My appreciation of Kurt Vonnegut seems to ebb and flow over the years. I was a big fan of his work during my youth. As a teenager, I thought Slaughterhouse Five was the greatest novel ever written and he could do no wrong. Then, after being consistently disappointed with Cat's Cradle, Breakfast of Champions and Sirens of Titan, I seemed to give up reading him altogether. Until, years later, I started this blog and rediscovered Vonnegut again through his short-stories from "Welcome to the Monkey House." There are some real gems in this collection, including "Harrison Bergeron", which I wrote a favorable review of back in 2016. More recently, I have returned to this collection in the hopes of discovering other great stories but so far, it has mostly been a mixed bag. Unfortunately, "Long Walk to Forever" proves to be yet another letdown from this author, further swaying me towards reconsideration of Vonnegut's literary merits.
The premise here is quite simple. Newt, a solider on alleged temporarily leave, has decided to pay a visit to Catherine, his childhood sweetheart. Though he has always nursed silent affections for her, his shyness hindered any romantic advances, and eventually, they settled into the comfort of friendship before he went off to war. Much to his chagrin, he discovers she is now engaged to someone else. Newt epitomizes toxic masculinity, resembling traits associated with individuals who identify as incels. His arrogant and patronizing behavior towards Catherine is infuriating. She starts to feel uncomfortable in his presence but he is adamant that they take a leisurely walk through the woods, which unveils a troubling motive: he wants to kiss and persuade her to reconsider marrying him instead.
This story left a bad taste in my mouth. Of course, the latent sexist undertones become all the more apparent when Catherine succumbs to Newt's manipulative tactics. I really hope this marriage ends quickly in divorce once she realizes the gravity of her mistake.
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