Slaughterhouse-Five: A Novel; 50th anniversary edition

Kurt Vonnegut

Aug 2009 · Sold by Dial Press

About this ebook

A special fiftieth anniversary edition of Kurt Vonnegut’s masterpiece, “a desperate, painfully honest attempt to confront the monstrous crimes of the twentieth century” (Time), featuring a new introduction by Kevin Powers, author of the National Book Award finalist The Yellow Birds
 
Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time
 
Slaughterhouse-Five, an American classic, is one of the world’s great antiwar books. Centering on the infamous World War II firebombing of Dresden, the novel is the result of what Kurt Vonnegut described as a twenty-three-year struggle to write a book about what he had witnessed as an American prisoner of war. It combines historical fiction, science fiction, autobiography, and satire in an account of the life of Billy Pilgrim, a barber’s son turned draftee turned optometrist turned alien abductee. As Vonnegut had, Billy experiences the destruction of Dresden as a POW. Unlike Vonnegut, he experiences time travel, or coming “unstuck in time.”

An instant bestseller, Slaughterhouse-Five made Kurt Vonnegut a cult hero in American literature, a reputation that only strengthened over time, despite his being banned and censored by some libraries and schools for content and language. But it was precisely those elements of Vonnegut’s writing—the political edginess, the genre-bending inventiveness, the frank violence, the transgressive wit—that have inspired generations of readers not just to look differently at the world around them but to find the confidence to say something about it. Authors as wide-ranging as Norman Mailer, John Irving, Michael Crichton, Tim O’Brien, Margaret Atwood, Elizabeth Strout, David Sedaris, Jennifer Egan, and J. K. Rowling have all found inspiration in Vonnegut’s words. Jonathan Safran Foer has described Vonnegut as “the kind of writer who made people—young people especially—want to write.” George Saunders has declared Vonnegut to be “the great, urgent, passionate American writer of our century, who offers us . . . a model of the kind of compassionate thinking that might yet save us from ourselves.”

More than fifty years after its initial publication at the height of the Vietnam War, Vonnegut’s portrayal of political disillusionment, PTSD, and postwar anxiety feels as relevant, darkly humorous, and profoundly affecting as ever, an enduring beacon through our own era’s uncertainties.

Ratings and reviews

Kurt Vonnegut, a fourth-generation German-American who was a prisoner of war (POW) in Dresden during World War II, writes a poignant tale that is undeniably a piece of anti-war literature. To drive home this point, the book's subtitle is "Children's Crusade...." By making this historical linkage to an abortive military-operation-turned-child-trafficking centuries ago, Vonnegut describes the insanity & vanity of war in visceral terms. This is a humorous and disturbing work. The story surrounds the epic obliteration of one of Europe's most beautiful cities by British and American bombers during February 1945 in which over 30,000 people died in the resultant fire-storm (Parker, 1995, Cambridge Illustrated History of Warfare, p. 331). Billy Pilgrim is a US soldier serving as a POW in the city during the aerial rampage, and he is also a time traveller who shares his experiences on planet Trafalganon. Vonnegut expertly navigates between both outlandish worlds and somehow introduces the reader face-to-face with the insanity of it all. He describes in detail the wretched conditions of the slaughterhouse in which the prisoners are kept and how some young men's "old man's stares" indicate they're death's victims. He questions conventional faith. The epigraph refers to a Christmas carol line which describes weeping about the Baby Jesus. Vonnegut's style is blunt, humorous, and punctuated--just like his subject. Throughout the text, his gratuitous use of "and so it goes" remarks tended to distract more than accentuate key points. In balance, this is a classic because it talks to any generation about the insanity of the human experience in warfare. The author reminds us that no camp prisoner was released early or citizen of Dresden was saved because of the bombing of Dresden. Yet, it was held as a major campaign and victory by some in authority. The story serves as a baseline for anti-war, science fiction, and novels; the Time Traveller's Wife echoes the travails of time travelling on one's personal life. The book's importance lies in the fact that it shakes the reader to the core and makes him/her question his/her own sanity and vanity. Vonnegut admits he spent most of his adult life wanting and trying to write this book. He died in 2008. The work stands as a testament to the necessity and difficulty in facing one's demons.

This is often been hailed as Vonnegut at his best and while I enjoyed it thoroughly I would tend to disagree. It's Vonnegut at his good...On a level of pure emotionalimpact I will grant that this probably has the most cultural significance. The story centers around Billy Pilgrim, better lucky than good type, who makes his way slowly through the latter half of his life, dealing with everything from the firebombing of dresden, optometry, and aliens. What I liked about this was the sad compassion you develop for the main character and all he goes through. What I dislike, and I'm starting to find myself saying more and more about Vonnegut is that again there seems to be a level of contrivity. I don't mind the time traveling, i think that's brilliant. I mind the Tralfamador trips which seem to add little in terms of substance, and a lot in terms of goofiness. This isn't a major point, but does bump Slaughterhouse below other Vonneguts like Mother Night and Player Piano, and right along side Mr. Rosewater and Cat's Cradle.

I listened to this audiobook narrated by James Franco. I'm not even sure what to say about this. It was such an enjoyable read (listen). This was my first experience with Vonnegut and his writing is beautiful - like poetry in prose form. The story just flowed so simply and easily. The surreal nature of the experiences of Billy Pilgrim, combined Ed with the masterful performance by James Franco, worked together perfectly. I felt like a little kid being read a story that is all at once sad, funny, magical and mystical. I think this is the first time I can say that a book was an experience. So it goes...

About the author

Kurt Vonnegut’s humor, satiric voice, and incomparable imagination first captured America’s attention in The Sirens of Titan in 1959 and established him as “a true artist” (The New York Times) with Cat’s Cradle in 1963. He was, as Graham Greene declared, “one of the best living American writers.” Mr. Vonnegut passed away in April 2007.