Slaughterhouse-Five | 
 enlarge | Author: Kurt Vonnegut
Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback
Category: Book
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Avg. Customer Rating:  693 reviews
Sales Rank: 374
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 0385333846
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780385333849
ASIN: 0385333846
Publication Date: January 12, 1999
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Amazon.com
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.
Product Description
Slaughterhouse-Five is one ofthe world's great anti-war books. Centering on theinfamous fire-bombing of Dresden, Billy Pilgrim'sodyssey through time reflects the mythic journeyof our own fractured lives as we search for meaningin what we are afraid to know.
Download Description
Unstuck in time, Billy Pilgrim, Vonneguts 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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 688 more reviews...
 Complex and Compelling June 29, 2008
Vonnegut's novel is about life, thought process, and death set against the author's life experiences in Dresden during WWII and his fictional character, Billy, who we see through memories and partial linear plot line. In my opinion, the story, however; very important, is not the point of this novel. Vonnegut used the novel as a vehicle to show us the purpose of being human which is life, thought process, and death. In my opinion, this is why the novel is not written in the traditional way: beginning, middle, climax, end. Vonnegut shows us through the vehicle of a novel, how the brain operates and how society operates which are connected unconsciously and consciously. Vonnegut's novel should be read by everyone.
Great book.... June 21, 2008
I have sat here for some time now pondering on what exactly to write, but with so many other reviews, which are excellent, I am left a bit uncreative. Let's just say this is a great book. SL5 was recommended to me in a lit class I took last semester, and I picked it up a few weeks ago and devoured it the next day. It was one of those books that was so original, meaningful, and funny (in a dark humorous way), that I could not put it down. I even left a spaghetti stain on a page because I was reading while eating.
Anyway, all these reviews say so much about the book, that all I have to say is I agree with all the other good reviews. This is a great book, and it is hard not to like it. Check it out, I think you will be pleasantly surprised!
Vintage Science Fiction June 11, 2008
This is Kurt Vonnegut's Masterpiece. It achieves everything that good science fiction aspires to achieve. The world of Billy Pilgrim is not to be missed. This definitely has to be one of the greatest science fiction books ever written if not it is in the top 10.
John
Poo-tee-weet June 10, 2008
Straightforward Fantasy of Baffling Reality
Billy Pilgrim has been unstuck in time, and I feel that way too. Through my English class, the whole contemporary style threw me completely off. This is not Dickens. This is not Steinbeck either. The closest I've read before is James Joyce, but I had no clue what he was saying. The similarity: half my brain cells died reading either book.
So it goes. However, this book is not going to be like any other war book you've
ever read-besides the usage of drugs as a plot device. This story has one of many interpretations. I am certain I have overanalyzed this book over and over again, but this is what I feel about the book.
The first is the easiest to explain and understand. Kurt Vonnegut is crazy and disillusioned after the onset of a terrible war including the hellish bombing of Dresden during World War II. This could easily explain for the random twists, plot spins, alien abductions, etc. However, this seems too simple an explanation.
Another explanation is an extremely deep one: the characters in the story are intended to be completely sane, and the book is not as much an antiwar novel as much as an analysis on free will. The narrator includes countless allusions to this argument, starting when Vonnegut compares stopping a war to stopping a glacier, to when the Trafamadoreans tell Billy Pilgrim that free will does not exist, to Billy getting thrown into the deep end of a pool. Billy is being taught the "sink or swim" method by his dad, but is rescued "against his free will" when they find out that he actually likes the bottom of the pool.
At this point, I cannot say that I have made a thorough analysis. I have practically nothing good to say. Perhaps the only thing I have left to say is "poo-tee-weet?"
 Slaughterhouse 5 Criticism June 10, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
June 9, 2008
Criticism on Slaughterhouse 5
Slaughterhouse 5, by Kurt Vonnegut, describes the unpredictability of life, as well as the inability to control it. The main character of the book, Billy Pilgrim, goes on many different adventures, some at home, and some on other planets several quadrillions of miles away from earth. Many lessons are taught in the book, some which certain people may disagree with. Among these are ideas that cannot be controlled, and the future cannot be altered by your decisions. Another suggestion is that death is not a large thing to worry about, as one can remember the good parts of someone's life, not just how they are now. However, these lessons have the potential to be disregarded by people who believe otherwise, if they are not already.
An interesting aspect of the book is that it is written in a format similar to the described Tralfamadorian format in the book. Several small passages make up the majority of the book, which alludes to the way the inhabitants of planet Tralfamadore format their books. Their books are meant to contain many short, happy memories that can all be viewed at once to form a single image of contentment. However, not all of the scenes in this book may be viewed as joyful. Plenty morose sections counter the good in this book.
The repetition of "so it goes" (1) in this book is unique and confusing. Usually it follows a mention of death, therefore following the main theme of life being uncontrollable, but is absent at certain instances, such as the death of Russians. This may be because the author doesn't like this group of people for some reason, or it may just be one of the many cases of disrespect in this book.
This novel has many inappropriate aspects as well. Wikipedia commented that "Because of its realistic and frequent depiction of swearing by American soldiers, its irreverent language (including the sentence `The gun made a ripping sound like the opening of the zipper on the fly of God Almighty,') and some sexually explicit content, Slaughterhouse-Five is among the most frequently banned works in American literature, and in some cases is still removed from school libraries and curricula." (2) This is true, as many swear words were often repeated, and coupled with pornographic content at the end of chapter nine, this book may not be recommended to some audiences. Not to mention the fact that the repetition of this content distracts from the meaning found in this novel. However, any alterations to create a censored book would drastically alter the plot, so unfortunately it is hard to avoid this content if one wishes to read the novel.
In conclusion, Slaughterhouse 5 is a unique book with many hidden details that this criticism just touched the surface of, though it may not be recommended to some audiences. Vonnegut has created another novel that matches his style exactly.
(1) Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
(2) Wikipedia Search "Slaughterhouse 5"
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