...alternatively titled 'Goodbye, Blue Monday' by Kurt Vonnegut, prods the reader to take a second look at reality and fiction, compassion and inhumanity, and the grey areas in between...in this hilarious story about 2 old white men who meet and experience a mental combustion of sorts...in the unmistakably-named fictional town of 'Midland City'.
Of the 2 men, one is a writer still waiting for worldly fame. Only one person has heard of him after all these years, apart from readers of adult sci-fi magazines. The other man is an extremely successful car dealer who has devoted his life to the worship of Mammon, and has been suitably rewarded. What do these guys have in common? Like I said, a kind of an ignition, a candesence, stemming from a glorious, uproarious, misunderstanding - the car dealer, now slowly losing his mind, meets the rather bitter writer, and takes his fictional works as the whole truth. What ensues is what my realtor friend would describe as a "hoot!".
'Breakfast of Champions' is itself an easy read, but blows you away with its spiritual message - that in a flawed world, as illustrated by this haunting, quirky, tragic tale, there is still hope for humanity. Vonnegut addresses the insanity of our world via his characters, his tongue-in-cheek observations, his typically zany humor...as though explaining life on earth to an alien audience. Becoming his own character, as it were, writing his sci-fi stories, accentuating the process within the process, and encouraging us to take a second look at ourselves.
Thank you, Vonnegut. Although your novel is 30-odd years old now, it still contains a message for us even now, and probably will address our stupidities in the future. I would say, a most appropriate novel for the times...for those who get its lyrical prose.
But to take a step into my here and now...the 'breakfast of champions' I actually want to describe is the breakfast we had this morning - 'Khaaraz' or omelets studded with 1 deseeded, chopped, jalapeno, a handful of cherry tomatoes, and chopped white onions...
...lovingly drowned in a 'Saalan' (sauce) made with sauteed onions, tomatoes, ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin seeds, and fresh chopped coriander...
...and served up with 'Dosaas' or Indian crepes, made with a fermented rice and maash/urad dal (black grams/pulses) batter...
The cherry tomatoes and jalapenos were left on our porch one evening by our friend and neighbor KS, who is a teacher, healer, and nature-lover with a fabulously green thumb, to whom we are ever grateful for her tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and so on...An American Shakumbhari Devi (an Indian deity worshipped by North Indian Hindus, for her powers to provide a bountiful harvest), one might say.
Thank you, KS! Your organically grown vegetables are outstandingly intense in flavor and beat the grocers' anyday.
Of the 2 men, one is a writer still waiting for worldly fame. Only one person has heard of him after all these years, apart from readers of adult sci-fi magazines. The other man is an extremely successful car dealer who has devoted his life to the worship of Mammon, and has been suitably rewarded. What do these guys have in common? Like I said, a kind of an ignition, a candesence, stemming from a glorious, uproarious, misunderstanding - the car dealer, now slowly losing his mind, meets the rather bitter writer, and takes his fictional works as the whole truth. What ensues is what my realtor friend would describe as a "hoot!".
'Breakfast of Champions' is itself an easy read, but blows you away with its spiritual message - that in a flawed world, as illustrated by this haunting, quirky, tragic tale, there is still hope for humanity. Vonnegut addresses the insanity of our world via his characters, his tongue-in-cheek observations, his typically zany humor...as though explaining life on earth to an alien audience. Becoming his own character, as it were, writing his sci-fi stories, accentuating the process within the process, and encouraging us to take a second look at ourselves.
Thank you, Vonnegut. Although your novel is 30-odd years old now, it still contains a message for us even now, and probably will address our stupidities in the future. I would say, a most appropriate novel for the times...for those who get its lyrical prose.
But to take a step into my here and now...the 'breakfast of champions' I actually want to describe is the breakfast we had this morning - 'Khaaraz' or omelets studded with 1 deseeded, chopped, jalapeno, a handful of cherry tomatoes, and chopped white onions...
...lovingly drowned in a 'Saalan' (sauce) made with sauteed onions, tomatoes, ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin seeds, and fresh chopped coriander...
...and served up with 'Dosaas' or Indian crepes, made with a fermented rice and maash/urad dal (black grams/pulses) batter...
The cherry tomatoes and jalapenos were left on our porch one evening by our friend and neighbor KS, who is a teacher, healer, and nature-lover with a fabulously green thumb, to whom we are ever grateful for her tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and so on...An American Shakumbhari Devi (an Indian deity worshipped by North Indian Hindus, for her powers to provide a bountiful harvest), one might say.
Thank you, KS! Your organically grown vegetables are outstandingly intense in flavor and beat the grocers' anyday.
No comments:
Post a Comment