About the Book Originally published by G.P. Putnams Sons in 1990. Book Synopsis From the New York Times bestselling author of Slaughterhouse-Five comes an irresistible novel that combines clever wit with keen social observation...[and] re-establishes Mr. Vonneguts place as the Mark Twain of our times ( Atlanta Journal & Constitution ). Here is the adventure of Eugene Debs Hartke. Hes a Vietnam veteran, a jazz pianist, a college professor, and a prognosticator of the apocalypse (and other things Earth-shattering). But thats neither here nor there. Because at Tarkington College--where he teaches--the excrement is about to hit the air-conditioning. And its all Eugenes fault. Review Quotes Praise for Hocus Pocus Hocus Pocus is the most topical, realistic Vonnegut novel to date...he is a satirist with a heart, a moralist with a whoopee cushion.--Jay McInerney, The New York Times Vonneguts best novel in years--funny and prophetic, yes, and fabulous too, as cunning as Aesop and as gloomy as Grimm...Hes up to something special in Hocus Pocus .-- The Nation A king-sized relief valve of comedy. Every bit as humorous as Cats Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five , Breakfast of Champions or any of Vonneguts other comic masterpieces...Vonnegut evokes the cynical chortle, the knowing grin, the inner laughter that soothes our troubled reflections...Hes mad as hell and laughing all the way to the apocalypse.-- Playboy His voice is one of the most original in popular American fiction...sharp-toothed satire...truly hilarious... Hocus Pocus is ample proof that his literary prestidigitation can still amuse and delight.-- San Francisco Chronicle Irresistible... Hocus Pocus is vintage Vonnegut, witty, startling, satiric...off-the-wall brilliance. Vonnegut is a true original. Hocus Pocus is not only poignant and provocative, it is outrageous and very funny indeed. If Luck and Time are the two prime movers of the Universe, we are lucky in our time to have a Kurt Vonnegut to prod us, scold us, astonish us, unnerve us, entertain us and make us laugh.-- The Cleveland Plain Dealer About the Author Kurt Vonnegut was a master of contemporary American literature. His black humor, satiric voice, and incomparable imagination first captured Americas attention in The Sirens of Titan in 1959 and established him, in the words of The New York Times , as a true artist with the publication of Cats Cradle in 1963. He was, as Graham Greene declared, one of the best living American writers. Mr. Vonnegut passed away in April 2007.