Book – Slaughterhouse Five
Kurt Vonnegut

My friend Rita gave me this book to read when she visited me in Dresden because it refers to the bombing of the city and seemed appropriate to read while we were both there. I had not read anything by Vonnegut before and I really enjoyed his quirky take on the structure of the novel.

The story is written with a very loose sense of chronology and centres on Billy Pilgrim and his life experiences which include time as a Prisoner of War in World War 2 Germany, an alien abductee, a plane crash survivor and a middle class optometrist with a wife and children.

It is an anti-war novel in many ways, but not in an aggressively political way. Many people die during the course of the novel and the narrator marks each one by saying “So it goes”. This serves as a reminder of how valueless life seems in war situations, but also gives each death greater importance.

It is difficult to say that I enjoyed this novel, but I am glad that I have read it. One of the critic quotes on the cover says “A funny book at which you are not permitted to laugh, a sad book without tears”. This is exactly how I felt about this book – not the most enjoyable read, but definitely an interesting one that has made an impression on me and will stay with me.