The Eden Express
A Memoir of Insanity
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4.3 • 13 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
The Eden Express describes from the inside Mark Vonnegut’s experience in the late ’60s and early ’70s—a recent college grad; in love; living communally on a farm, with a famous and doting father, cherished dog, and prized jalopy—and then the nervous breakdowns in all their slow-motion intimacy, the taste of mortality and opportunity for humor they provided, and the grim despair they afforded as well. That he emerged to write this funny and true book and then moved on to find the meaningful life that for a while had seemed beyond reach is what ultimately happens in The Eden Express. But the real story here is that throughout his harrowing experience his sense of humor let him see the humanity of what he was going through, and his gift of language let him describe it in such a moving way that others could begin to imagine both its utter ordinariness as well as the madness we all share.
Customer Reviews
There must be some magic in that last name, Vonnegut.
What can I say about the Vonnegut's, Mark and Kurt? Kurt Jr will forever be my absolute favorite novelist as his work speaks to me more, teaches me more than any other. Kurt's work was whimsical, edgy, truthful and always had a moral. More than all of those combined, his work was simply important. The world would be a better place if everyone read and understood his work.
So Kurt made Mark and, to me, Mark is very much his own man. His writing style and person do not remind me much of his father. But that is not a bad thing at all. I found his voice to be enjoyable and his experience to be captivating, as I too found myself losing grip on reality a few years back while in my early 20's. I was moved with how vividly he remembered and accounted for his cracking up. I then thought of my own experience and how much I too remembered but hadn't thought much of since recovering. This story is important because I feel a lot of people could relate. I'm sure many many people out there almost reach this point, this cracking up. The stresses of the world mixing with the stresses of the mind can make for a potent cocktail of mental disorder.
I think The Eden Express is a terrific read based on real life events and real life is almost always more interesting than the made up stuff, with the exception of Kurt Vonnegut's made up stuff. Well done Mark, well done.