 First edition hardcover | |
| Author | Kurt Vonnegut |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Putnam Publishing Group |
Publication date | 1990 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) and eBook |
| Pages | 302 |
| ISBN | 0-399-13799-8 |
Hocus Pocus, or What's the Hurry, Son? is a 1990 novel by Kurt Vonnegut.
In an editor's note at the beginning of the book, Vonnegut claims to have found hundreds of scraps of paper of varying sizes, from wrapping paper to business cards, sequentially numbered by their author to form a narrative. [1] The breaks between pieces of paper often signal a sort of ironic "punchline".
The main character is Eugene Debs Hartke, a Vietnam War veteran and carillonneur who realizes that he has killed exactly as many people as the number of women he has had sex with. The character's name is an homage to American labor and political leader Eugene V. Debs and anti-war senator Vance Hartke, both from Vonnegut's home state, Indiana. [2] Upon his discharge from the military, Hartke becomes a professor at Tarkington College in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, but is later fired for sexual misconduct.
Hartke then becomes a teacher at a private prison in the nearby town of Scipio. The prison is run by a Japanese corporation and overseen by Hartke's occasional acquaintance, Hiroshi Matsumoto. The prison is populated entirely by black inmates, America having been resegregated by both race and class. Hartke sets about teaching the inmates how to read.
After a massive prison break, the escaped inmates occupy Tarkington College and take the staff hostage. With the old prison destroyed in the breakout, Tarkington becomes a prison with Hartke as its warden. When it becomes known that the breakout was led by one of his former students, Hartke is accused of collaboration and becomes an inmate himself. [3]
Upon completion of the riddle on the final page Eugene's number of sexual partners and confirmed kills is found to be 82.
In March 2021, Uri Singer acquired the rights to adapt the novel into a film. [4]
Kurt Vonnegut was an American writer and humorist known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfiction works; further collections have been published after his death.
Eugene Victor Debs was an American socialist, political activist, trade unionist, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and five-time candidate of the Socialist Party of America for President of the United States. Through his presidential candidacies as well as his work with labor movements, Debs eventually became one of the best-known socialists living in the United States.
Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death is a 1969 semi-autobiographic science fiction-infused anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut. It follows the life and experiences of Billy Pilgrim, from his early years, to his time as an American soldier and chaplain's assistant during World War II, to the post-war years, with Billy occasionally traveling through time. The text centers on Billy's capture by the German Army and his survival of the Allied firebombing of Dresden as a prisoner of war, an experience which Vonnegut himself lived through as an American serviceman. The work has been called an example of "unmatched moral clarity" and "one of the most enduring anti-war novels of all time".
Breakfast of Champions, or Goodbye Blue Monday is a 1973 novel by the American author Kurt Vonnegut. His seventh novel, it is set predominantly in the fictional town of Midland City, Ohio, and focuses on two characters: Dwayne Hoover, a Midland resident, Pontiac dealer and affluent figure in the city, and Kilgore Trout, a widely published but mostly unknown science fiction author. Breakfast of Champions deals with themes of free will, suicide, and race relations, among others. The novel is full of drawings by the author, substituting descriptive language with depictions requiring no translation.
The Sirens of Titan is a comic science fiction novel by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., first published in 1959. His second novel, it involves issues of free will, omniscience, and the overall purpose of human history. Much of the story revolves around a Martian invasion of Earth.
Player Piano is the first novel by American writer Kurt Vonnegut Jr., published in 1952. The novel depicts a dystopia of automation partly inspired by the author's time working at General Electric, describing the negative impact technology can have on quality of life. The story takes place in a near-future society that is almost totally mechanized, eliminating the need for human laborers. The widespread mechanization creates conflict between the wealthy upper class, the engineers and managers, who keep society running, and the lower class, whose skills and purpose in society have been replaced by machines. The book uses irony and sentimentality, which were to become hallmarks developed further in Vonnegut's later works.
Tralfamadore is the name of several fictional planets in the novels of Kurt Vonnegut. Details of the corresponding indigenous alien race, the Tralfamadorians, vary from novel to novel:
Kilgore Trout is a fictional character created by author Kurt Vonnegut. Trout is a notably unsuccessful author of paperback science fiction novels.
Eliot Rosewater is a recurring character in the novels of American author Kurt Vonnegut. He appears throughout various novels as an alcoholic, and a philanthropist who claims to be a volunteer fireman. He runs the Rosewater Foundation, an organization created to keep the family's money in the family. He is among the few fans of the novels of Kilgore Trout.
Hocus Pocus is a 1993 American fantasy comedy film that follows a villainous comedic trio of witches who are inadvertently resurrected by a teenage boy in Salem, Massachusetts, on Halloween night. The film is directed by Kenny Ortega from a screenplay by Mick Garris and Neil Cuthbert, and a story by David Kirschner and Garris.
Hocus-pocus is an exclamation used by magicians, usually the magic words spoken when bringing about some sort of change.
Northwest Passage is an historical novel by Kenneth Roberts, published in 1937. Told through the eyes of primary character Langdon Towne, much of the novel follows the exploits and character of Robert Rogers, the leader of Rogers' Rangers, who were a colonial force fighting with the British during the French and Indian War.
Slaughterhouse-Five is a 1972 American comedy-drama military science fiction film directed by George Roy Hill and produced by Paul Monash, from a screenplay by Stephen Geller, based on the 1969 novel of the same name by Kurt Vonnegut. The film stars Michael Sacks as Billy Pilgrim, who is "unstuck in time" and has no control over where he is going next. It also stars Ron Leibman as Paul Lazzaro and Valerie Perrine as Montana Wildhack.
Julia Wong is an American film editor best known for her diverse body of work on blockbusters like X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) and Hercules (2014); comedies like Pink Panther 2 (2009), Extract (2009), Unpregnant (2020), and Hocus Pocus 2 (2022); thrillers like Child's Play (2019); and the musical remake of Valley Girl (2020).
Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man is a novel by Joseph Heller, published posthumously in 2000. His final work, it depicts an elderly author as he tries to write a novel that is as successful as his earlier work, mirroring Heller's own career after the success of Catch-22.
Change of Heart is the sixteenth novel by American author Jodi Picoult, published in 2008. The novel explores themes of loss, redemption, religion and spirituality, and punishment.
Hartke is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Uri Singer, is a businessman and film producer. He is the owner and CEO of Passage Pictures, under which he has produced multiple award-winning films.
Hocus Pocus 2 is a 2022 American fantasy comedy film directed by Anne Fletcher, written by Jen D'Angelo and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. A sequel to the 1993 film Hocus Pocus, it stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, and Doug Jones reprising their roles, with Sam Richardson, Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo, Tony Hale, and Hannah Waddingham joining the cast in new roles.
Hocus Pocus is an American media franchise consisting of two films, a sequel novelization, and other Disney media and merchandise. The series was created by David Kirschner and Mick Garris.