Deadeye Dick: A Novel, Packaging May Vary Paperback – May 11, 1999

IMPORTANT NOTE:It is primitive that you read "Breakfast Of Champions" before tackling "Deadeye Dick". The reason being is that you will get the story details a little more, and previous characters of "BOC" also are in this story, which takes place in Midland City, Ohio as well. We have Dwayne Hoover(used car salesman),Celia Hoover(Drano woman and wife/ex of Dwayne), Bunny Hoover(homosexual son of Dwayne and Celia and a piano player at the Holiday Inn. Fred T.Berry as well and even Karabekian is mentioned. And Hitler.So who is "Deadeye Dick?", well his name is Rudy Waltz and he got his nickname from being on the roof of his house with a gun that accidentally went off. Said bullet traveled 3 miles and hit an innocent woman in her house while she was vacuum cleaning. And she was pregnant as well. This incident happened at a young age for Rudy and has spent the rest of his life as a depressed sad asexual man of guilt. His only one thing of achievement was a play he wrote called 'Katmandu', which played for one night in New York to horrible reviews. His one and only achievement in life which also leads to his downfall.We also hear about his past and his relationship with his father and Arthur Gunther, his muse.This book is about people, plain and simple people living in the boring town of Midland City, (or in any small town in America),and how they each mesh with each other in different ways that lead them to different stations in life.Similar in his works such as "Breakfast Of Champions", "Bluebeard" and "God Bless You, Mr.Rosewater". I have now read every title by Mr.Vonnegut and "Deadeye Dick" did not disappoint and left me with the same feeling as his older classics. Oh how I miss him, but every time you read one of his books, he's with you all the time."Deadeye Dicks" peephole was opened in 1982 and hasn't closed yet or ever will.

The great Kurt Vonnegut does not disappoint with "Deadeye Dick," which is both a prequel and sequel to "Breakfast of Champions" as it begins long before the Midland City Festival For the Arts and ends long afterward. This story is poignant and funny and ridiculous and sarcastic and ironic and intelligent, and so many of the familiar faces are in this story--Duane Hoobler makes a pre-Pontiac appearance, so do the Maratimo brothers and many, many more.Amazon's service, on the other hand, was deeply disappointing. I ordered a NEW book and paid a slightly higher price buying it from Amazon than another vendor because I trust Amazon. The book that arrived was scuffed with worn. The cover had small tears along the edges.The condition of the book wasn't Vonnegut's fault so he still gets all five stars. This was an eye-opener for me. Until now I'd always found Amazon reliable.

There's a lot going on sub-surface here. A well told story with unique characters and a atypical plot line. Metaphysical and existentialist ideas explored in the process of character development. Determinism / chance contrasted side by side.Inspirational. Vonnegut illustrates through harsh character arcs how in the face of circumstance, we have free will to create, destroy, or withdraw. He gives reason why life is meaningless on its own - how it is a canvas for the painting of masterworks, mediocrities, and abomination in the museum of our human history... We are human beings, this is what we do...

I've read a lot of Vonnegut, but "Deadeye Dick" has by far been my favorite read so far. The main protagonist Rudy Waltz is definitely a flawed, even tragic character but Vonnegut makes you love and feel for him throughout. This is the 1st novel I read and then immediately reread. Vonnegut was a master of his craft and "Deadeye Dick" proves that! I don't want to give more of the story away here so read it! WILL NOT be disappointed!

As an avid Vonnegut fan, my disappointment with this novel was only that I didn't care. Nothing in it was compelling to me. Still worth the read, and still an insight...but as a novel it is a bit dry. What it represents in terms of the novelist's transition is significant though.

Another book by an entertaining & amazing author. Vonnegut has the ability to transport you into his world and the ride with him is fantastic!

Good but not one of Vonnegut’s better works . Follows a predictable path of a self wounded oddball like most of his works do . Slap Stick is a better and funnier book than this .

Surely, most, if not all of us, hold within some deep dark secret. If it ever went viral, OMG, only a leap off the Brooklyn Bridge (or similar) could save the onslaught of shame. Well, not so with Rudy Waltz, alias Deadeye Dick. At the ripe old age of 12 the ultimate shame was known to all. It followed him (as we do) throughout his life. Poor kid.

This was a really easy read and cracks along at a good pace. It has Vonnegut's usual whit and a bit off his usual surrealist view of the world but for me personally it didn't have the depth of message that his books normally have. However, there were a couple of observations, which uncannily have great relevance to the current world with the pandemic of covid 19. The first was that when such a thing as a blizzard happens, nothing else has any relevan ce and that all deaths must be due to the blizzards secondly that a disaster such as radiation can be used to hide other things as well as be used to governments advantage. These observations almost elevated this ton4 stars but not quite.

What fun this is - Youthful adventures in the artworld with young Adolf, accidental murder, nuclear destruction, a woeful playwright and the cast and setting of Midland City as found in 'Breakfast of Champions'*. They're all here,Hoovers, Hooblers, Fred T Barry and even Karabekian's 'St Anthony' gets a namecheck. KV with his mojo working...none better.*Suggest you read 'Deadeye' as a sequel and not a prequel to this.

Quite an enjoyable read, with some dramatic tension created by Vonnegut's techniques of presenting the plot slightly out of chronological sequence and feeding the reader just enough information to raise more questions about what has happened or is going to happen. Overall, though, it lacks the originality of Timequake, Slaughterhouse Five or Mother Night by the same author, and the obvious Cold War influence makes it feel quite dated now.

This book is another peace of art from Kurt. As usual, he is comic, tragic, funny, sad, ironic, creative, cynic, clever, etc,etc,etc.Kurt is simple one of the best and this book, one of his best too.Well done Kurt !

Great read.