A small, exclusive college in upstate New York is nestled along the frozen shores of Lake Mohiga . . . and directly across from a maximum-security prison. The two institutions manage to coexist peacefully, until 10,000 prisoners break out and head directly for the college. "Sharp-toothed satire . . . absurd humor."--San Francisco Chronicle. HC: Putnam.
Hocus Pocus (Kurt Vonnegut Series)
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
While awaiting trial for an initially unspecified crime, Vietnam vet and college professor Eugene Debs Hartke realizes that he has killed exactly as many people as he has had sex with, a coincidence that causes him to doubt his atheism. According to PW , "The cumulative power of the novel is considerable, revealing Vonnegut at his fanciful and playful best."
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
After you have read one of Kurt Vonnegut's gleefully pessimistic novels, his words go on colouring your world for a long time afterwards... not to read him would be to miss out on lessons that need to be learned about the age we live in' Sunday Times. 'It is all done with voice. Vonnegut is a master of the first-person, manic-depressive stand-up' Observer. 'Although it is set in the near future, Hocus Pocus is the most topical, realistic Vonnegut novel to date, and shows the struggle of an artist a little impatient with allegory and more than a little impatient with his own country' New York Times Book Review.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
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More About the Author
Kurt Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis in 1922. He studied at the universities of Chicago and Tennessee and later began to write short stories for magazines. His first novel, Player Piano, was published in 1951 and since then he has written many novels, among them: The Sirens of Titan (1959), Mother Night (1961), Cat's Cradle (1963), God Bless You Mr Rosewater (1964), Welcome to the Monkey House; a collection of short stories (1968), Breakfast of Champions (1973), Slapstick, or Lonesome No More (1976), Jailbird (1979), Deadeye Dick (1982), Galapagos (1985), Bluebeard (1988) and Hocus Pocus (1990). During the Second World War he was held prisoner in Germany and was present at the bombing of Dresden, an experience which provided the setting for his most famous work to date, Slaughterhouse Five (1969). He has also published a volume of autobiography entitled Palm Sunday (1981) and a collection of essays and speeches, Fates Worse Than Death (1991).
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
36 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is probably my favorite of all of Vonnegut's works. It's the story of an ex-military man who becomes a teacher at a school for learning-disabled rich kids. He eventually is fired from the school for telling the students what an embarrassment it is to be an American, and he is hired by the prison across the lake. The story only gets more cynical and more sentimental from there. As each character dies, and so it goes, they are buried in the shadow of Musket Mountain when the sun goes down, a nice, poetic touch on this deeply sarcastic look at the American ruling class. I loved the alternative history lesson provided in this book, it's nice to see the positive side of American socialism and the potential it once held way back at the start of the 20th century. Hocus Pocus is one of those books I go back to ever couple of years and re-read...I like it that much.
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Unlike the other Vonnegut novels that I have read, "Hocus Pocus" seems to come dangerously close to biting off more than it can chew -- and for the first half of the book it does. It takes a full hundred-and-fifty pages or so for Vonnegut to get a handle on all of the disparate themes that have crammed their way into this novel: racial strife, economic strife, the state of education in America, the follies of elitism, the de-humanizing effects of war (a Vonnegut favorite), love, sex, marriage, alcoholism, pride, honor, television, genetics and heredity, the outsourcing of American businesses, prison overcrowding, cultural identity ... believe it or not, I could go on. "Hocus Pocus" is too much of a hodge-podge, and it doesn't seem to know what it is trying to say or where it is drawing your attention at first. Thank goodness the second half of the book is a marked improvement. It actually ends up being enjoyable and says a lot of intelligent (if typically Vonnegut) things.
Still, there are some other problems with "HP" that could potentially turn a reader off -- particularly if they are not accustomed to Vonnegut's unique brand of storytelling. Eugene Debs Hartke is not a compelling Vonnegut protagonist; he has the quirky personality, the jaded outlook that comes with experience and the moral ambiguity, but he is surprisingly boring when you consider that he's an ex-soldier renowned for his deft and brutal technique, a sex addict and married to an insane woman to boot. He just doesn't resonate the way a Billy Pilgrim, Kilgore Trout (who makes a sort-of appearance here when one of his short stories turns up, for all you tried and true Vonnegut fans out there), or Howard W. Campbell, Jr. do in their respective stories. And the main themes that Vonnegut is expounding here have been done better elsewhere in his ouevre. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater tackled elitism and greed in a more resonant way, Slaughterhouse-Five dealt with war in a more profound story, Mother Night also features a protagonist literally on trial for his moral ambiguity but delved deeper, and the deliciously madcap Breakfast of Champions is a freight train to disaster that is much more compelling than "HP"'s central prison break.
Having said that, Vonnegut devotees like myself will undoubtedly enjoy this novel anyway -- particularly the last half. But for anyone who is not already enchanted by Vonnegut's quirks as a novelist would do better to start elsewhere (I'd suggest checking out one of the novels I just mentioned in the last paragraph instead).
Grade: B- (but give it a C if you aren't already a Vonnegut fan)
Still, there are some other problems with "HP" that could potentially turn a reader off -- particularly if they are not accustomed to Vonnegut's unique brand of storytelling. Eugene Debs Hartke is not a compelling Vonnegut protagonist; he has the quirky personality, the jaded outlook that comes with experience and the moral ambiguity, but he is surprisingly boring when you consider that he's an ex-soldier renowned for his deft and brutal technique, a sex addict and married to an insane woman to boot. He just doesn't resonate the way a Billy Pilgrim, Kilgore Trout (who makes a sort-of appearance here when one of his short stories turns up, for all you tried and true Vonnegut fans out there), or Howard W. Campbell, Jr. do in their respective stories. And the main themes that Vonnegut is expounding here have been done better elsewhere in his ouevre. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater tackled elitism and greed in a more resonant way, Slaughterhouse-Five dealt with war in a more profound story, Mother Night also features a protagonist literally on trial for his moral ambiguity but delved deeper, and the deliciously madcap Breakfast of Champions is a freight train to disaster that is much more compelling than "HP"'s central prison break.
Having said that, Vonnegut devotees like myself will undoubtedly enjoy this novel anyway -- particularly the last half. But for anyone who is not already enchanted by Vonnegut's quirks as a novelist would do better to start elsewhere (I'd suggest checking out one of the novels I just mentioned in the last paragraph instead).
Grade: B- (but give it a C if you aren't already a Vonnegut fan)
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I never really considered the fact that Kilgore Trout's (Vonnegut's alter ego science fiction writing character) stories always appeared in pornographic magazines, until I saw an excerpt from Hocus Pocus in either Playboy or Penthouse, giving me an excuse to say I'd bought the magazine for its articles and stories.
It makes me wonder then about what this says about pornographic magazines. Maybe it suggests that many of them, in order to try to create an illusion of legitamacy, will take chances with literature that mainstream magazines might find to controversial.
Indeed Vonnegut's Hocus Pocus may seem controversial to some, for it talks about things that a large majority of Americans would be more comfortable ignoring. Just as the main character, Eugene Debs Hartke is fired from his teaching job for having overly pessimistic ideas, Vonnegut's book itself pulls America's skeletons out of its closet.
Perhaps what certain literature has in common with pornography, is the tendency people have to try to ignore what they both say about our society, to try to push it as far under the bed as possible.
Hocus Pocus picks at the scabs of not only America's greatest embarrassments, but also our greatest failures. Everything from television talk-shows to the Vietnam War, racism, classism, the death of our economy, and the overcrowding of prisons is laid bare in all its uncomfortable ugliness.
The difference however, between Hocus Pocus and a simple pessimistic rant, is Vonnegut's unique ability to make us laugh at it all, but without downplaying its seriousness at all. Overall it is a must read, for Vonnegut fans and for any American that wants to live honestly with him/herself.
It makes me wonder then about what this says about pornographic magazines. Maybe it suggests that many of them, in order to try to create an illusion of legitamacy, will take chances with literature that mainstream magazines might find to controversial.
Indeed Vonnegut's Hocus Pocus may seem controversial to some, for it talks about things that a large majority of Americans would be more comfortable ignoring. Just as the main character, Eugene Debs Hartke is fired from his teaching job for having overly pessimistic ideas, Vonnegut's book itself pulls America's skeletons out of its closet.
Perhaps what certain literature has in common with pornography, is the tendency people have to try to ignore what they both say about our society, to try to push it as far under the bed as possible.
Hocus Pocus picks at the scabs of not only America's greatest embarrassments, but also our greatest failures. Everything from television talk-shows to the Vietnam War, racism, classism, the death of our economy, and the overcrowding of prisons is laid bare in all its uncomfortable ugliness.
The difference however, between Hocus Pocus and a simple pessimistic rant, is Vonnegut's unique ability to make us laugh at it all, but without downplaying its seriousness at all. Overall it is a must read, for Vonnegut fans and for any American that wants to live honestly with him/herself.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vonnegut Near The End
Typical Vonnegut. Some thoughts and ideas could be seen as repetitive, but those were overshadowed by fresh, new material worthy of mention.
Published 1 month ago by ironhorse356
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wickedly Irresistible
Another hilarious Vonnegut, who word-spins his saber-toothed savvy satire into the shoals of Futurology, for a society who ignores the low rate of literacy, in favor of,... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Joyce Metzger
3.0 out of 5 stars
RosettaBooks Kindle edition
The RosettaBooks Kindle edition of Hocus Pocus is well formatted and has an active TOC. I found only one typo. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Wild Human
5.0 out of 5 stars
A+
A+A+I am happy with the purchase and I like the product. I need 9 more words for the review - A+
Published 5 months ago by Tamas
4.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Vonnegut
I will preface my review by saying that Kurt Vonnegut is not for everyone. Personally, I love the subject matter he writes about and his style. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Alyssa A.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Decent edition of a good novel
Vonnegut does his usual thing of immediately pulling you into the most preposterous storyline you could imagine. Read more
Published 20 months ago by F. X. Hartigan
3.0 out of 5 stars
Vonnegut fans won't be disappointed
It's been awhile since I last read a Vonnegut book. As with the others I've read by this American treasure of an author, his writing is wry, insightful, sarcastic, timely and... Read more
Published on May 12, 2011 by Roy Pickering
5.0 out of 5 stars
A constant laugh attack at being human :)
You must like laughing at yourself, being all too human, satirically inclined and liked "Catch 22" to enjoy this. Read more
Published on May 5, 2011 by Wayne
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vonnegut's Hocus Pocus
A quirky tale, whose main character doesn't exactly suffer from sexual addiction and a huge case of not knowing what the heck he is doing or what is going on throughout a lifetime... Read more
Published on March 2, 2011 by chunkeeone
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vonnegutology
This is not, not, not a book to be read if you haven't read Kurt Vonnegut in your life. It is also something that needs to be handled with a certain care and consideration for... Read more
Published on December 11, 2009 by Rheazblaze
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 22
books:
See all 22 books this book cites
31
books
cite this book:
See all 31 books citing this book
- Bartlett's Familiar Quotes by John Bartlett on 4 pages
- Abraham Lincoln by Edith L. Elias on page 12, and page 266
- Breakfast of Champions: A Novel by Kurt Vonnegut in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
- The Vietnam War by Mitchell K. Hall on page 99, and page 292
- Hocus Pocus: Junior Novelization (Junior Novel Series) by DISNEY PRESS in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
See all 22 books this book cites
- The Novels of Kurt Vonnegut: Imagining Being an American (Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction and Fantasy) by Donald Morse on 45 pages
- The Vonnegut Chronicles: Interviews and Essays (Contributions to the Study of World Literature) by Marc Leeds on 25 pages
- The Vonnegut Effect by Jerome Klinkowitz on 14 pages
- Vonnegut in Fact: The Public Spokesmanship of Personal Fiction by Jerome Klinkowitz on 8 pages
- Kurt Vonnegut's Crusade Or, How a Postmodern Harlequin Preached a New Kind of Humanism (S U N Y Series in Postmodern Culture) by Todd F. Davis on 7 pages
See all 31 books citing this book
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