We are what we pretend to be: the first and last works

Book Cover
Average Rating
Publisher
Vanguard Press
Publication Date
[2012]
Language
English

Description

Called “our finest black-humorist” by The Atlantic Monthly, Kurt Vonnegut was one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. Now his first and last works come together for the first time in print, in a collection aptly titled after his famous phrase, We Are What We Pretend To Be. Written to be sold under the pseudonym of “Mark Harvey,” Basic Training was never published in Vonnegut’s lifetime. It appears to have been written in the late 1940s and is therefore Vonnegut’s first ever novella. It is a bitter, profoundly disenchanted story that satirizes the military, authoritarianism, gender relationships, parenthood and most of the assumed mid-century myths of the family. Haley Brandon, the adolescent protagonist, comes to the farm of his relative, the old crazy who insists upon being called The General, to learn to be a straight-shooting American. Haley’s only means of survival will lead him to unflagging defiance of the General’s deranged (but oh so American, oh so military) values. This story and its thirtyish author were no friends of the milieu to which the slick magazines’ advertisers were pitching their products. When Vonnegut passed away in 2007, he left his last novel unfinished. Entitled If God Were Alive Today, this last work is a brutal satire on societal ignorance and carefree denial of the world’s major problems. Protagonist Gil Berman is a middle-aged college lecturer and self-declared stand-up comedian who enjoys cracking jokes in front of a college audience while societal dependence on fossil fuels has led to the apocalypse. Described by Vonnegut as, “the stand-up comedian on Doomsday,” Gil is a character formed from Vonnegut’s own rich experiences living in a reality Vonnegut himself considered inevitable.

Along with the two works of fiction, Vonnegut’s daughter, Nanette shares reminiscences about her father and commentary on these two works—both exclusive to this edition.

In this fiction collection, published in print for the first time, exist Vonnegut’s grand themes: trust no one, trust nothing; and the only constants are absurdity and resignation, which themselves cannot protect us from the void but might divert.

More Details

ISBN
9781593157432
9780306822780

Table of Contents

From the Book

Basic training
If God were alive today.

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Similar Authors From NoveList

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Readers who enjoy Kurt Vonnegut's free-form, discursive later works, which satirize everything in a droll intellectual voice that never quite goes over the edge into sarcasm, may enjoy the whimsical novels of Romanian poet and essayist Andrei Codrescu. Codrescu's piquant stew of ribaldry and philosophy tickles both the mind and the funny bone. -- Katherine Johnson
Fans of Kurt Vonnegut's more lighthearted science fiction may enjoy the silly and irreverent humor of Douglas Adams. Although much of Vonnegut's writing is more darkly satirical than that of Adams, readers will find that both authors employ outlandish storylines, eccentric characters, and clever and unconventional use of language. -- Victoria Fredrick
Novels and short stories by both writers include flawed characters, wildly unpredictable plots, and wry observations about our species and our future. Kurt Vonnegut's fiction typically focuses on society's failings like war, injustice, and environmental destruction, while Philip K. Dick's work poses questions about future technologies, ESP, alternate realities, and theology. -- Alicia Cavitt
Both literary satirists write thought-provoking, darkly humorous novels about characters who try (and often fail) to come to grips with life's absurdities. -- CJ Connor
Theodore Sturgeon and Kurt Vonnegut humorously explore moral and existential dilemmas and expose the ability of human cruelty to produce alienation and social and sexual repression, yet their writing stays humorous, avoiding outright sarcasm. Both employ a variety of styles, from macabre horror to visionary fable (Sturgeon) to numerous science fiction subgenres (Vonnegut). -- Katherine Johnson
Fans of witty insights and experimental forms will enjoy the unique speculative fiction novels and short stories of Charles Yu and Kurt Vonnegut. Both writers create inventive storylines within familiar tropes and avoid scientific complexities by focusing on relatable human issues, social themes, and the impact of emerging technologies on society. -- Alicia Cavitt
Fans of satire will enjoy both James Morrow and Kurt Vonnegut, both of whom employ a lush, wildly inventive prose style and surreal, boisterous storylines in madcap adventures that explore and explode profound questions of good and evil, inspiration and idiocy. -- Katherine Johnson
These literary fiction authors craft witty, darkly humorous stories that humanize dramatic events, raise thought-provoking questions, and often highlight human failure or illustrate dire consequences of poor judgment. Both authors have stylistically complex and unconventional writing styles and have written novels, short stories, and nonfiction. -- Alicia Cavitt
Tom Robbins' novels will appeal to those who appreciate Kurt Vonnegut's more humorous novels. Both feature anything-goes storytelling, curious characters, wry commentary, and playful treatment of deep subjects, though Vonnegut's books sometimes come to different conclusions than those Robbins would reach. -- Katherine Johnson
These literary fiction authors combine clever prose with zany unconventional plotlines that are thought-provoking, poignant, and reflective. Their wry and witty observations include ruminations on history, society, and geopolitics. Stories often include fictional authors and elements of science fiction. Both have written about time travel and characters with memory issues. -- Alicia Cavitt
Both authors use a conversational and engaging writing style to create quirky, offbeat fiction and provocative nonfiction books filled with witty, pointed commentary on human nature and American culture. David Sedaris often writes about his own family and modern society while Kurt Vonnegut's books tackle topics like war and injustice. -- Alicia Cavitt
Though of different generations and backgrounds, both authors write candid, engaging, and witty issue-oriented nonfiction that offers accessible -- and often incisive or provocative -- social commentary. Kurt Vonnegut's nonfiction frequently revolves around politics, art, war, and morality, while Tressie McMillian Cottom writes about race, feminism, and higher education. -- Alicia Cavitt

Published Reviews

Publisher's Weekly Review

Bookending Vonnegut's career, the two semi-autobiographical stories contained in this unpolished posthumous collection are in print for the first time here. "Basic Training" is the author's earnest first novella, written a few years before Player Piano and never published. In it, an orphaned, wet-behind-the-ears city kid is dispatched to a farm to live with a trio of opinionated female cousins under the watchful eye and iron fist of his uncle, whom he calls "the General." A series of outlandish mishaps and numerous missteps, including an unrequited love and a madcap hitchhiking adventure with a delusional and murderous farmhand, invoke a slightly unhinged Mark Twain. "If God Were Alive Today," unfinished upon the author's death in 2007, raises Vonnegut's signature existential critique of America's warped values and corrupt political climate to a fevered pitch via the uncensored standup routine of his twice-institutionalized protagonist, comedian Gil Berman. Berman's rapid-fire potshots-from the "war on drugs" to global warming ("The farts of our internal combustion engines have wrecked the atmosphere as a protective shield, and as anything a mother would want her child to breathe")-couched in Vonnegut's page-long rants are sometimes tiresome but will make readers wonder what a completed (and edited) novel might've amounted to. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Publishers Weekly Reviews

Bookending Vonnegut's career, the two semi-autobiographical stories contained in this unpolished posthumous collection are in print for the first time here. "Basic Training" is the author's earnest first novella, written a few years before Player Piano and never published. In it, an orphaned, wet-behind-the-ears city kid is dispatched to a farm to live with a trio of opinionated female cousins under the watchful eye and iron fist of his uncle, whom he calls "the General." A series of outlandish mishaps and numerous missteps, including an unrequited love and a madcap hitchhiking adventure with a delusional and murderous farmhand, invoke a slightly unhinged Mark Twain. "If God Were Alive Today," unfinished upon the author's death in 2007, raises Vonnegut's signature existential critique of America's warped values and corrupt political climate to a fevered pitch via the uncensored standup routine of his twice-institutionalized protagonist, comedian Gil Berman. Berman's rapid-fire potshots—from the "war on drugs" to global warming ("The farts of our internal combustion engines have wrecked the atmosphere as a protective shield, and as anything a mother would want her child to breathe")—couched in Vonnegut's page-long rants are sometimes tiresome but will make readers wonder what a completed (and edited) novel might've amounted to. (Oct.)

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