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Slaughterhouse 5 is a masterpiece, and the signature work of Kurt Vonnegut. The story revolves around central character Billy Pilgrim, who is captured during World War II, and confined in a slaughterhouse in Dresden during the Dresden Fire Bombings. Billy becomes “unstuck in time”, shifting between the present, Dresden, and alien capture by the Tralfamadorians. Author Vonnegut was captured by the Germans during the closing days of WWII, was transported to Dresden, and was present during the Fire Bombing. This is one of the most powerful books I’ve ever read. It has earned a place on virtually every Top 100 books list. Get it – read it. And so it goes.
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I stopped reading the book as it mocks God and Christianity. The devil is in the book and author. It belongs in a dumpster!
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This book is simply amazing and someway or another life changing. Kurt V's style is so smooth, and fast pace it has got to be my favorite book that I've read. I've read a lot of books but this is the first one I've from start to finish within a week of receiving it. If I were to nit pick the book is too short, but that's a good thing, because you want to leave your readers wanting more I feel. The nonfiction mixed with fiction and fantasy play a great part, as they take the reader on for a journey they never saw coming. The stories of life and death, so it goes.
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126 of 134 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Worth all five stars, January 31, 2001 By Andyrew (Beaver, PA USA) - See all my reviews This review is from: Slaughterhouse-Five (Mass Market Paperback) Slaughter House Five deserves its reputation of being a piece of great American literature. The book follows a young man, Billy Pilgrim through his life. Billy believes aliens, tralfamadorians to be exact, have abducted him. We assume that it's through these aliens that he learns to time travel, a skill he frequently uses. In the book Pilgrim bounces around time to all the various portions of his life, many times returning to World War II where he was captured, taken prisoner, and held in slaughterhouse five in Dresden, Germany. He seems to be defined by this moment in his life as he frequently returns there. If you know anything about Vonnegut, you know that he too was held in Dresden, Germany when the city was firebombed. This is the major setup for this antiwar novel as Dresden was home to over 100,000 persons while at the same time Dresden didn't have any industry lending itself to the war effort. Obviously you wander, "Then why was this city bombed? What advantage came from killing well over 100,000 thousand civilians?" One of the major themes of the book is fate. The prayer of serenity appears twice in the book stating that we need to change the things we can and be wise enough to know which things we cannot change. Also the Tralfamadorians speak of fate. They say they know how the universe is going to end, but they do nothing to stop it. Vonnegut seems to say that yes, war is one of those things we cannot avoid, but we need to change the things we can about it, like the atrocious bombing of Dresden. Overall, the book's message is clear, and Vonnegut delivers his message in a very accessible way. The story of Billy Pilgrim is enjoyable to read, and contains more than dry philosophy that some antiwar novels are filled with.Read full review
Slaughterhouse-Five is in the Top 10 of all-time American novels. It is possibly Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s greatest piece of work - which is saying something, considering all of his other great novels (Cat's Cradle, Timequake, Breakfast of Champions, Mother Night, Sirens of a Titan, and Player Piano/Utopia 14). The story of Billy Pilgrim - the story of Vonnegut, much like parts of Mother Night, Timequake, Palm Sunday, and other bits and pieces of Vonnegut's works - part fiction/part-autobiography; and this is why we love him. This is why we adore him. This is why he is the king of satire. I recommend it to every person who ever asks me for a novel to read. Just as a recommend many of Vonnegut's other works; but this is always the first I recommend. It works on the levels of satire, on humanity, on emotion, on utter dependence upon one's own mind, a weakening mind - as is all of ours in their own way. Vonnegut shows us what life is, from the lowliest of times, to the greatest of times, and teaches us to take it all in with a bit of humility. And we learn to do so - and like it.Read full review
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