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.
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Amazon.com Review
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.
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 Like Beethoven's Fifth Piano Concerto. ( spacegrassman )
A work of perfection. Kurt Vonnegut said all there was needed to say in this harsh indictment of war of and humanity's failure to prevent it.
The main character, Billy Pilgrim, was written in a masterful way. A man who could find pleasure in the simplest of things, is thrust into a situation that would break almost anyone, let alone a simple man like Pilgrim.
Like all great works of literature, they are open to speculation by the reader, and I found enough in this book's 215 pages that I could sit here speculating on it for ages. This, to me, is the true mark of a great book. One that will be read forever and will never die.
My take on the whole alien abduction and time travel was Billy Pilgrim's mind dealing with the chaos of his life. The way a psychiatrist will explain that a person's mind can splinter in situations of dire stress and create other personalities, so in this manner did Pilgrim's mind allow him to believe that he was able to time travel and be kidnapped by aliens. Or, you can believe that it actually happened. God only knows what Vonnegut's intentions were.
The war depictions are sad and funny, heartfelt and well-told. You can take away all of the underlying meanings in this book and appreciate it as just a great piece of fiction, a great story.
If you are a person who looks around at the state of humanity and says, "Why don't people understand how to treat each other? They just don't get it." Then you should start reading Vonnegut right now, and Slaughterhouse-Five is a magnificent place to start.
A timeless classic.
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A highly creative and simultaneously amusing and thought-provoking novel that hammers home its themes; "A-" ( robert_wade )
I had extremely high expectations for 'Slaughterhouse Five' and Vonnegut expertly delivered for the most part. I loved his creativity for starters: shifting in time was pure genius; it juxtaposed events in a way that showed the significance of events (or meaninglessness, depending on the circumstance) in a way a traditional plotline could not.
I also really liked how Vonnegut largely delayed the experiences of Dresden until the latter half of the book. This gave a true sense of foreboding to the proceedings and has the effect of giving the event even greater significance.
I thought the author's use of apathy, unintentional hilarity, and just plain ridiculousness (all for making a point) were expertly executed. I had to continually remind myself that while we almost expect these qualities nowadays in modern storytelling, these same qualities were much more rare at the time of Vonnegut's writing, and in that respect he was far ahead of his time.
That said, I did have a minor problem with the novel. I think Vonnegut just tries to be too cute sometimes. For example, the constant use of "So it goes" really starts to lose its effect and was overused to the extent that Vonnegut actually got in the way of his own storytelling I felt, hence the "minus" in "A-".
Ultimately, if you're looking for unconventional (though effective) storytelling and a novel that gets to the root of the meaninglessness/senseslessness we all feel at times - especially with regard to war - I think you'll find this to be a great book.
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 Fun, Subtle War Bashing
I found it to be an interesting story of a man mentally escaping to a fantasy world in order to deal with the unshakable hypocrisy, severity, and useless tragedy of war that he had to participate in at such a young age. While I never served in Iraq or Afghanistan, being a military member at a young age, I could identify with being so young and naive, having to make some very mature and profound choices. I did not find Vonnegut very funny, however; if you are trying to make a profound anti-war statement, soldiers taking a crap in a latrine as comic relief seems a little sophmoric and out of place. I did find the irony of Billy Pilgrim's appearance in the prisoner camp funny, however. It is very suiting. Overall, I found it a cool, modern look at the impact of the ethics (or lacktherof) of warfare, and the morality and mental fragility of its soldiers then and now.
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One of the best
This is one of the best books I have ever read. If you have a room temperature IQ it may be a confusing novel, but other wise it is a true master piece.
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 Slaughterhouse-Five ( mortonsguitar )
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut ****
Long concidered to be Vonnegut's classic and best work as an author...I strongly disagree. This is far from his worst work but it doesn't hold a candle to Breakfast of Champions or Cat's Cradle.
The satire here is great. The commentary on War and what it does to those involved and those around them. Written about his own service in World War II and his own tribulations of being there and what it caused him afterward only done Kerouac style through fiction. It doesn't always work however.
Often times the plot falters and feels boring. Readers will have trouble finishing the book if not familiar with Vonneguts work, but what saves it from being average is his over the top since of humour.
What it offers a look into is brilliant but it doesn't always deliver, and for that it can never be a five star read.
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