A review by crunden
Basic Training by Kurt Vonnegut

❧ audiobook review

He searched his conscience in vain for a grain of remorse to justify the desolating punishment the general had promised. When you punish somebody, you take away from them what they want, he reasoned. All I had in the whole wide world was my music, so that's what I lost: everything.

A new old Vonnegut. I'm not sure you can go wrong with a novella by Kurt Vonnegut that's narrated by Colin Hanks! This is one of Vonnegut's unpublished stories, likely written in the 1940s, it seems. I haven't come across it before today and was in the mood for a Vonnegut story. It's a good novella, and follows a teenager named Haley Brandon when he comes to stay with a man who insists upon calling himself the General. I saw a few Salinger comparisons and I can see it. If you've read Salinger's shorts, I totally get the same vibe.

I recommend the audiobook for sure! Colin Hanks is a great narrator and really brings Vonnegut's words to life ♥

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