Slaughterhouse-Five is a story within a story. Our narrator is a World War II veteran who sets out to write a book about his experience during the Dresden bombing. The majority of the story, however, is the author's actual book, which centers on Billy Pilgrim's life. The story is not written in chronological order, but instead jumps all around throughout Billy's life. This time travel aspect requires the reader to pay very close attention in order to piece Billy's life together, but also tells a poetic story. Oh, and aliens also play a role in this novel. Slaughterhouse-Five is thus an interesting mix of historical fiction and science fiction.
During my reread, I had some trouble connecting with the story, which was quite disappointing. Vonnegut's writing is so beautiful, and because I was trying to rush through this book for the readathon, I think I missed out on the great and poignant experience that Slaughterhouse-Five can be. I ended up giving this book a 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads this time around, but I know that I will be rereading this book again in the future. It is one of my long-term goals to read all of Vonnegut's works, so I think next time I'll pick up another one of his books.
If you've never read Slaughterhouse-Five, I highly recommend it. I suggest that you take the time to appreciate this book, despite it's short length (it's just over 200 pages). You can purchase Slaughterhouse-Five on Amazon HERE. Feel free to let me know in the comments what you thought about this book if you've read it, and what other Vonnegut books you recommend.
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