Adapted for a magnificent George Roy Hill film three years later (perhaps the only film adaptation of a masterpiece which exceeds its source), Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) is the now famous parable of Billy Pilgrim, a World War II veteran and POW, who has in the later stage of his life become “unstuck in time” and who experiences at will (or unwillingly) all known events of his chronology out of … out of order and sometimes simultaneously.
Traumatized by the bombing of Dresden at the time he had been imprisoned, Pilgrim drifts through all events and history, sometimes deeply implicated, sometimes a witness. He is surrounded by Vonnegut’s usual large cast of continuing characters (notably here the hack science fiction writer Kilgore Trout and the alien Tralmafadorians who oversee his life and remind him constantly that there is no causation, no order, no motive to existence).
The “unstuck” nature of Pilgrim’s experience may constitute an early novelistic use of what we now call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; then again, Pilgrim’s aliens may be as “real” as Dresden is real to him. Struggling to find some purpose, order or meaning to his existence and humanity’s, Pilgrim meets the beauteous and mysterious Montana Wildhack (certainly the author’s best character name), has a child with her and drifts on some supernal plane, finally, in which Kilgore Trout, the Tralmafadorians, Montana Wildhack and the ruins of Dresden do not merge but rather disperse through all planes of existence.
Slaughterhouse-Five was hugely successful, brought Vonnegut an enormous audience, was a finalist for the National Book Award and a bestseller and remains four decades later as timeless and shattering a war fiction as Catch-22, with which it stands as the two signal novels of their riotous and furious decade.
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I would make Slaughterhouse five and most of Vonnegut’s other novels required reading for anyone who can read. Granted, he would be too much for some people but anyone just discovering him has the opportunity for an almost religious experience. I think if I had to pick a favorite author–and I have read well over 3,000 books–I would pick …
I set myself a challenge of making my way through a top 100 sci-fi list as I have read so little of the genre that I enjoy so much in movies. Slaughterhouse Five was on that list and, for a sci-fi, has managed to make me read a tale essentially about WWII.
I feel like I could probably rate this book higher but I’ll admit to being slightly …
Brilliant. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut is brilliant. I realize many won’t appreciate his writing style, or the tale itself but I was all caught up in it. I loved the pace, the vernacular, the effortless ease by which the main character, Billy Pilgrim, danced through time, through his life, experiencing events from his birth to his …
A classic, so droll, so seemingly easy but really impossible to copy, so dark in its humor, the superlatives roll up. I’ve taught this novel for years and it works amazingly well to shock everyone out of their comfort zone and into real thought.
What a beautiful concept this author introduced — simple yet so devastatingly poignant. I read this book several times years ago, which reveals how much I was affected. It’s also on my dirty dozen list: the books I embarrassingly hide because pages are bent, covers torn, and bindings frayed to the point of falling apart.
Written by Kurt Vonnegut …
Honestly, can a book get any better than this? Five stars are simply not enough.
I made it through over half of this book and finally jumped ship. Not enjoyable at all. Don’t understand the shift and the story because it isn’t making sense. I get the overt examination war and it’s collateral damage, but I can’t connect to this narrative.
Kurt Vonnegut was a prisoner of war in Dresden, Germany the night in February 1945 when 800 Allied bombers descended and reduced the city to rubble, leaving tens of thousands dead. Decades later, my father-in-law told me what he had seen as a teenage private in the American army when he entered Dresden a few years after the bombing: ‘They leveled …
Lightening prose, razor sharp wit and time-travel. What else could you ask for?
A 20th century classic that gets better every time I revisit it. A brilliant bit of anti-war satire.
Slaughterhouse 5 was a tough to read book that takes you time-traveling through Billy Pilgrim’s life. The plot can be hard to follow based on where Billy is time traveling, and much of the underlying messages are hard to decipher.
I have read Vonnegut’s work with joy for years. Slaughter House Five is my favorite. It is at once sad and happy, serious and silly, and in the end the best anti-war book ever written. Don’t miss this one.
Vonnegut is in a class by himself. Who else could create characters like Billy Pilgrim and Montana Wildhack?
Vonnegut at the peak of his power. If you want something a little more science-fiction, go find Cat’s Cradle.
Review You will either love this book or hate it. I actually hated it last month when I began. Listening to it on audio didn’t help (it had nothing to do with Ethan Hawkes wonderful voice). I found I was completely lost. Of course stopping and starting and paying attention to traffic didn’t help. But when I switched over to the printed edition, it …
By far one of my favorite works of all time. This piece comes off as confusing at first, but this only pulls the reader in more. As the story continues, with puzzle pieces of information being added effortlessly by Vonnegut, the reader starts to have the full picture. While many questions are left unanswered, this leaves the reader to have a …
I listened to this audiobook narrated by James Franco. I’m not even sure what to say about this. It was such an enjoyable read (listen). This was my first experience with Vonnegut and his writing is beautiful – like poetry in prose form. The story just flowed so simply and easily. The surreal nature of the experiences of Billy Pilgrim, combj Ed …
Vintage Vonnegut, one of my all-time favorites.
Best book ever written.
One of my all time favorite books. Part historical fiction, part sci-fi.
This is a classic for a reason!