The Night My Son Woke Me Up About Kilgore Trout

Do you know who Kilgore Trout is? Probably not.

Kilgore Trout is a fictional character created by Kurt Vonnegut, present in several of his novels. He’s an unsuccessful science fiction writer who’s prolific but only known to few people. His books were only sold in porn shops.

This doesn’t seem important now, but just wait a minute.

Kurt Vonnegut is my favorite writer.

In 2024, I made it a goal to read most of his books. I got through nine back then. This year I re-read “Slaughterhouse-Five” and read a new one—“Jailbird”. Neither are among my favorites, but Vonnegut is such a great writer that even his not-so-great novels are a pleasure to read.

Last month, my 16-year-old son Noah had to urgently pick an English-language book to read for his English class at school. He saw “Slaughterhouse-Five” lying around, picked it up and took it to school. Around the same time, he bought Vonnegut’s “Cat’s Cradle” on Kindle and started reading it.

In a few weeks my son was reading not one but two of my favorite author’s books. This is a dream come true for any parent who’s an avid reader.

Two long months later, he lets me know he has finished both books. Did he like them? Did he hate them? I was nervous to find out. After all, learning what your favorite person will think about your favorite author is a big deal. It could change everything. It could mean one more thing that differs between us or one more thing that brings us closer together.

“I liked them,” he said.

“Just liked?” I asked.

“I really like them. They’re really good.”

A long conversation ensued about both books. He liked them. We have one more thing in common. The one other person I know that likes Kurt Vonnegut. I’m no longer alone.

“So do you know who Kilgore Trout is?”, I asked Noah.

“Yeah, the writer. What’s his deal?” He asked.

“He’s a recurring character. I read that he’s the alter ego of Kurt Vonnegut.”

“That’s weird since he already appears in the books as himself.”

“Yes. You have to read the other books to find out more about who he is. I actually just read one that tells me exactly who he is.”

“Which one is it?”

“Jailbird. But read the other ones first.”

“But who is he?”

“Kilgore Trout is a mystery. But read it and you’ll find out.”

“Fine.”

Kids can be like that.

Later that night, I was asleep in my bed. My door opened and Noah came in.

“Mom…” he said quietly.

I was fast asleep.

“Mom, I’m really sad.”

I groaned a bit, confused.

“Mom, I’m really sad,” he said a little louder.

I woke up and sat up. The room was dark and he was standing at the door. I invited him to sit by my side. He had been having a hard time with school and he could have been thinking about it. I wanted to be there for him.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I accidentally found out who Kilgore Trout is,” he said.

“What?”

“I was researching about the books on Google and accidentally read about who he really is. I’m really sad.”

“You woke me up to tell me this?”

He woke me up to tell me that.

“Yes. I’M REALLY SAD!”

“Oh, my. Why are you so sad?”

“Because I wanted to find out by reading the books. But now that’s gone.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll forget about it. Just read the books slowly and leave ‘Jailbird’ for last. You won’t remember a thing by then.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes, now please let me go back to sleep.”

He left and I went back to sleep.

Annoyed that I was woken up for such a silly reason.

Happy and proud that I was woken up for such a silly reason.

You may not know who Kilgore Trout is, but Noah does. That’s enough for me.