Book Review: Slaughterhouse-Five, or the Children's Crusade, by Kurt Vonnegut

[inverarity]

The firebombing of Dresden, nonlinear time-traveling, aliens who rewrite the New Testament, and dog torture.

Comments

[shinygobonkers]

i am one of those loving it people. one of my most favorite books it is. i think the first time i read it i was like, woah, and immediately read it again. then i commenced on a several month reading everything and anything by kurt vonnegut i could get my hands on phase. lol, high school...

[rheymus]

so it goes,so it goes,so it goes,

That catchphrase is very irritating. So I went.

[ardys_the_ghoul]

The only Vonnegut book I've read is Breakfast of Champions, and the only reason I read it was because it was assigned for a college literature class; I'd had no interest in his work before then, despite the fact that he's from Indianapolis (i.e. a "Hoosier" like me).

I also did not care for his style, though I agree with your comment about appreciating the writing for its craftmanship, and the dark humor he uses did appeal to me on some level.

[yael_heiman]

Slaughterhouse Five was good, but not Vonnegut's best. I liked Cat's Cradle, Mother Night, and Player Piano a lot better.

(Although most of his protagonists tend to be pretty boring.)

[yael_heiman]

Sorry to spam the comments, but I recently read "How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe" by Charles Yu, which I might describe as "Slaughterhouse Five without the 'war is bad' and with a slightly quirkier narrator."

I thought it was an interesting book, and while I didn't love it, I am curious to hear your thoughts on it.

[inverarity]

I've heard of the book, but haven't read it. I may pick it up one of these days.