We’ve all sat through writer’s variations on the classic “story arc”—my favorite simplification being the idea: Get your protagonist up a tree, throw rocks at him, then bring him down.

But here comes an old clip of Kurt Vonnegut doing what he does best; namely, he offers a new twist on an old concept, and, in the process, adds a simple yet ironically nuanced improvement…and is hysterical to boot.

If you’re bored or having trouble allowing yourself in to some dense tome, why not grab one of those Vonnegut volumes off the shelf (you probably can see at least one from where you like to read) and take a break. The man just never disappoints!