Slaughterhouse-Five
Unstuck in time, Billy Pilgrim, Vonnegut's shattered survivor of the Dresden bombing, relives his life over and over again under the gaze of aliens; he comes at last to some understanding of the human comedy. The basis of George Roy's great 1972 film and
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.
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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- ISBN: 9780385333849
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698 Reviews
| From: Amazon Posted: May 23, 2008 Type: User Review |
A Great Read
Somehow I was never required to read this in high school or college. I read it shortly after graduating from college and I loved it. It is an engaging and interesting read, and at times can be bizarre and unusual but it is worth every second that...
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 5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: May 14, 2008 Type: User Review |
An anti-glacier book...
Following "Slaughterhouse Five," Kurt Vonnegut swore off novels. In the introduction to his 1970 play, "Happy Birthday, Wanda June," Vonnegut quotes himself: "I'm left-handed now, and I'm through with Novels. I'm writing a play. It's plays from...
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: May 02, 2008 Type: User Review |
slaughter house five
Thoroughly enjoyed the book. Have wanted to read it for years. Ordering and shipping very efficient. Thank You
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: May 01, 2008 Type: User Review |
An introduction to Vonnegut
One of the first 'science fiction' books I ever read. Really whet my appetite for the genre. Vonnegut does not sacrifice character development for quirks of plot. Surprisingly easy to follow, despite all the jumping about in time.
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Apr 27, 2008 Type: User Review |
Slaughterhouse-Five
It is not my usual stuff but it had some interesting ideas. I have to admit though that I checked out the Spark Notes just to make sure I was keeping up with everything. The "getting unstuck" and traveling back and forth through time was a bit...
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 3.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Apr 27, 2008 Type: User Review |
Five Stars for Slaughterhouse-Five
The man known as Kurt Vonnegut is an absolute genius with the pen. I will admit that the first chapter of this story is very drab and unappealing to read but it is still an amazing novel in the middle. The detail that Vonnegut puts into all of his...
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Apr 23, 2008 Type: User Review |
The best Vonnegut
Nothing I can say would ever add to the legacy this book already has. So let's just accent it: The best.
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Apr 20, 2008 Type: User Review |
Vonnegut was a God of Literature
And I am humbled every time I read him. My back is bowed from too much bowing in reverence.
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Apr 12, 2008 Type: User Review |
Thought provoking anit-war novel
Slaughterhouse-Five (or The Children's Crusade) is an anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. about the bombing of Dresden, Germany at the end of World War II. While Kurt Vonnegut was a POW at Germany he related the experience of being in Dresden...
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 4.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Mar 15, 2008 Type: User Review |
Like Ohio State football, this book is overrated.
This book is overrated. Although it is interesting and I couldn't put it down, I found that its standing as a perennial anti-war book is undeserved. Sledge, in With the Old Breed, had a more profound impact on my understanding of the destruction,...
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3.00/5 |
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