Slaughterhouse-Five: A Novel
by Kurt Vonnegut
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Book Summary Information
Author: Kurt VonnegutEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1999-01-12
ISBN: 0385333846
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780385333849
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Slaughterhouse-Five: A Novel
Book Review: "How nice - to feel nothing, and still get full credit for being alive."
Summary: 4 Stars
To be honest, I have no idea why I picked that quote to be the title of this review. It just kind of grabbed me. Yet if you are even moderately familiar with SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE, you probably know that any title would work just about as well as any other. SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE, after all, does cover a lot of ground.
The book follows Billy Pilgrim, a survivor of the bombing of Dresden, through his life as he ruminates about life, death, time travel and the knowledge he received from the alien race of Tralfamadorians. Billy has accepted the Tralfamadorian concept that all things exist at some point forever. Even death is not what it seems, as the dead person is still alive at some time and that time is perpetually occurring. Accordingly, there is no psychological stance to take on events other than acceptance. Things will happen as they always have happened and there is nothing to be done about it.
Of course, everyone else thinks Billy is a lunatic. The story unfolds in an extremely nonlinear manner, with Billy hopping from one time to another, sometimes in midparagraph. Indeed, he has become "unstuck in time," so that he lives the main episodes of his life in a random and illogical order. Vonnegut deserves the credit he received for pulling this off without making it confusing to the reader.
Although light in tone, SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE does address some deeper issues. Fate, free will, cruelty and the absurdity of human nature are all here. Comic relief is present throughout the book, with a dry fatalism providing an undercurrent to the events of Billy's life. Vonnegut is not everyone's cup of tea, but there is no denying the talent it takes to pack major issues into such a strange literary structure and still make it readable for the audience.
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