Slaughterhouse-Five
Slaughterhouse-Five is also known as Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade.
Slaughterhouse-Five is one of the world's great anti-war books. Centering on the infamous firebombing 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
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1922–2007) was a prolific and genre-bending American author. His works blend satire, black comedy and science fiction.
More books by Kurt Vonnegut
Book Reviews
Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5 (S5 from here on out) is the best book I’ve ever read during my 40+ years of reading. If I had to describe S5 in one word that word would be perfect.
Prior to reading S5 I had often heard people saying this book or that book changed their lives. I’d never understood how a book could do that until I read S5.
Needless to say, it’s changed my life.
Not in any dramatic way, but it changed what I thought good writing was. As a writer, it completely changed my perception of what one could do with the written word. It’s hard to describe except by saying that once you have witnessed your conception of perfection in a particular form, your perspective of that form changes, whether that be in the consumption of it or in its creation.
A book which made me think, and think again.... I think I got a little tired towards the end, but it's groundbreaking and some of the ideas in it will make me rethinking how I think about good and bad events. I probably won't reread it, but would recommend to a friend... if they were the kind to appreciate a storyline that's about thinking through situations, rather than a 'the hero wins' type book.