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20 All Time Classic Sci Fi Novels - Slaughterhouse 5, or The Children's Crusade - A Duty-dance with Death
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- Author: Kurt Vonnegut
- Type: Paperback
- ISBN: 0099800209
- Publisher: Vintage
Synopsis
It took Vonnegut more than 20 years to put his Dresden experiences into words. He explained, "there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre. Everybody is supposed to be dead, to never say anything or want anything ever again." Slaughterhouse Five is a powerful novel incorporating a number of genres. Only those who have fought in wars can say whether it represents the experience well. However, what the novel does do is invite the reader to look at the absurdity of war. Human versus human, hedonist politicians pressing buttons and ordering millions to their deaths all for ideologies many cannot even comprehend. Flicking between the US, 1940's Germany and Tralfamadore, Vonnegut's semi- autobiographical protagonist Billy Pilgrim finds himself very lost. One minute he is being viewed as a specimen in a Tralfamadorian Zoo, the next he is wandering a post-apocalyptic city looking for corpses. Slaughterhouse Five-Or The Children's Crusade A Duty-Dance with Death is a remarkable blend of black humour, irony, the truth and the absurd. The author regards his work a "failure", millions of readers do not. Released the same time bombs were falling on South East Asia, this title caused controversy and awakening. Essential reading for all. So it goes. --Jon Smith
Reviews
An earlier review said that this book should be read as a metaphor for one man's descent into madness after bearing witness to the absurdities of war. Well, that's the great thing about great books; you can read and interpret them in many different ways. There is no right way. What I love about this book is that Vonnegut does not flount his post modern cleverness in front of the reader; his genius is just there, embedded quietly in the words that he has chosen to put one after the other on the page. Actually, this is very easy to read; at a push you could do so in a quiet day. And yet, one could spend a lifetime, if perhaps one really did have infinite lifetimes to pass, thinking about, discussing it. I don't give out 5 stars lightly; ff I could give 4.7 or 4.8, then I would do so here. A brillieant book; almost a 5.A. C. Green
Children fight in war while the elders talk. That's the way it will always be.
What's impressive though is that Mr V has scripted a quite remarkable book
on what he saw, felt, witnessed, missed, ate, dreamt and belived. So it goes.
It's short, sweet and must surley count as non-fiction....
Worth at least four or five read through's, over a period of time.
If you're still not sure, it's actually one of the funniest books I've read.
Observer
Let me start with the honest truth, the first time I read this book I HATED it. I forced myself to get to the end and still couldn't work out what made it in any way special. It bored me to tears, I couldn't follow it, I didn't care what happened, the main character annoyed me with his constant `so it goes', and as for its wider social commentary - well it went over my head!
I was persuaded to give it another chance however, a slow and careful reading this time, and I am glad that I did.
On my second reading I did pick up on some masterful strokes. The humour I missed the first time round came to the fore, promoting the main character from annoying to witty. It is actually very perceptive and insightful and stylistically very clever.
I have given this four stars as it is an intelligent and entertaining read - once you get to grips with it that is. It is worth persevering with and although I won't pretend it's a favourite, it does have much to recommend it.
I do however think this book is one that you either `get' or you don't, so recommending it is a hit or miss affair. Sci-fi fans will probably be the surest ones to appreciate this.
Little Miss Average
This book is a complete waste of time. It is so difficult to read as it jumps back and forth in time. There is no great climax and the stories within just seem to be included by the author to bulk it up.
Childrens crusade? HA! Childrens book more like!
I had to read this as part of my english studies, but i do not hold it in high regard. It could have been written by a child and i had to keep reminding myself that it was an adault book, by constantly looking at the front cover. I imagined Barney or the teletubbies arriving any moment, then started wishing for this, at least it would have added some excitment.
I ended up looking for elements or themes within the story that did not exist, there was just too much wasted time. If its an anti war book then thats all you need to know, dont bother buying it, its a load of rubbish.
sean smith
This the second time I have bought and read this book. After reading it in the 1990s it haunted me and I would find myself referring to it in conversations. The book had sunk into my unconscious and it reinforced and validated my belief systems.
This time when I read it I realised how profound a novel it is and ultimately, how sad.
Read it with caution, it may change your life....
Heh Ho.
Campbell McNeill
