Breakfast of Champions, or Goodbye Blue Monday was written by Kurt Vonnegut, an American author, in 1973. It is the story of Dwayne Hoover, an insane and aging Pontiac automobile dealer, and his obsession with the literal accuracy of the writings of Kilgore Trout, a largely unknown pulp science fiction writer. This novel is a prime example of Kurt Vonnegut's overwhelmingly satirical style.
The novel is populated by childish drawings, intending to illustrate to the reader (assumed to be an alien unfamilar with Human society) various aspects of life on Earth. Such drawings include that of an anus, the American flag, a wide-open vagina, little girls' underpants, guns, trucks, cows and the hamburgers that result from them, the electric chair, chickens and the fried food that results from them, and the sunglasses the author himself wears as he enters the storyline, among many others.
In addition to Kilgore Trout, several other characters from other Vonnegut books appear here, such as Eliot Rosewater and Rabo Karabekian. Karabekian later became the main character in Bluebeard, published in 1988. Dwayne Hoover's secretary, Francine Pefko, previously appeared in Cat's Cradle, where she performed secretarial duties at General Forge and Foundry, in Ilium, New York. The vicious guard dog, Kazak, was Winston Niles Rumfoord's pet in The Sirens of Titan.
The story's name is also that of a registered trademark of General Mills, Inc. for its Wheaties breakfast cereal products. This is acknowledged by the author in the preface, but he indicates that he does not intend this as endorsement or disparagement of their products. This slogan can currently be found on Weetabix brand cereal in Australian supermarkets.
Breakfast of Champions has also been made into a film starring Bruce Willis, Albert Finney, Nick Nolte and Omar Epps, although it has been noted that the movie is not a faithful representation of the book.
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