Scan barcode
hernbongo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
rachelc16's review against another edition
2.0
I think I just don’t understand it. The whole time I was waiting for it to make more sense and it never did. I don’t think I would have known it was an anti-war book if Matthew hadn’t told me lol
dontfalter's review against another edition
4.0
'That's one thing Earthlings might learn to do, if they tried hard enough: Ignore the awful times, and concentrate on the good ones.'
This book tells me two important things all at once. How fucked-up war actually is and that quote above.
This book tells me two important things all at once. How fucked-up war actually is and that quote above.
atomicgeek5000's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This is one of those books I periodically pull out and re-read, and every time I do, I find something new that I didn't see the last time.
ksibbern's review against another edition
5.0
This is the first Vonnegut book I've read and I am surprised at how much I liked it. I always knew it was a war book, but when I heard it was also a time-traveling alien book, I was in. The non-linear storytelling was deftly written and the bombing of Dresden was so vivid, that I completely understand why this is considered a classic.
gracegawecki's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty good. I'm kind of annoyed I keep accidentally reading these books about war but this one was okay. I really like the concept just not who the main character is you know?
jchiou1984's review against another edition
dark
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
thefilmcake's review against another edition
4.0
First time I've read this one. My first thought was to wonder what the Slaughterhouse Five of the "War on Terror" will be. And when? I'm not as familiar with the literary scene as I am with film, so I'm at a complete loss as to how the recent military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have been depicted in fiction. I wonder what classics will be born from that mess. Is there a literary counterpart to The Hurt Locker already out there?
There are themes here that could very well be common to a book about the current soldier's experience. There's a fractious nature of memory and even something approaching mental illness that comes from experiencing such chaos. It's its on PTSD. And the book also hints at the multitude of memories that may be lost, or never even created, as a result of deaths due to war.
It also seems to say that if we do have free will and have some control (not that it says we do) that the world spins on without us such that it sure feels like we have no real control.
There are themes here that could very well be common to a book about the current soldier's experience. There's a fractious nature of memory and even something approaching mental illness that comes from experiencing such chaos. It's its on PTSD. And the book also hints at the multitude of memories that may be lost, or never even created, as a result of deaths due to war.
It also seems to say that if we do have free will and have some control (not that it says we do) that the world spins on without us such that it sure feels like we have no real control.
jbs7's review against another edition
5.0
Listened to the audiobook. Very well written and read. Do we all take the present moment a bit too seriously? When does a moment warrant that attention? Cant imagine what it must be like to be pulled away from all you know to a foreign place with evil decisions & actions all around. Perhaps becoming unstuck in time is the best way to survive.
alongapath's review against another edition
4.0
I think Vonnegut is brilliant and I am very glad that I took the time to read (perhaps re-read) this one. In Billy Pilgrim, he captured the damaged mind of a war vet and showed how the smallest sight, smell or detail could transport him back to a memory in a different time of his life. Just like time travel or being captured by aliens, Time becomes irrelevant to the experiences along the way.
There were a few passages which made me understand how this was seen as an anti-war novel but I perhaps was not reading deeply enough into the bigger message. I did think that the repeated phrase so it goes is so, so similar to the use of allahu akbar from Islam, inshallah in Arabic or amen from Christianity. To me, using this phrase whenever a character met an untimely death demonstrates Vonnegut's turn away from religion. Powerful, indeed, when it is used so many times.
Perhaps a movie was made of this novel? I have a ticklish feeling that I have seen some of these scenes before - but perhaps it was just an over-active ability to visualize during a previous reading.
poo-tee-weet
There were a few passages which made me understand how this was seen as an anti-war novel but I perhaps was not reading deeply enough into the bigger message. I did think that the repeated phrase so it goes is so, so similar to the use of allahu akbar from Islam, inshallah in Arabic or amen from Christianity. To me, using this phrase whenever a character met an untimely death demonstrates Vonnegut's turn away from religion. Powerful, indeed, when it is used so many times.
Perhaps a movie was made of this novel? I have a ticklish feeling that I have seen some of these scenes before - but perhaps it was just an over-active ability to visualize during a previous reading.
poo-tee-weet