“There is a planet in the Solar System where the people are so stupid they didn’t catch on for a million years that there was another half to their planet.” – Kilgore Trout
What is a timequake? It is a repetition of actions. A quake in the continuum of Time.
I finished Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., which is a tough book to categorize. It is labeled as a novel and there are some parts credited to the fictional Kilgore Trout that are stories or fragments of stories. But Kurt enters frequently as himself adding passages that are autobiographical. It is a bit of a memoir, but since he treats fictional author Trout as a real person that he interacted with in life, the line is blurry.
“And so it goes…”
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. published this in 1997 and it is his last “novel.” He died in 2007. Vonnegut described the book as a “stew” and it is that. Less of a novel and more of him summarizing a novel he had been trying to put together for years.
All that makes it sound like the book is a mess, but it’s not. I enjoyed it. Not as much as his other novels but three-star Vonnegut is still more enjoyable than a lot of other writing.
“And so it goes…”
The timequake in the book has quaked citizens of the year 2001 back in time to 1991. This global time travel is Einsteinian in that everyone is forced to repeat every action they undertook during that time. Kilgore Trout writes all over again every story he wrote the first time
Vonnegut is pondering free will, which after a timequake does not exist. Maybe it didn’t exist before. Vonnegut has explored determinism in earlier works.
“Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, “It might have been.”
Kilgore Trout is a fictional character created by Vonnegut. He is an unsuccessful author of paperback science fiction novels. We are told here that Trout died in 2001 at the Xanadu retreat in Rhode Island. Perhaps Kurt knew his end was near or was just thinking and preparing for it.
He said that he wasn’t happy with the first version of this book and so he went back and rewrote it and included more of his personal thoughts, anecdotes about his family and death, the deaths of Trout and loved ones, and the last words of people. A literary timequake? I guess not since he doesn’t do the same thing over again.
He also brings in lots of depression and sadness that comes from observing our own bad choices and those of other people. There might be some relief after the timequake because then we would know there was no free will. You can’t blame yourself for what happens if you don’t have the free will to make those decisions. Can you?
“I didn’t need a timequake to teach me being alive was a crock of shit. I already knew that from my childhood and crucifixes and history books.”
When the timequake ended you might think people were happy, but no. Now they have control and free will again which means it’s all up to them to screw up on their own.
“And so it goes…”
Kilgore Trout is not as sad or apathetic as other people and he keeps telling people “You were sick, but now you’re well, and there’s work to do.” In the final chapters, Vonnegut’s alter ego, Kilgore, becomes a sort of guide, encouraging people to “seize the day” and embrace their regained free will. He offers solace and motivation, helping individuals to snap out of their bewilderment and take control of their lives again. The novel ends on a somewhat optimistic note, emphasizing resilience and the importance of personal agency, despite the absurd and often tragic nature of existence.
* All quotations are Kurt Vonnegut
Weekends in Paradelle 