A collection of short stories and writings from Kurt Vonnegut. It was compiled and released about a year after Kurt’s passing. A book released like this can sometimes be a money-grab, but there are many good stories in this compilation. All are based on some sort of Armageddon, be it war or the coming of Satan.
Included in the beginning is a copy of the letter Kurt wrote to his parents after he was released from a POW camp towards the end of WWII. His parents had not heard anything from him for over six months, other than he was missing in action. He does a pretty good job of bringing his parents up to speed on what he has endured, and does so with his trademark humor. He was not treated well as a prisoner of war. Who would have guessed that Nazis were not hospitable captors? He gets this point across, but manages to keep the letter in good spirits. He was a pretty good writer, even back then. After reading this, I got a pretty good insight into what gave him his unique perspective on the world. The fact that he got to live and breath humanity at its worst as a prisoner of war and still come out ok gave him insights into the human condition that few others can claim. He always seemed to find the humor in a situation, regardless of how dire. Seemingly more so, if it is really dire. This is absolutely reflected in his writing. This ability to sprinkle humor into nearly anything is much of the reason he is my favorite author.
Three of the stories really stand out. The first is Brighten Up. It appears to be an account of a situation he actually lived through while a POW. One of his fellow prisoners, Louis, somehow was always able to charm the people that ran the prison into letting him do things no one else could get away with. This allowed him to exploit his fellow prisoners who were desperate for cigarettes and bread. The story details each of Louis’ prison schemes that eventually drained all the prisoners of anything of value. It paints a vivid and humorous picture of how humans can exploit with a smile.
The second story that really stood out was called, Just you and me Sammy. It also involves prisoners of war just before they are liberated, but this is one is definitely a fictional account. I do not want to give away too much on this one. It is the best of the bunch. I will leave it at that. Please give it a read.
The third story that really stood out is the same as the title of the book, Armageddon in Retrospect. It is definitely the funniest, despite its main theme being Armageddon. It uses the theme of people exploiting each other for their own gain and also shows the incompetence of people who are often in charge of things, such as the government. It addresses widespread misinformation and manipulating the public for personal gain. I doubt these kinds of stories will ever get old as these themes seem to be more and more prevalent in modern life.
I believe that any of these three stories would make for a pretty good film, if adapted. Despite his popularity, adaptations of Vonnegut’s films have not fared well. I believe this is mostly due to the time in which they were made coupled with the elaborate nature of his stories. The special effects were not good enough to make his visions believable, particularly with his best novel, Slaughterhouse-Five. Perhaps some producer will have another look at his work and bring it to life on the screen once again. If not, we still have his wonderfully funny novels and short stories in print to enjoy.