Kurt vonnegut hocus pocus is a grim, depressing, yet terribly funny, fictional autobiography of general eugene debs hartke, a person who never masturbated and uttered neither blasphemy nor profanity in his life. Eugene debs hartke is a vietnam veteran known as the preacher because he doesnt utter profanities. Kurt vonnegut, hocus pocus told from the point of view of eugene debs, professor at tarkenton collegevietnam war vetprison warden outsider philosopher. But after i came home from the vietnam war, and before either margaret or her.
If luck and time are the two prime movers of the universe, we are lucky in our time to have a kurt vonnegut to prod us. According to kurt vonneguts alter ego, the old science fiction writer kilgore trout, a global timequake will occur on february, 2001, at 2. It may not be his most famous work but i still think hocus pocus or whats the hurry son. As always vonnegut makes sure we get the picture, hes also the first author where i can imagine exactly how the story plays out in my head. Hocus pocus unabridged audiobook, by kurt vonnegut. Kurt vonnegut was a man who had such imagination and such a view on the world that its easy to capture his thoughts and look at the world through different eyes. The main character tells his story in such a way that it doesnt seem to span 300 pages. From the new york times bestselling author of slaughterhousefive. When listening to an audiobook of a kurt vonnegut novel, something ive. Signin to download and listen to this audiobook today. Kurt vonnegut, hocus pocus having read timequake prior to reading hocus pocus these are his last two novels, i was glad i reveresed the order. I would assume this kind of storytelling would be perfect for an audiobook but there isnt one on audible. While i wasnt blown away by hocus pocus, it was moderately better than timequake. Vonnegut, as usual, is very creative in more subtle ways.
Nobody would recommend hocus pocus as the introduction to kurt vonnegut, as this book is laiden with insider jokes about some of his other works, but i am glad that i came into the fold the way i did. Kurt vonnegut was born in indianapolis in 1922 and studied biochemistry at cornell university. Hocus pocus is the fictional autobiography of a west point graduate who was in charge of the humiliating evacuation of u. Though the style of the book is difficult to get used to at first it tells a very interesting story of a vietnam war veteran, professor, and prison employee. The life belongs to eugene debs hartke, soldierturnedteacher. Read hocus pocus by kurt vonnegut available from rakuten kobo. Author kurt vonnegut is considered by most to be one of the most important writers of the twentieth century. Hocus pocus, like so many vonnegut novels, is a firstperson, nonlinear narrative told episodically as an autobiography written by a prisoner awaiting trial. An army intelligence scout during the second world war, he was captured by the germans and witnessed the destruction of dresden by allied bombers, an experience which inspired his classic novel slaughterhousefive.
Deadeye dick 1982, galapagos 1985, bluebeard 1988 and hocus pocus 1990. Scholars believe that vonneguts reputation like mark twains will grow steadily through the decades as his work continues to increase in relevance and new connections are formed, new insights made. Kurt vonnegut was one of americas greatest literary satirists and a. Kurt vonnegut presents in fates worse than death a veritable cornucopia of his thoughts on what could perhaps best be summed up as antitheology, a manifesto for atheism that details vonneguts drift from conventional religion, even a tract evidencing belief in the divine held within each individual selfthe deity within each individual person present in a universe that otherwise. Hocus pocus by kurt vonnegut audiobook by mishal mohit. The main character is eugene debs hartke, a vietnam war. The sirens of titan 1959, mother night 1962, cats cradle 1963. Featured software all software latest this just in old school emulation msdos games historical software classic pc games software library. Plus, free twoday shipping for six months when you sign up for amazon prime for students. I have read them all and kurt vonnegut is my absolute favorite author. George ralph a fictional autobiography of a west point graduate who was in charge of the humiliating evacuation of u. I fairly recently became an audiobook fan and have been going through everything that i read years ago i.
Kurt vonnegut audio books, best sellers, author bio. Hocus pocus has 12 available editions to buy at half price books marketplace. Like many of vonnegut s novels, hocus pocus uses a nonlinear narrative and has a plot centered on a major event heavily alluded to until the final chapters. Avaiable herethis is the newest vonnegut novel ive read. Hocus pocus is vonneguts smart expression for the excrement hitting the. Hocus pocus purports to be the product of hartkes reflections, written in. Hocus pocus is an often funny, broad and wideranging commentary on race, class, war and its aftermath, nationalism and provincialism, economics and education, ignorance and enlightenment.
Written by kurt vonnegut, audiobook narrated by lj ganser. This detailed literature summary also contains topics for discussion on hocus pocus by kurt vonnegut. Ive been pushing off truly delving into his repertoire largely because given my love of the man, i want to savor his work like an out of production hard candy. It will be the moment when the universe suffers a crisis of conscience. His parents died in a freak accident in niagra falls without ever knowing what hit them. The book takes place at tarkington college where eugene has become a teacher. Returning home from the war, he unknowingly fathered an illegitimate son. This study guide consists of approximately 58 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of hocus pocus.
I fell in love with the thoughts, theories and opinions of kurt vonnegut and of course fell in love with his work once i began reading it. Hocus pocus by vonnegut, kurt and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Kurt vonnegut 1990 hocus pocus ralph audiobook youtube. Vonnegut was covering a lot of ground with this novel. Employing his characteristic narrative devicea retrospective diary in which the protagonist retraces his life at its end, a desperate and disconnected series of events here in hocus pocus show vonnegut with his mask off and his rhetorical devices unshielded. Kurt vonnegut booklist kurt vonnegut message board. With hocus pocus he returns fullsize and industrial strength to the powers of his best early work. He was looking at issues of race, war, economics, politicis, education, money, culure, prison reform, ptsd, marriage, death, intimacy, and more. Hocus pocus by vonnegut, first edition abebooks passion for books. Vonneguts latest is his most insistently antiwar novel since slaughterhousefive, and is haunted by vietnam.
Buy a cheap copy of hocus pocus book by kurt vonnegut jr a small, exclusive college in upstate new york is nestled along the frozen shores of lake mohiga. Browse kurt vonneguts bestselling audiobooks and newest titles. Almost invariably, i have been as enchanted by their souls, their intellects, and the stories of their lives as by their amorous propensities. Hocus pocus is not only poignant and provocative, it is outrageous and very funny indeed. Where to start reading kurt vonneguts books penguin books. The protagonist in this case is disgraced professor eugene debs hartke, who, like many vonnegut characters, is not guilty of the charges leveled against him but is certainly guilty of other crimes crimes against his conscience. Brilliance audio firm hocus pocus is the fictional autobiography of a west point graduate who was in charge of the humiliating evacuation of u. In hocus pocus by kurt vonnegut the writer wants written on his tombstone one number, the number of women hes slept with, and the number of people he has killed which happen to be the same number. Hocus pocus by kurt vonnegut and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at.
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