Kurt Vonnegut - Hocus Pocus (unabridged, 96kBit)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hocus_Pocus_(novel)


Plot summary

The main character is Eugene Debs Hartke, a Vietnam War veteran and college professor, 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.


Themes

A key theme expressed in Hocus Pocus is the notion of "Time and Luck" -- that everything depends on past events and leads to a probable event. Vonnegut emphasizes this point throughout the book, linking events in the book to previous occurrences.


Memorable Quotes

* Just because some of us can read and write and do a little math, that doesn't mean we deserve to conquer the universe.

* That humanity is going somewhere really nice was a myth for children under 6 years old, like the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny and Santa Clause

* Another flaw in human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance. And the worst flaw is that we're just plain dumb! Admit it!
* Rich people are poor people with money