Published in 1973, 'Breakfast of Champions' is Kurt Vonnegut’s seventh novel. It is set in the fictional town of Midland City, Ohio, and focuses on two main characters: Dwayne Hoover, a wealthy car dealer on the verge of insanity, and Kilgore Trout, a science fiction writer. The novel is known for its unique style, which includes simple syntax, irony, black humor, and didacticism. Vonnegut himself appears as a narrator, using metafiction to explain and manipulate the narrative. The book critiques various aspects of American society, including war, sex, racism, success, politics, and pollution. It also features drawings by Vonnegut, which illustrate various aspects of life on Earth[1][3][4].
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A smashy crashy action movie double bill on the review slate this week. First up, ‘Novocaine’—the action comedy where Jack Quaid plays Nathan Caine, a man born with a disorder that leaves him unable to feel pain. When the bank he works in is robbed and the girl of his dreams taken hostage, he discovers his physical quirk can be a superpower. But will it make Mark wince? Plus, The Stath returns in ‘A Working Man’--where he’s Jason Statham, doing Stath things. That’s probably all you need to know... but Mark will tell us where it’s at in the Stath stakes.
Our guest this week is none other than Gorgeous George MacKay, who plays ‘Son’ in Josh Oppenheimer’s post-apocalyptic bunker-musical (yes, you read that correctly) ‘The End’. Set 25 years after an environmental catastrophe leaves the earth uninhabitable, MacKay and his ‘Mother’ (Tilda Swinton) and ‘Father (Michael Shannon) carry on a life of luxury and denial in their opulent underground shelter—where Son was born and raised, never having known life before. As Father writes a memoir nobody will read, and the family sing and dance their way through their bizarre existence in Golden-Age style, their brittle harmony is broken by the arrival of an unexpected guest. George tells Simon all about singing, dancing, having the most arthouse onscreen parents evs, and how his own new fatherhood has made him feel differently about the end of the world.
Plus more correspondence on Flow from our Latvian listeners, the Milennium Bug from ‘Y2K’ defenders, and of course Snow White--including a message from a young critic giving Mark a run for his money.
Timecodes (for Vanguardistas listening ad-free):
Novocaine Review: 09:04
George MacKay interview: 29:14
The End review: 42:54
Laughter Lift: 51:55
A Working Man Review: 56:13
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Kermode & Mayo’s Take 