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Kurt Vonnegut – Armageddon in Retrospect

by Stasys Voras

is a collection of non-fiction and fiction short stories about war and peace. It is the first posthumous collection of his previously unpublished writings. It included never before published short stories by the writer and a letter that was written to his family during WWII when Vonnegut was captured as a prisoner of war. The book also contains drawings that Vonnegut himself drew and a speech he wrote shortly before his death. The introduction of the book was written by his son, Mark Vonnegut.

The first piece in this collection, a seeming facsimile of the letter Vonnegut wrote to inform his family that he had not, in fact, died in combat, sets the tone for the rest–indeed, for everything he wrote afterward. In terse, reportorial prose, he describes his internment as a POW, the firebombing of Dresden, and his labor among the dead.

In the subsequent speeches, essay, and stories, we see one of the twentieth-century’s better minds wrestling with the horrors of the age, drafting and redrafting, sometimes losing that famous sense of humor–itself surely a defence against too many feelings. The work here is uneven: “Happy Birthday, 1951″ is a simple, affecting story of boys’ attraction to violence, while “Great Day,” a time-travelling farce, feels like an outtake. Several others capture the pathetic absurdity of war and its aftermath in the author’s trademark tone. Not the best introduction to Vonnegut, but certainly fascinating for his countless enthusiasts.

Like Vonnegut’s most famous work, Armageddon in Retrospect focuses heavily on the absurdity of war and the inconceivable actions that extreme situations require. From trading wedding rings for cigarettes to wishing one could wear horse blankets to skinning pet rabbits, the characters in Armageddon in Retrospect all participate in acts, we all think we would never bow to–but we’ll never know until we’re there beside them.

Most of Armageddon in Retrospect listings with the same themes Vonnegut explored in his other work, but the stories are told in such a simple-clever way that they’re worth studying just as much for their form as their content. “Guns Before Butter” turns the old economics lesson into a reality as prisoners of war discuss and keep notebooks of their favourite dishes, classifying foods in the order, they’ll eat them when they’re released. The corporal assigns to guard them pokes fun at the men’s concern with something so trivial–but a surprising turn of event changes everyone’s perspective on prosperity and power.

Not all stories in Armageddon in Retrospect are about war, however. “The Unicorn Trap” tells of a poor family of serfs living at the time of the Norman Conquest and how their foolish hopes have unexpected results. “Unknown Soldier” relates the sad, short life of the first infant born into the new millennium.

The final story is the strongest; “Armageddon in Retrospect” discusses the nature of evil and the possibility that we can ever be rid of it. A group of scientists believe, much to the mirth of the scientific community, that the Devil himself is to blame for contemporary problems. Believing they have found the answer to all of humanity’s troubles, they plan to destroy the Devil using a combination of electricity and psychotherapy. Can we ever truly rid ourselves of evil? Anyone familiar with Vonnegut’s pessimism can probably predict the answer.
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