You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I tried to read this a while ago and couldn't get through the introduction, but I'm glad I gave it a second shot. I'll admit I picked it up because I rewatched the TV show LOST, and I was digging into some of the show's literary references. Apparently Desmond being unstuck in time is loosely inspired by Billy Pilgrim. And so it goes.
A short novel but I wouldn't call this a quick read. I read this with my weekend breakfast over a few weeks and each day found myself in a bit of a fog after putting it down. I don't know how people read this as having pro-war sentiment, it is so deeply sad in every way. If anything this echoing idea that "it had to be done" that suffering and war is unavoidable is a trauma response after experiencing the horrors of war. How else could you parse through what has happened to the world?
Anyways, I'll be reading more Vonnegut and sitting in more existential soup.
A short novel but I wouldn't call this a quick read. I read this with my weekend breakfast over a few weeks and each day found myself in a bit of a fog after putting it down. I don't know how people read this as having pro-war sentiment, it is so deeply sad in every way. If anything this echoing idea that "it had to be done" that suffering and war is unavoidable is a trauma response after experiencing the horrors of war. How else could you parse through what has happened to the world?
Anyways, I'll be reading more Vonnegut and sitting in more existential soup.
What a book. Chaotic and unmoored; reality and self blur in a series of blips through time, punctuated with allegories that attempt to gesture at the indescribably horrific — and what that reveals about humanity.
The narrative is a jumble of shockingly vivid rumours — “candles and soap made from the fat of rendered Jews and Gypsies…” — yet set alongside vaguely described reflections on the Dresden bombings, which Vonnegut himself had witnessed.
I particularly liked the bit where Billy came unstuck in time and watched a WW2 movie backwards — bombs being dismantled, their contents fragmented back into minerals, then shipped to remote places to be buried again. Such poetry.
Read through what we know today about PTSD, this book offers a striking portrait of the fragmentation its sufferers experience, and written before the term was coined.
This is the first book I’ve allowed myself to dog-ear, and I'll definitely be coming back to it in years to come.
The narrative is a jumble of shockingly vivid rumours — “candles and soap made from the fat of rendered Jews and Gypsies…” — yet set alongside vaguely described reflections on the Dresden bombings, which Vonnegut himself had witnessed.
I particularly liked the bit where Billy came unstuck in time and watched a WW2 movie backwards — bombs being dismantled, their contents fragmented back into minerals, then shipped to remote places to be buried again. Such poetry.
Read through what we know today about PTSD, this book offers a striking portrait of the fragmentation its sufferers experience, and written before the term was coined.
This is the first book I’ve allowed myself to dog-ear, and I'll definitely be coming back to it in years to come.
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This story is a perfect blend of historical fiction and science fiction based on an event in WW2! The writing is brilliant. It is full of humour and wit which makes it a very easy read. I loved the protagonist as well, a simple man who had a rich life because he could time-travel! I also enjoyed the description of the alien-life and their philosophies! Not sure if the original description of 'Tesseract'(Interstellar reference) has come from this book. Despite having some gory war descriptions, it is actually a light and quirky read.
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The good thing about this book is that it is short. The bad thing about this book is that it wasn’t short enough.
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
There’s nothing wrong with this book, but people need to stop recommending it to people that like Catch-22
