Around 1974, Vonnegut declared, "absolutely anything I write is going to sell extremely well. . .it's going to sell phenomenally." (Vonnegut, A Preface to his Novels, Giannone, p. 7)
Kurt Vonnegut's novel, Slapstick, was a best-seller in 1976 because he wrote it. The reasons for Slapstick's popularity are closely tied with those of Vonnegut's success as a writer. As such, an investigation into one requires simultaneous ins
pection of the other. The author's works reflect the author's persona, both perceived and self-described. In the same way that Vonnegut, in part, is popular because of he is distinguishable from other authors, Slapstick was well received for its uniqu
eness, not only as a novel, but as a unique Vonnegut novel. In the first sentences of the prologue, Vonnegut declares of Slapstick, "This is the closest I will ever come to writing an autobiography. I have called it "Slapstick" because it is grotesque,
situational poetry--like the slapstick film comedies, especially those of Laurel and Hardy, of long ago. It is about what life feels like to me." (Slapstick or lonesome no more!, Kurt Vonnegut, 1976) The characters and conflicts of Slapstick, however,
transcend the limitations of an autobiographical novel, offering the social and human commentary which has characterized all of Vonnegut's works.
Vonnegut's popularity reached its climax between the late-sixties and mid-seventies, with bestsellers in 1973 (Breakfast of Champions), 1976 (Slapstick), 1979 (Jailbird). While the time period of Vonnegut's popularity is clear, the identity of
the people who made him so is not: "Unlike most extremely popular novelists, Vonnegut attracts a following that includes some serious people who take fiction seriously." (Roger Sale, The New York Times Book Review, October 3, 1976) Although Vonnegut d
id not target a specific audience, the themes about which he was writing grabbed the attention of a generation for whom pacifism and humanity were prominent issues: "The merging of [Vonnegut's] critical respect and popular acclaim reached a peak at the s
tart of the seventies after the publication and film adaptation of Slaughterhouse-Five. The times were right, of course: that text's antiwar theme was in complete accord with the moods of youth and academe. Vonnegut became something of a cult figure, a
guru in the eyes of the young, as well a writer firmly established--at least among his contemporaries." (The Vonnegut Chronicles, edited by Reed/Leeds, p. 48)
In a way Vonnegut's style spoke directly to a generation more accustomed to television and science fiction than any before it. The style of Vonnegut's novels "resembles the television drama in its swift pace, its darting topicality, its frequen
t use of stock minor characters, its violence, and its use of montage effects." (Writers For the 70's, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Reed, 1972, p. 215) Vonnegut considers his work to be an experiment. The same qualities which endear him to his readers, repel cer
tain critics: "If there's some experiment that's going on, or if they see a radical way to do things, they act as though I have made some boneheaded mistake. What really does it for them is that my books don't look a hell of a lot like other people's bo
oks." (Reed/Leeds, p. 6) Aside from uniqueness, a large part of Slapstick's appeal seems to be its readability. When asked why his books are so highly respected by young people, Vonnegut responded by saying, "Well, I'm screamingly funny, you know. . . A
nd that helps because I'm funnier than a lot of people, I think, and that's appreciated by young people. And I talk about stuff Billy Graham won't talk about for instance, you know, is it wrong to kill? And what's God like? And they like to hear talk l
ike that because they can't get it from the minister. They want to know what happens after you die. And I talk about it. That's a very popular subject." (60 minutes interview of Kurt Vonnegut, Harry Reasoner, appeared in Conversations With Kurt Vonnegu
t, edited by William Allen, p. 16)
Slapstick was popular because Vonnegut wrote it. It carries the same poignancy and style as his other works; his name does not carry the work. First released in September, 1976, Slapstick entered onto the Publisher's Weekly Best-seller list as
a "Fiction Candidate" in the September 27th issue of 1976. The following week, Slapstick appeared where it remained as a best-seller until February 21, 1977, the last issue in which it appeared on the list. Remaining on the best-seller list for nearly
five months displays how--as other Vonnegut novels--Slapstick speaks to the contemporary American society. Steven Paul's 1984 version, "Slapstick (Of Another Kind)," did not fare quite as well. With a gap of eight years between the initial publication o
f the effect of the little-noticed production on the popularity of the book is most likely minimal. This is most likely the fault of a poor production which earned Jerry Lewis a "Razzie Award" for worst actor in 1984.
Vonnegut's approach differs from that of earlier novels: "In Slapstick, Vonnegut strips away his masks to discuss his feelings about his family, especially his sister Alice and his concern for America's lonely ones; but this fictional autobiogr
aphy also functions as a coda of all his previous fiction and may mark a turning point in his career." (Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Stanley Schatt, 1976, preface) Despite its deep personal relevance for Vonnegut, themes related to national issues appear in Slap
stick: "The more frequent public commentary on the decline of the family (as earlier in the Moynihan Report), the division of the nation during the Vietnam War, and the effects of the McGovern-Shriver campaign and the Nixon impeachment might all be seen
as contributing. Certainly one senses a coalescing of the public and the private in Vonnegut's rendition of theme in Slapstick. (Reed/Leeds, p. 114)
As the story of an apocalyptic end to America and ultimately the world, told by a seven-foot tall centurion, Dr. Wilbur Daffodil-11 Swain--the last President of the United Stated--Slapstick, displays the way in which Vonnegut creates a fantasy w
orld from which the reader may view society as an outsider so that he may comment on the real world. The middle name "Daffodil" is part of Swain's campaign "Lonesome No More!" in which the government randomly assigned new middle names, creating pseudo-fa
milies. The creation of families works as a solution to the loneliness of America until most of the population dies of either the Albanian flu (caused by Martians) or the Green Death (caused by the ingestion or inhalation of the miniaturized Chinese). "
To Vonnegut, the underlying cause of loneliness is the American melting pot that destroys cultural and regional differences and that creates homogenized Americans that look alike, dress alike, and even think alike." (Schatt, p. 113) By losing our cultur
al heritage, Vonnegut points out, we have lost ourselves. Issues of implications of the demise of the "nuclear unit," the separation of the generations, the severance Vonnegut feels from his German roots he lost because of the anti-German sentiment surro
unding World War I, and the added burdens imposed on the conjugal relationship, all work their way into the sense of loneliness and society in Slapstick. (Reed/Leeds, p. 114)
Vonnegut's contemporary critics agreed Slapstick was a departure from his previous works: "The thrust of Vonnegut's fiction has moved from detached, ironic observation to impassioned participation. His early works, Player Piano and The Sirens
of Titan, were concerned with the external environment--the dangers of technology and the glorification of the machine." (Schatt, p. 115) Slapstick is the first of Vonnegut's works to leave off the suffix "Jr." in the author's name. Dropping the suffix
"Jr." his name, Vonnegut may have intended to indicate a distinction between the writer of Slapstick and the "Jr." that wrote the previous novels. Those who praise Vonnegut herald his "sharply honed prose style and his grim, staccato jokes, his innovati
ve uses of narrative masks and various cinematic techniques." (Schatt, preface) Those who criticize him argue that "everything is repeated in Vonnegut's novels," and that "he sticks with nothing long enough to imagine it, give it breathing space and air
." (Roger Sale, The New York Times Book Review, October 3, 1976)
Vonnegut believes his popularity as a writer caused some of the sharp criticism he has received for his works from Slapstick forward: "They get so goddamn mad, and the only reason they get so goddamn mad, I think is the amounts of money that co
me my way. I think it seems to them an unjust society that someone who does what I do could get rewarded." (Reed/Leeds, p. 7) Criticism of Vonnegut and, in particular Slapstick as a representative of Vonnegut, as discussed in the section on contemporary
critical reviews, seems directed at Vonnegut's assumed audience.
The public perception of Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is similar to the reception of his works. Vonnegut, as a person, takes different shapes depending on the perspective. An approving literary critic writes, "For all the tough-minded skepticism, satiric
anger, and deep pessimism in his novels, we feel in reading Vonnegut that behind the books stands a truly compassionate and gentle man, a very human person as well as a very humane one." (Reed, 1972, p. 15) Of himself, Vonnegut said, "I really don't kno
w what I'm going to become from now on. I'm simply along for the ride to see what happens to this body and this brain of mine." (Interview with Vonnegut, Cargas, Christian Century, Nov. 24, 1976, p. 1049) A less appreciative Robert Towers writes, "Vonn
egut's admirers find him funny, sad, and ironic. I suspect that most of the unconverted find him prankish, often silly, sentimental, and more than a little cruel." (Robert Towers, New York Review of Books, November 25 1976) In interviews he comes acros
s as pensive, humble, and very real. Of his reality as a person he wrote a letter to Drake School Board to protest the burning of his books in a campaign against pornography: "The news from Drake indicates to me that books and writers are very unreal to
you people. I am writing this letter to let you know how real I am. . . I am in fact a large, strong person, fifty-one years old, who did a lot of farm work as a boy, who is good with tools. I am a combat infantry veteran from World War Two, and hold a
Purple heart." (Kurt Vonnegut on Censorship And Moral Values, Richard Siegfeld, Modern-Fiction-Studies, 1980-81, v. 26, 631-35) According to an Harry Reasoner in interview in 1970 for Sixty Minutes, "[a]s America begins, somewhat nervously, a new school
year, we have an improbability [t]he current idol of the country's sensitive and intelligent young people is 47 years old." (Allen, p. 15) Another interviewer writes, "He is the impatient humanitarian, the disappointed-but-constant optimist." (Kurt Von
negut, Allen, p. 3)
Vonnegut has been popular because he offers thoughtful social criticism in an entertaining way. While in a unique form, Slapstick, also offers the same insightful exaggeration and magnification of problems which existed in Vonnegut's contemporar
y society, but which continue to be problems for humanity. The sense of community adopted by the citizens in Slapstick because of their middle names reflects a sense of belonging which many Americans may look for outside of their immediate families. The
lack of a strong family structure continues to be a problem we must overcome. While Vonnegut's popularity remains, for the most part, at the margins, the social commentary he offered is continues to be relevant. Slapstick, like so many other works of V
onnegut, is a "moral fable," (Reed, 1972, p. 211). They are magical and fantastic in their settings and characters, but very real in the subjects they treat. The question, however, must emerge whether the morality and social criticisms raised in Slapsti
ck and other Vonnegut novels was specific to the time in which they were written. While themes like the dangers of technology, pacifism, humanity, and loneliness are not mere trends, it is possible that the way in which people choose to examine such them
es changes: "Although the wide readership Vonnegut has enjoyed in recent years demonstrates the appeal of his technique to contemporary audiences, obviously that contemporaneity could prove a limitation in the long run. Vonnegut's fiction could become s
omething of a period piece. As such it may emerge as one of lasting interest as a portrayal of the society and the art forms of our times, of the moods and concerns of a decade, and of how this period thought about itself and saw its future." (Reed, 1972
, p. 217)
Sources:
Books-
Slapstick, or Lonesome No More!, Kurt Vonnegut, 1976
Writers for the 70's: Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Peter J. Reed, 1972
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Stanley Schatt, 1976
Conversations with Kurt Vonnegut, edited by WIlliam Rodney Allen, 1988
Vonnegut, A Preface To His Novels, Richard Giannone, 1977
The Vonnegut Chronicles, ed. Peter J. Reed and Marc Leeds, 1996
Kurt Vonnegut, James Lundquist, 1977
The Critical Response To Kurt Vonnegut, edited by Leonard Mustazza, 1994
Articles-
"Kurt Vonnegut on Censorship And Moral Values," Richard Siegfeld, Modern-Fiction-Studies, 1980-81, v. 26, 631-35
"Are There Things a Novelist Shouldn't Joke About?" James Cargas, The Christian Century, November 24, 1976
"So It Went" Robert Towers, New York Review of Books, November 25, 76
"Kurt Vonnegut: writing with interchangeable parts," Roger Sale, The New York Times Book Review, October 3, 1976
"Slapstick: from Laurel & Hardy to Vonnegu," Prodeedings of the Purdue University Fifth Annual Conference on Film, 1980
Hardcover Ficition Bestsellers's List, Publisher's Weekly, September 27, 1976-Feb 28. 1977
Databases-
Contemporary Authors Database
International Movie Database
Virgo
MLA Database