Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Book Summary
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.
Slaughterhouse-Five Book Details
| Book Name | Slaughterhouse-Five |
| Genre | Literary Fiction |
| Author | Kurt Vonnegut |
| Published | 15 February 1970, Sunday |
| Price | $9.99 |
| E-Book Size | 2.42 MB |
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Book Reviews
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Great and interesting. I was only reading this book for a summer reading project but as I read the book the plot grew in personal interest for me. Great book to read.
Vonngut' Best. So it goes.
Amazing book. If you lived through war, I think this best describes what you feel when you come back. It sounds confusing unless you think about how to deal with injustice. So it goes
KV, Jr. The Extraordinary. Thank you. XO, jp
Different. But insane
Kurt Vonnegut published in 1969, not 1923 - so what is this?. Is this the original, a retelling, or some other version? And why is the publication date (1923) 46 years before the book was actually published in 1969? I makes me wonder if this is legit.
I hate to read!. Normally I spend my time avoiding books but once I began reading this book I wasn't able to put it down! The ideas of this book are something I now always carry with me.
Best book I've ever read. I love this book. And not in the way that a snob would say that they love classics, but in a way that after I had to read it for summer homework and write a book report on it, I still love it and I want the world to read it! 5/5! 10/10! 50/50! 100/100! Googol/Googol! READ IT!
Should be Required Reading. This book is wonderfully philosophical. It gets you thinking. The writing style, with all the different moments of the story jumbled together is really playful and imaginative. It’s a heavy topic - war, death, life - but Vonnegut manages to do it in a playful way. I highly recommend this book to both Vonnegut fans and soon-to-be Vonnegut fans.
Extraordinary. One of the best books i’ve read. Highly recommend.
"...and so it goes.". The title is Mr. Vonnegut's famous phrase that came after a specific type of event within the book. I suggest that the savvy ninth grade reader, or adult read this book. It will help you understand hardship. It is interesting to see posttraumatic stress disorder described so relevantly before the term was coined or used in the DSM (diagnostics and statistics manual). Read it twice because you will miss things that you will enjoy finding again.
Slaughterhouse five. Chilling, wicked, fast paced, with enough craziness to make it believable, but enough realism to make it history.
Interesting but hard to follow. A book with a great concept that gets lost in the author’s attempt to be witty. It’s a good read but can be very confusing in places.
English 3. I chose this book to read for my English 3 class this a beautiful and well written book. I love the story and plot actually makes you think.
It's an amazing weird.. I read this before I began my English Literature class and I immediately fell in love with Vonnegut. Now he is my all time favorite. The things he comes up with, how me smashes aliens and world war 2 together, my two favorites, makes me want to read it over and over. I seriously recommend this book although it is not so serious. I know you will enjoy it!
Sometimes brutal, yet full of love. This review from a reader that rarely spends time on fiction. This is a great read full of history, brutality and yet somehow it reminds you to celebrate and savor your best times.
Great book, overall!. Had to read this for my American Literature class at Tennessee Wesleyan College and loved. A little graphic at times but adds to the greatness of the book. A MUST READ.
Outstanding!. What a great novel! This is a wondrous wartime book as well as a question raising sci-fi experience. A must read!
Cheese Curds. Book was big litty and aight but needed to be more crunchy ya know
So it goes. Teacher assigned us to read this... Quite interesting and has deep meaning behind many different scenarios. Many different concepts portrayed throughout the novel, but I may be too young to fully appreciate it all, so it goes ~ @audriusity
It was eehhhhh..... The story wasn't that exciting on finished it because I spent money on it
Swag. This book was orgasmic
Excellent. Original and inventive
Leaves you thinking. The semi-surreal plot — dislodged in time — and a character whose psyche is ravaged by war jar you from the normal ha its of novel reading. Slaughterhouse Five will certainly leave you thinking.
QUESTION ABOUT BOOK. There are two versions of Slaughterhouse-Five on the iBooks Store and I don't know which to buy. For those of you that bought this version, is there a reason you got this one as opposed to the other? There's a big difference in pages between the two, but they're the same price, and I don't just want to buy based on the cover art. Thanks! P.S. Rating is irrelevant, I just had to make one to submit this.
Classic. One of the best!!!
Slaughterhouse Five.. Brilliant!
Amazing and DARK.. Not a story that follows any traditional linear outline of storytelling you might be used to. Vonnegut presents an intensive interpretation of one point of view from one of World War Two’s most destructive moments.
Unique and a classic. Hilarious and will give you goosebumps. A stunner, that's for sure.
Second Time Reading. Work of art. I am no literary critic nor expert. Whether you are looking for comedy, post-war sentiment or a great story, you will find something you love. Written artistically the format blends with the content, prose, and story narrative. But you don't have to have a B.A. in English to appreciate this novel. All you need is an open mind and 3 hours.
Vonnegut's Best. An insane blend of Science Fiction, War and comedy. You won't want to put it down.
Love this book!. I must have read this book 10 or more times when I was in school, even though the school’s “they” removed it from the library. Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is one of my favorite authors, and I am quite pleased that Apple has enabled me to own a copy of this book! ❤️
Fun read. I first read this as required reading for a high school english class. I remember approaching it the same way I approached every required reading: with a groan. However, from the first page I was hooked. After we finished it in class I went out and bought if for myself and still read it from time to time. It presents an interesting view of life, to say the least. So it goes.
A classic. This book is great. The plot is good, and the writing style changed my own writing style. I am a huge fan!
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5 Books like Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut)
Kurt Vonnegut (; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer and humorist known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfiction works; further collections have been published after his death. Born and raised in Indianapolis, Vonnegut attended Cornell University but withdrew in January 1943 and enlisted in the US Army. As part of his training, he studied mechanical engineering at the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) and the University of Tennessee. He was then deployed to Europe to fight in World War II and was captured by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge. He was interned in Dresden, where he survived the Allied bombing of the city in a meat locker of the slaughterhouse where he was imprisoned. After the war, he married Jane Marie Cox, with whom he had three children. Vonnegut adopted three of his sis....
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