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Slaughterhouse-Five
by: Kurt Vonnegut

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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780385333849
ISBN: 0385333846
Label: Dial Press Trade Paperback
Manufacturer: Dial Press Trade Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 288
Publication Date: January 12, 1999
Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback
Release Date: January 12, 1999
Sales Rank: 316
Studio: Dial Press Trade Paperback

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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
Slaughterhouse-Five is one of the world's great anti-war books. Centering on the infamous fire-bombing of Dresden, Billy Pilgrim's odyssey through time reflects the mythic journey of our own fractured lives as we search for meaning in what we are afraid to know.

Amazon.com:
Kurt Vonnegut's absurdist classic Slaughterhouse-Five introduces us to Billy Pilgrim, a man who becomes unstuck in time after he is abducted by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore. In a plot-scrambling display of virtuosity, we follow Pilgrim simultaneously through all phases of his life, concentrating on his (and Vonnegut's) shattering experience as an American prisoner of war who witnesses the firebombing of Dresden.

Don't let the ease of reading fool you--Vonnegut's isn't a conventional, or simple, novel. He writes, 'There are almost no characters in this story, and almost no dramatic confrontations, because most of the people in it are so sick, and so much the listless playthings of enormous forces. One of the main effects of war, after all, is that people are discouraged from being characters...' Slaughterhouse-Five (taken from the name of the building where the POWs were held) is not only Vonnegut's most powerful book, it is as important as any written since 1945. Like Catch- 22, it fashions the author's experiences in the Second World War into an eloquent and deeply funny plea against butchery in the service of authority. Slaughterhouse-Five boasts the same imagination, humanity, and gleeful appreciation of the absurd found in Vonnegut's other works, but the book's basis in rock-hard, tragic fact gives it a unique poignancy--and humor.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Crazyness
The book jumps all over the place in a captivating way. I wouldn't necessarily call it SF though.

Rating:

- The Why of Tralfalmadore
Like a lot of people who love this book, I first read Slaughterhouse Five when I was a teenager. I was young, unsuspecting, and worse yet, innocent. Many years have now gone by. But unlike Billy Pilgrim, I did not need prompting from a flying saucer to become unstuck in time. I did it with my own free will. By itself, the feat was easy. All I had to do was dig out my old pocket size copy of the novel. It has chew marks in the upper left corner, left by a beloved dog. He's long gone, too. Tralfalmadorean years. Earthling years. So it goes.

Time does have a strange effect on someone rereading Slaughterhouse Five. This isn't nostalgia so much as a renewed conviction of that book's contribution to literary culture. After all, it introduced the Planet Tralfalmadore. What's lovely about the creatures who live there is that nothing much bothers them--not bombs, not hunger, not crowds, and least of all, history ... Read More

Rating:

- A great book
This is a great book and an interesting insight into Kurt's world. The long awaited Dresden Novel that he claimed to be working on for so many years. I didn't find it funny, but sobering. There are many many great quotes to be taken from it and I'm sure they have been taken many times. It is worth reading for it's history alone, but deeper still there are tidbits of meaning and reality for the reader. The ending is a bit different than I would have expected, but I really enjoyed it, and consumed it in less than a day ( as I did also, with Mother Night). It is sobering and somber, but a great book, either way. It deserves it ranking with the top 100 novels of all time, and should be allowed in High Schools as required reading with or without the cussing.
I am happy to have added it to my collection. But sad that there will not be more books like it.

Rating:

- Essential Vonnegut, still relevant today...
I don't care who you are, you absolutely need to read this book. It's justly considered a classic. The thing about it is that it isn't really a "humor book" like some of Vonnegut's other, justly famous works (Cat's Cradle, Breakfast of Champions, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater). Parts of it are funny - I especially like the segments with the bitter Kilgore Trout, a sci-fi author reputed to be one of the worst ever - but humor isn't the focus of this book. Rather, it focuses on creativity and a solid message. Most if not all of Kurt's work is topical to some extent, but here his message comes to the fore.
Vonnegut's view of time here is fascinating. Rather than present it as a straight line, as most other authors do, he explores its more abstract natures. To him, time is not a line, but a complex network of points that anybody at any time can travel arbitrarily amongst. This is prime creativity. Some of the most memorable ... Read More

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