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halessnails's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
criminalpancakes's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
buttercupita's review against another edition
5.0
It's a classic for a reason! But for something published almost 50 years ago, it feels amazingly modern. With rapid switchbacks between World War II Dresden, contemporary middle America, and the planet of Trafalmadore in who knows what time period, it seems like Vonnegut understood the hyperlink before it existed. Tremendous blend of deep themes (meaning of time & experience, heroism, the drive for vengeance) with ironic humor. Now I know why it's so heavily referenced, and I'm glad I read it.
kittya's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
seanhelvey's review against another edition
5.0
You can tell that Vonnegut has a lot of fun writing, and I like that. I don't always re-read books, but when I do, they are typically written by Hemingway or Vonnegut :)
I was also able to find the quote about machines that I had been looking for:
“Lionel Merble was a machine. Tralfamadorians, of course, say that every creature and plant in the Universe is a machine. It amuses them that so many Earthlings are offended by the idea of being machines.”
I was also able to find the quote about machines that I had been looking for:
“Lionel Merble was a machine. Tralfamadorians, of course, say that every creature and plant in the Universe is a machine. It amuses them that so many Earthlings are offended by the idea of being machines.”
krunsig's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
dyno8426's review against another edition
5.0
Kurt Vonnegut reimagines the post-war lives of the "lost generation" in this book through his science-fictional element of time travel. Weirdly placed as a trope throughout the story, along with extra-terrestrial planet of Traflamadore (and hyper-advanced aliens which couldn't be any more borrowed from Mars Attacks!) renders the science-fictional aspect as a facade under which lies a much horrible picture of human history. This anti-war book tackles fascism through another layer of satirical humour in its writing style, which makes it similar to Catch-22 in terms of highlighting absurdity with the glorifying notions of war and national supremacy, but is more drab and historically-accounted rendering its effect more serious in terms of implications. Using time travel of our veteran protagonist who survives and bears the aftermath of war, Vonnegut shows how ever-pervasive and tangible the impact of war becomes, especially for those who are face it and are able to escape it. It depicts a feeling of the war always being there as a tapestry of horrors and hopelessness and numbing any sense of time during and after such prolonged wars - kind of capturing the psyche of those suffering from PTSD.
Centred to the story is another aspect which comes very powerfully - the setting of the Dresden bombing, an allied attack on a beautiful, technically neutral German city. It elevates this historical event from obscurity which happened at almost the close of war, where the entire city was demolished through bombing and incinerated by resulting firestorms. Factually, Dresden bombing extinguished more lives than the nuclear attacks on Japan, something which I didn't imagine. This reinforces the fact that in such large scale wars, there are hardly victors or losers, just survivors witnessing and recording the terrors that forces beyond their reach wreak. Our cumulative post-war pity is not redemptive or justifiable enough.
Another ideology which this book clearly puts forward through the context of war is the liberation of human's free will. While nationalism and the feeling of honour usually fuels the abstract notions of continuing wars, the perspective of those fighting in it and making sacrifices shows how helpless the 'brave' and the 'strong' really are. Survival and death then becomes just what happened due to factors whose degree is unimaginable. An individual gets drifted far from his/her normal life, loses sense of individual time in collective notions of honour, duty and some oncoming near future. This very much feels like getting caught in an enormous wave against which anything human relinquishes control or any hope of control, waiting for it to pass over. Through this deterministic philosophy, we become victims of circumstances. A person's life then becomes a taut tug through time and through a mesh of infinite factors leading us to any point. This pessimistic view I think succeeds in capturing the feeling of strangeness and meaninglessness which that "lost generation" would have felt. Quoting a good line from this book...
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom always to tell the difference."
Centred to the story is another aspect which comes very powerfully - the setting of the Dresden bombing, an allied attack on a beautiful, technically neutral German city. It elevates this historical event from obscurity which happened at almost the close of war, where the entire city was demolished through bombing and incinerated by resulting firestorms. Factually, Dresden bombing extinguished more lives than the nuclear attacks on Japan, something which I didn't imagine. This reinforces the fact that in such large scale wars, there are hardly victors or losers, just survivors witnessing and recording the terrors that forces beyond their reach wreak. Our cumulative post-war pity is not redemptive or justifiable enough.
Another ideology which this book clearly puts forward through the context of war is the liberation of human's free will. While nationalism and the feeling of honour usually fuels the abstract notions of continuing wars, the perspective of those fighting in it and making sacrifices shows how helpless the 'brave' and the 'strong' really are. Survival and death then becomes just what happened due to factors whose degree is unimaginable. An individual gets drifted far from his/her normal life, loses sense of individual time in collective notions of honour, duty and some oncoming near future. This very much feels like getting caught in an enormous wave against which anything human relinquishes control or any hope of control, waiting for it to pass over. Through this deterministic philosophy, we become victims of circumstances. A person's life then becomes a taut tug through time and through a mesh of infinite factors leading us to any point. This pessimistic view I think succeeds in capturing the feeling of strangeness and meaninglessness which that "lost generation" would have felt. Quoting a good line from this book...
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom always to tell the difference."
heavyisthehead's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tomasthanes's review against another edition
2.0
What a peculiar book. How much of the author peeks through the main character Billy Pilgrim? Kurt Vonnegut did not like war. He didn't seem to like life. I guess that makes this book a classic.