really enjoyed the bit about how to make a Utopian society ... Read More
Rating: - Not one of his better books
I have mixed feelings about Kurt Vonnegut. I always admire the way he writes - his ability to propel me through a book, quickly and effortlessly. I know there will be a few good laughs, some heart-wrenching tragedy, and some wry or clever social commentary. When he is at the top of his game, he is one of the best. I really enjoyed Breakfast of Champions and I consider Slaughterhouse Five to be a masterpiece. So every couple of years, I read another Vonnegut book, hoping to recapture that magic.
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Rating: - AMAZING.
There is no way that Slapstick is over-rated. I just read this in honor of Kurt Vonnegut's passing (re-read). I read all of his books around the mid to late 80's. I think I've gone back and re-read all of them for the second time, but this was the third time I've read Slapstick. It really just dosen't get much better than Vonnegut does it? I really enjoy reading his speech and letter stuff, plus his later books, but then when you go back and read one of the "heavy hitters", it just is really out of control ... Read More
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