Breakfast in the Ruins (1972)

New English Library 1973, Art: Peter Goodfellow

Parallel to the sword and sorcery heroic fantasies featuring Elric and other warrior incarnations of the Eternal Champion, Moorcock also continued to write "sociopolitical" science fiction (as opposed to the hardware-oriented SF typically found in magazines like America's "Astounding" magazine). Moorcock's most famous character in this more "literary" realm is probably Jerry Cornelius, the anti-hero protagonist of The Final Programme and A Cure For Cancer. However, in 1966 Moorcock had also found some critical success with the short story "Behold the Man", featuring a time traveler named Karl Glogauer who (spoiler alert) takes on the role of Jesus Christ when he travels back to biblical times. In 1972, the novel Breakfast In the Ruins was published by New English Library in the U.K. (and soon picked up in the U.S. by Random House under Toni Morrison), and this new work builds on the groundwork laid down by both the Cornelius books and "Behold the Man" (which had also been expanded into a full length novel in 1969). . 

Although it's not clear exactly how connected the character of this book is with the Karl Glogauer of "Behold the Man", this version of Glogauer also spends a lot of time skipping around historical inflection points of the past, although not quite in the same way. In "Behold the Man" Moorcock had very little interest in explaining how Glogauer's time machine worked, and in this novel he doesn't even bother to try - he simply thrusts Karl into new bodies and new time periods in literary "jump-cuts". The nature of these narrative non-sequiturs is never really explicitly explained to the reader, although they are somewhat implied to be "daydreams" (although I suspect they could also be regarded as "memories" from Glogauer's alternate incarnations as an Eternal Champion). 

New English Library 1972

Structural Stresses

Consisting of 19 chapters, Breakfast in the Ruins has introductory and ending episodes, but the 17 chapters in between each explore an incarnation of Glogauer in a different time and place, with each episode placing him at an age one year older than the previous one. Although frequently cast as a Jewish refugee, his exploits from age 7 to 22 (and finally 51) take place in various locales and cultural environments spread all over the world. The first episode (Chapter 2) describes Karl at age 7 in the year 1871, where his mother is killed before his eyes in a political purge. Chapter 3 presents a version of Karl at age 8, now living in 1883 Germany as part of a respected family with connections to the German chancellor, Otto von Bismarck. In Chapter 4, Karl (age 9 in 1892) is a lowly house servant to British colonists in South Africa. As the chapters progress, the time periods leap forward anywhere between 2 and 12 years, although the age of each incarnation of Karl is only advanced by one year. 

In these 17 daydreams/incarnation memories, Karl starts out as a victim of political misfortune, guilty only of being born into an oppressed cultural group. As the episodes progress, each incarnation gradually becomes more and more self-determined (and ruthless), until finally in 1968 Karl is guilty of committing horrific atrocities himself against women and children in Vietnam. The final dream-fugue occurs in 1990 where in a post-apocalyptic world Karl (at age 51) has resorted to cannibalism to survive, and doesn't really seem to care whether he lives or dies.

Moorcock likes to use allegory in his writing to present "secondary narratives" (a technique he picked up early on while reading John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress). In the 1970s, his allegorical sub-narratives were somewhat less apparent in the heroic fantasy books, but in Breakfast in the Ruins there are several clearly spun stylistic threads. The one consisting of the historical vignettes in which Karl is placed takes up the bulk of the novel's text. They describe how Karl grows from being born a victim of political authority to becoming an enforcer (abuser) of it ("violence breeds violence"). On a secondary level, the vignettes chart out a grim portrait of humanity's growing cruelty throughout more than a century's worth of war and strife, until it finally leads to a bleak end. 

A third thread appears in the form of brief interludes titled "What Would You Do?" (drawn from an early feature which Moorcock used to write for juvenile magazines), in which the reader is presented with cruel moral quandaries. In some, he must choose whether to save himself or sacrifice his own needs to save others. Other scenarios include those in which he must choose a sacrificial lamb among his family and friends, etc. These interludes have the effect of putting the reader back on his heels in order to challenge his own sense of moral certitude.

A fourth narrative takes up the least amount of literary real estate in the book, but is the one in which the reader is first introduced to Karl Glogauer. In this "framing" narrative, Karl is a subdued, melancholy commercial artist living in the London of 1971. This narrative (threaded through the book as fragments in between each of the "time fugues") describes Karl being lured to the hotel suite of a mysterious black "Nigerian tourist", and over the course of a weekend is introduced to various forms of homosexual interplay. At first hesitant and submissive, during the course of the narrative Karl eventually takes on the dominant role in their tryst, and in the end seems to have strengthened his own confidence and vitality by draining all of the energy (and skin color) from the Nigerian. This "soul-sucking" phenomena echoes the vampiric effect that Elric's sword Stormbringer has on its victims. 

A fifth thread exists in the book as introductory fragments at the beginning of each chapter. These consist of excerpted historical reports contemporaneous to the time period of each vignette following. These highly subjective clippings serve to "economically highlight" the nature of the political oppression being waged during each of these episodes (without having to resort to dry exposition). Previously, Moorcock had used real-life historical print artifacts in the Jerry Cornelius books, and even fictional ones for his heroic fantasies ("The Chronicle of the Black Sword", "The High History of the Runestaff", etc.).

New English Library 1978, Art: Joe Petagno

Under the Ruins

For those more accustomed to the (relatively) "happy-go-lucky" adventures of Elric and Hawkmoon, this book can be quite intimidating, in particular due to its wide-ranging premise (well over a dozen different countries and time periods), its adult depiction of homosexuality and bondage culture, and its brutal portrayal of "modern man". One of the attractions of a "series" like Elric (or Tarzan for that matter) is that the reader can come into a story without having to wade through a lot of introductory character description, and the general premise is one that is already a familiar one. This essentially allows the reader to get to the "action" faster. 

Breakfast in the Ruins has none of that, as from Chapter 2 onward the reader is faced with a new character and new political conflict in each episode and is therefore essentially dropped into "foreign territory" every ten pages or so. In other words, Moorcock does not patronize the reader in any way, and some independent legwork on the part of the reader goes a long way towards understanding the circumstances of each vignette. However, one has to admire the verisimilitude which Moorcock brings to each of these historical excursions, and readers who enjoy being challenged will not be disappointed. In fact, out of all of the books analyzed up to this point, this one is by far the most "avant-garde" in narrative structure. At the same time, it's also one of the most memorable of Moorcock's early books.

Random House 1974

Notes from the Last Century

In the 1992 book Death Is No Obstacle (consisting of 1990 interviews conducted by Colin Greenland) Moorcock discusses Breakfast In the Ruins. Moorcock states that the novel's message (in this case, a more "didactic" theme than usual) is that "violence creates violence, and fear creates fear", and even if one does manage to halt this vicious cycle, it may come at the cost of one's own life (this is a pretty bleak viewpoint, but it certainly fits in with the worldviews described in the existential literature Moorcock had been a big fan of in the 1950s and 60s). Moorcock's explains how this theme is charted out through the book's time-skipping vignettes in which a fearful young refugee adapts to his circumstances and then gradually grows into that which oppressed him in the first place (thus creating a vicious circle). This circular aspect of humanity was explored earlier in "Behold the Man" (Glogauer is obsessed with Christ, then becomes Christ) and so he decided to re-use the character in this more "timeline-exploded" examination. Although Glogauer grows from innocence into corruption, Moorcock also states that this downward moral evolution is a direct result of his social circumstances ("society creates the individual").

"The theme is the cumulative brutalization of the century, a century in which brutalization has become a systematic and conscious tool of those in power in a way that it wasn't previously (or at least was more randomly applied)."

In Karl's hotel suite seduction it is implied that the Nigerian is initiating Karl into his first gay sexual encounter. At the same time, his skin color is exchanged with that of his host's (white to black). In the 1990 interview with Greenland, Moorcock explains that this is also an allegory for the gradual, inevitable shift of power from the oppressor to the oppressed. Also, as the former oppressor loses control of his position, he begins to experience "the bitter freedom of the disenfranchised" (freedom from having to be responsible). 

Avon 1980, Art: Stanislaw Fernandes

Still Breakfast

Moorcock has sometimes stated that while writing Breakfast In the Ruins he allowed himself to remain in a depressed state, and during this period resolved to face the fact of his own mortality (the Introduction to some early editions actually reports that the "Michael Moorcock" had died the previous year of lung cancer). I think what this means is that in this book (about as far away from sword and sorcery heroics as one could get) Moorcock bluntly faces the horrors of a century soaked with brutality and doesn't spare his readers from this harsh reality (at least, not with fantastic escapism). Sadly, the social unrest of today (intimately connected to the brutality of authoritarian law-enforcement) continues to illustrate the relevance of Moorcock's thesis even a half century later.

Wikipedia Entry (with analysis)

Wikiverse Entry (with analysis)

Next: The Nature of the Catastrophe (The Lives and Times of Jerry Cornelius)

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Avon 1987, Art: Luis Royo

Detailed Synopsis

1. In The Roof Garden: 1971: Scarlet Sin: At the rooftop garden of the Derry and Toms department store in London, Karl Glogauer is approached by a Nigerian businessman/tourist. After some small talk in a café, Karl agrees to join the Nigerian for an intimate rendezvous. What Would You Do? (1): The reader is asked if he will risk his life for that of a baby’s.
2. In The Commune: 1871: A Smile: A history of the suppression of the Red Republic in France is described in an excerpt. In the Nigerian’s hotel room, Karl reminisces on his childhood as a French Communard. In 1871, Karl (at 7 years old) and his conservative-minded mother escape from French troops who are putting down members of the "Red Republic" (Paris Commune) in a purge. His mother is killed and thrown into a mass grave. One of the guards offers Karl a drink and the boy gratefully smiles. WWYD? (2): You are forced to choose an object from amongst several unrelated items, one of which will bring freedom to your family.
3. Kaffee Klatsch in Brunswick: 1883: Otto von Bismarck’s theories about the masculine and feminine natures of certain European nations are described. In 1883, Karl is 8 years old and his parents are respected Germans. When Karl is introduced to a respected lady friend of Bismarck’s, he casts aspersions on Bismarck’s son. Karl’s mother has him punished for his insolence. The Nigerian tries to make Karl more comfortable during their intimate episode. WWYD? (3): You must decide whether to show kindness to a drunken man or remain unsoiled.
4. Capetown Party: 1892: Butterflies: A quote praises the solidarity of the British Empire during war. The Nigerian has Karl dye is skin a darker color. At age 9, Karl is a house servant to British colonists in Cape Town (South Africa) in 1892. He collects butterflies but when one of the Britishers mistake his room for a housemaid’s, his butterfly case is smashed by accident. WWYD? (4): While escaping from pursuers, you must decide whether or not to trust the sturdiness of the roof gutters.
5. Liberation in Havana: 1898: Hooks: Commodore Dewey opens fire on the mainland. Karl accuses the Nigerian of corrupting him. As a 10-year old boy in Cuba, Karl and his businessman father are taken in by Spanish officers in order to identify his insurgent brother who is being tortured. Karl then decides to join the insurgents in their fight against the Spanish. WWYD? (5): The reader must choose a child to die.
6. London Sewing Circle: 1905: A Message: The existence of sweatshops in East London is blamed on the Jews in a report. In London, Karl is an 11-year-old Polish Jew whose family is forced to work in a sewing sweatshop. When Karl is hired by a stranger to deliver a message to a Russian immigrant, he becomes involved with a Russian political insurgency (Communists) hiding out in England. In the end, Russian agents mistakenly take Karl’s sweatshop for a Communist printing press and destroy it with a bomb. Karl’s parents are gravely injured but Karl is pleased that he has gained a good deal of money from the affair, and hopes it will lead to his family’s salvation. WWYD? (6): After the collapse of society, an urbanite must chose between trying to adapt to life in the city or to try finding a better life in the countryside.
7. Calcutta Flies: 1911: Doing Business: An article describes the tensions arising from the British occupation of India. The Nigerian whips Karl and uses him as a mount in their sex-play. In Calcutta (India), Karl is a 12-year old German-Indian drug dealer who works the docks. One day a sailor asks Karl to procure a large quantity of hemp. In a church filled with mosquitoes, the sailor robs Karl of the hemp package without paying, but Karl has prepared for this eventuality and the sailor is soon captured by an ally. The Nigerian expresses disapproval of abortions, reasoning that it limits possibilities. WWYD? (7): A refugee must decide on where to look for his family on a moving train.
8. Quiet Days in Thann: 1918: Mixed Meat: Conditions preceding WW I are described. In the quiet village of Thann (France), Karl (age 13) hunts small game in the forest and sells it to the local butcher as “mixed meat” in order to survive during the end of WW I. He sees a German deserter and shoots him, seemingly on a whim. WWYD? (8): A white man must decide on what to do during a black riot.
9. The Downline to Kiev: 1920: Shuffling Along: In 1918, the Russian Tzar is reported to be overthrown during the Socialist Revolution. Karl (age 14) is a soldier riding on Ukranian anarchist leader Nestor Makhno’s train ("Feodor von Bek" in the revised Phoenix Omnibus edition) during the Russian Revolution. After a hapless station guard is shot during the train’s passing, Karl asks a Georgian soldier (later rewritten as a young Ukrainian in the 1994 Behold the Man and Other Stories omnibus) named Pyat where they are. WWYD? (9): If you had 1 year to live, would you spend it selfishly or charitably?
10. Hitting the High Spots on W. Fifty-Six: 1929: Recognition: In 1933 an airship is destroyed by a lightning strike. Karl begins to resist the Nigerian’s charms. At age 15, Karl takes his date to a speakeasy. When he catches his angry father (soon to lose a fortune from the Stock Market crash) at the speakeasy with a strange woman, he takes up his date’s invitation to go back to her own house, where her parents are not home. WWYD? (10): A choice must be made regarding the necessary lifestyle sacrifices one must make to help an ailing senior mother.
11. Shanghai Sally: 1932: Problems of Diplomacy: In 1939, Japanese soldiers occupying Shanghai oppress the Chinese citizens, as the British look on helplessly. The Nigerian and Karl discuss the nature of freedom. As a well-to-do 16-year old German boy studying at a British school in Shanghai, Karl and his mother encounter some Japanese policemen beating up a Chinese citizen. They are repulsed but can do nothing about it. Karl feels sympathy for the Chinese victim. WWYD? (11): If your girlfriend became pregnant with your child, would you consider abortion?
12. Memories of Berlin: 1935: Dusty: In 1934, a Yugoslavian King on a diplomatic mission in France is assassinated by a Croat. The U.S. avoids entering into the conflict. In 1943, Hitler accuses the Italians of being untrustworthy. The Nigerian begins to grow paler in skin color. He and Karl debate the dangers of imagination. At age 17, Karl flees from Jewish persecution in Berlin and ends up becoming an Italian soldier (under Mussolini) in dusty Ethiopia. As he dies from a spear wound gained from battle he regrets the possibilities now lost to him. WWYD? (12): A priest must decide whether to remain safe or to save a girl from being raped by a soldier.
13. At The Anschwitz Ball: 1944: Strings: In 1945, the cruelty and barbarism of the now-defeated Nazis towards their victims is described in reports. Karl begins to surprise the Nigerian with his own sexual overtures. Karl (age 18) plays violin for the Nazis at Auschwitz and tries to preserve some sense of dignity as a prisoner. WWYD? (13): A pet owner must decide on whether or not to euthanize his dog out of convenience.
14. The Road to Tel-Aviv: 1947: Traps: Politicians and scholars debate the post-war Jewish settlement of Arab lands. Karl (at age 19) is a Jewish resistance fighter in Palestine who opposes the British occupation. He ambushes British soldiers traveling in a jeep on the way to Tel-Aviv. The British are stunned to find that their enemies are Jews and not Arabs. WWYD? (14): A young man must decide whether or not not sleep with his lover’s mother.
15. Big Bang in Budapest: 1956: Leaving Home: British forces attack Cyprus. A Hungarian student is killed at a radio station. War erupts between Egypt and Great Britain. The Nigerian begins to resent Karl’s forward manner. Karl is a Jewish survivor of WW II who has decided to betray his new Communist friends in Hungary and flee to Austria. En route, Russian tanks attack some nearby resistance fighters (participants of the Hungarian Revolution). Karl is mistaken for a revolutionary and shot in the head by one of the injured Russian soldiers. WWYD? (15): A rich man must decide on how to help the poor local people of his country.
16. Camping In Kenya: 1959: Smoke: In 1956, British forces inflict massive casualties on the Mau Mau forest gangs of Kenya, although these actions eventually lead to Kenyan independence (at least, according to British military scholars). In Kenya, Karl is a ruthless British sergeant who gleefully tortures a suspected Mau Mau spy. He threatens the native’s genitals with a cigarette. WWYD? (16): A captive must decide whether to betray his sistor or his friends.
17. So Long Son Lon: 1968: Babies: Chaotic and inhumane U.S. intervention in Vietnam is described. Another excerpt mentions the troubles encountered by the reporter behind the Pentagon Papers. The Nigerian becomes paler in skin color and seems unwell. As a 22-year-old soldier in Vietnam, Karl and his team commit many atrocities against the villagers of Son Lon, including the bayoneting of babies. Later he is haunted by his actions. WWYD? (17): An accident survivor in the desert must choose the best way to survive, even if it means abandoning his friend.
18. London Life: 1990: City of Shadows: An incendiary tract describes how the Black people of America will gain vengeance against their white oppressors. The Nigerian is weaker than ever and even seems a bit pathetic. With the hotel tryst coming to an end, Karl nonchalantly orders breakfast. Later, Karl feels pity for the Nigerian and decides to take him back to the roof garden. Just shy of 51, Karl is a cannibal survivor of a post-apocalyptic ruined world, who sits in his apartment in Ladbroke Grove, London, waiting to die.  WWYD? (18): You must decide whether or not to tell your father he has terminal cancer.
19. In The Roof Garden: 1971: Happy Day: The captain of the forces responsible for the Mai Lai massacre in Vietnam is acquitted. A dark-skinned Karl abandons the now-white Nigerian man at the roof garden and cheerily continues on his day, energized from the tryst of the night before. He gives a lucky racing tip to a stranger and then decides on a new suit.