Slapstick

The novel that I have chosen to read for this quarter is "Slapstick," by Kurt Vonnegut.  The prologue, which occupies the first 21 pages of "Slapstick," is mainly about how Vonnegut came to writing "Slapstick."  Vonnegut explains, in the prologue, that he began writing the book on a plane going to his aunt's funeral.  Vonnegut also goes off on many tangents about his childhood and life as a writer in the prologue.  The actual novel begins on page 23, with the introduction of the main character, Dr. Wilbur Daffodil-11 Swain.  Swain, commonly referred to as, "Daffodil," was the last and tallest president of the United States of America.  Daffodil resides with his daughter (Melody) and daughter's lover (Isadore) in the overgrown jungle which used to be Manhattan.  The book is set sometime in the distant future when a disease known as "the green death" brakes out, and the whole island of Manhattan must be quarantined from the rest of the United States.  Daffodil has the whole Empire State Building to himself, Melody, and Isadore; with their nearest neighbor, Vera (a slave owner), living 1.5 kilometers away.  Vonnegut writes in a humorous and jolly style, often writing "Hi ho" after many outrageous and amusing paragraphs.  So far, "Slapstick" seems to be a peculiar and entertaining novel with a twisted plot.