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Description edit
An old man recounts his past to a voluptuous widow, revealing man's compulsion to create and destroy what he loves.
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Characters/People edit
- Marilee Kemp: Add a description of this character.
- Dan Gregory
- Circe Berman
- Paul Slazinger
- Terry Kitchen
- Celeste
- Fred Jones
- Mussolini
- Edith
- Dorothy
- Jackson Pollock
- Allison White
- Polly Madison
- Sam Wu
- Little John
- Finkelstein
- Mona Lisa
- Nora
- Vartan Mamigonian
- Mama
- Kim Bum Suk
- Rothko
Quotes edit
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“Time is liquid. One moment is no more important than any other and all moments quickly run away.”
Rabo Karabekian -
“It was and remains easy for most Americans to go somewhere else to start anew. I wasn't like my parents. I didn't have any supposedly sacred piece of land or shoals of friends and relatives to leave behind. Nowhere has the number zero been more of philosophical value than in the United States.”
Rabo Karabekian -
“I've got news for Mr. Santayana: we're doomed to repeat the past no matter what. That's what it is to be alive.”
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“"I can't help it," I said. "My soul knows my meat is doing bad things, and is embarrassed. But my meat just keeps right on doing bad, dumb things.""You and your what?" he said."My soul and my meat," I said."They're separate?" he said."I sure hope they are," I said. I laughed. "I would hate to be responsible for what my meat does."”
First Sentence edit
HAVING WRITTEN ''The End'' to this story of my life, I find it prudent to scamper back here to before the beginning, to my front door, so to speak, and to make this apology to arriving guests: "I promised you an autobiography, but something went wrong in the kitchen.''
Themes & Symbolism edit
- Curiosity of Man / Original Sin / Pandora's Box: The Blue Beard motif is instantly recognizable as an allegory/satire of Adam and Eve. The idea is that when you tell someone they are free to do anything except one thing, they will be yearn to discover/indulge in what that specific off-limits thing is. For Adam and Eve it was the apple, for Blue Beard his room of past wives, and for the main character Rabo, it was his potato barn that was off limits to the world.
Series & Lists edit
This is book 23 of 95 in The Art of Manliness' Essential Man’s Library. (authoritative list)
Authors & Contributors edit
- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: Add the language.
Publisher: Add the publisher.
Country: Add the country of publication.
Publication Date: 1987
ISBN: Add the ISBN.
Page Count: 235
Publisher: Add the publisher.
Country: Add the country of publication.
Publication Date: 1987
ISBN: Add the ISBN.
Page Count: 235
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 813.54
Subjects edit
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