Rating: 
Summary: A must-read. Good example of this great writer's work.
Review: While this is certainly Kurt Vonnegut's most famous novel, it is neither his best nor his worst. Unlike his other books, it is historical fiction, set (partially) in the fire-bombing of Dresden during WWII. But he manages to give us a disinctively Vonnegut-esque take on Billy Pilgrim's experience, which in many ways parallels his own. I think that many people who aren't acquainted with KV and read this book expect one of two things: either a guts-and-glory macho portrayal of war or a trite hippy war-protest pseudostatement. What you get, of course, is neither one, but rather an entirely unique, unmistakably Vonnegut account of war as just another possible human experience, neither more or less eventful than being an optometrist in Illium, New York or being mated with a famous actress in a human zoo on the planet Tralfamadore. So it goes. A must-read, of course.
Rating:
Summary: What can one say about Vonnegut?
Review: For some reason Vonnegut has always escaped my "Favorite Authors" lists. I love him, and each of his books... There are few authors who are so prolific and yet so talented. Still, I always overlook him. I have decided to stop now. I am coming out for the first time: Kurt Vonnegut is one of my top five favorite authors.The thing is, Vonnegut is weird. His stories, his novels, his essays... They are all weird. Still, they are hysterically, brilliantly weird, and that is something I can stand by. I dont want to give away specific details of this weird book, because that ruins something, but believe me, it is great. Suffice it to say there are alien abductions, porn stars and much more. Oh, what an awful, awful sentance preceded this one. I apologize. Read the book. Trust me. Its a keeper.
Rating:
Summary: So it goes.
Review: Listen:
Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five is really something else. I have to admit this is one of the few books where I saw the movie first (years ago), and about 3 years ago, I decided to read the novel. Left a deep impact on me, although I had a hard time understanding it.
So a couple of months ago I saw the movie again, loved it again (although I normally detest movies done after books), and then decided to read all of Vonnegut's novels and shortstories, and chronologically this time, starting out with the promising Player Piano.
Now I reread Slaughterhouse Five, and so far it is Vonnegut's best book. It is clearly an attempt to describe his impressions in World War Two and especially Dresden, but instead of writing a realistic novel about war, Vonnegut 'invents' a totally non-linear genre of science fiction that is absolutely unique in its scope.
There is no suspense at all, because the novel's main character (not to call him hero) Billy Pilgrim is unstuck in time, which means he travels back and forth in time. We meet a young Pilgrim traumatized by his gun-loving father, a Pilgrim lost in World War Two, a Pilgrim married to the obese daughter of a rich John Birch Society nutcase and above all a happy Pilgrim living on Tralfamadore, a planet in a faraway solar system. All this is narrated in no particular order, and maybe the book needs to be read twice to get its scope, but it is worth it.
Vonnegut's style also reaches a level that I haven't seen of him in the past, very bitter-sarcastic-loving-sweet... all at once. Every death is followed by a shrugged "So it goes.", and paragraphes are often introduced with "Listen:". In a heartwarming sad tale, Vonnegut tells us not only of the senselessness of war (where there are no crooks, just victims), but also teaches the reader a valuable moral: focus on the positive moments of your life.
Then there are some characters which avid Vonnegut fans will love to see back: wretched sci-fi writer Kilgore Trout, millionaire Eliot Rosewater and American nazi Howard Campbell jr. Plus two goofs: the border between Luxembourg and Germany is a valley, not a hill, and people with an IQ of 103 are of average intelligence, not morons.
Read this book though.
Poo-tee-weet?
Rating:
Summary: Very Relevant..
Review: This is one of the best anti-war books I've read. The "unstuck in time" dilemma(read the book to see what that is) the hero is forced to endure is fascinating and adds to an already engrossing story about the tragic bombing of Dresden during World War 2. A great introduction to Vonnegut's works and,unfortunately, very timely as well..
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorites
Review: This is the first book I've read by Mr. Vonnegut and if all his books are like this one I think I'm in for a special treat. I highly recommend this book to anyone. It's very easy to read.
Rating:
Summary: Unique
Review: My only complaint about this book is that it wasn't longer. I so enjoyed every page of this. The language and humor were wonderful, and I credit Vonnegut to no end for imparting both horror and bemusement simultaneously. This is one of the great war stories of the century and should not be overlooked.
Rating:
Summary: About Life and War
Review: "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." People throughout life struggle to understand who they really are, and where they belong in this world. By reading Slaughterhouse-5 one will come closer to accepting the "reality" about life. The story tells the journey of Billy Pilgrim. From the infamous fire bombings of Dresden during his army days in WWII and through his life in the planet Tralfamadore, the reader will learn how Billy Pilgrim views today's world. His "so it goes" attitude, his beliefs of manipulating time, and his other quirky characteristics will compel you to admire him. Mainly considered one of world's great anti-war books, it is not written in the usual war book style. Kurt Voneggut evades all the grueling details about war; instead completely focus on Billy's reflection of war and his world. The story is told to the reader by random flashbacks, which makes the book appear as puzzle pieces. All these pieces fall into place to give us a complete picture only in the end, a technique similar to one that is used in "Cat's Cradle" another Voneggut classic. Voneggut uses his usual black humor, sarcastic tone and unique imagination to deliver a story that warms our hearts but yet makes us aware of the ugly truth of our own existence that we do not want to know. This is as good as it gets folks! So it goes.
Rating:
Summary: Funny, Imaginative, Touching
Review: This was a really cool book. It's a humorous account of a soldier's passive trip through war and consequently, the rest of his life. Vonnegut pretends to give us an deconstructed time and plot structure, while he is actually giving us a pretty conventional one. Nevetheless, I found it pretty clever. I know that Vonnegut is supposedly a moral writer, but I don't think that this book needs to be read as such. I think it's what you make of it. Slaughterhouse Five is always fun, never truly sad - this is what makes it clever. I think Vonnegut took a risk by creating a story in which commonly sad and depressing things are dismissed as trivial, but of course the author clearly doesn't believe they are. His statements are about war, not pronouncements on the vagueries of the "the human condition."
Rating: 
Summary: The True Tale of Kurt Vonnegut
Review: There are few books that contain the events about an author's life in which they are not addressed as autobiographies. Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five; the Children's Crusade is one of those few. This story is of Vonnegut's life, but his life is changed by adding a few fictional plots throughout the novel. However, there are many references to factual events that occurred to him as well. Vonnegut may have done a fine job describing the exciting events of his life, and creating new incidents, but that was not enough to keep my full attention while reading this novel. Quite frankly, this piece of literature was not exactly a 'page turner.' His idea to create his life under the name of someone else, (Billy Pilgrim), was intended to give himself relief from the way he felt about his time in war. Billy Pilgrim was what Vonnegut called "unstuck in time." He travels back and forth to different time periods in his life. In the novel his first occurrence of being "unstuck in time," happens just before he is captured behind German lines. When he once returns from his time travels, he is taken to Dresden where he is kept as a prisoner. During the bombing of Dresden, he hides in an airtight meat locker, and emerges to find a city of annihilation. Vonnegut, also known as Billy, feels guilty for being saved while thousands of others were killed. His whole life from that moment on is full of sorrow and guilt. He cannot get rid of the feeling he could have done something to help the others who died, and he feels he is a horrible person for saving only himself. Vonnegut does not do a high-quality job of venting his true feelings of his time in war. He avoids actually saying directly that Billy Pilgrim feels responsible for many of the other deaths. He tries to get his point across without actually literally saying that he suffers guilt. The way that he addresses it is very indirectly. He goes about it by almost flat out saying that he is insane. He accuses his mentality for the death of the people rather than blaming his decision. Billy Pilgrim, through the entire novel, is a man losing more and more of his wit each day. It is shown in the novel that he is losing his mind for the reason that he claims "toilet plunger shaped aliens" kidnappe him and take him to their planet as a hostage. This is evidence that not only has he lost his psyche, but it also proves that he repeatedly has visions of being taken hostage over and over again. He continually remembers the point in his life where he was held hostage, hence the apparition of the aliens. This confirm that he must think about the event at Dresden all of the time, and must in some way be disturbed by it. After being bombed in Dresden he, meaning Billy or Vonnegut, is not capable of living an enjoyable life. He is tortured by his thoughts. From then on he is doomed to a life of anguish. Therefore, Vonnegut has created this novel to spice up his history to make it seem as though he did not have a poor life. He also created this piece of literature to apologize, in some very strange way, for have only saving himself. Writing this novel produced for him to relieve his feelings of his war time and to show that he not only thought of himself, but the others also involved in the war. I feel that Vonnegut wrote a very confusing and choppy piece of literature. It is not consistent in where he is going through the novel, and many times there are gaps, as too what will happen next. He leaves many things up to the reader to decide what will occur after that. I do respect and give Vonnegut much credit for creating a piece that contains nothing like I have ever read before. This novel contains a lot of fictional experiences tied into true and real life events in history. He has made a story that is supposed to be some what real life, but Vonnegut has added in many things that are difficult to consider. He has created a new genre of literature that I would have to title; "fictional reality." This title is appropriate simply because Vonnegut ties in many of the events of World War Two into his novel, but also includes prophesies and illusory characters into his narrative. There are many stories that I would prefer to read more than this novel. Such as Cat's Cradle, simply because it is better written. I enjoyed this novel much more because it is completely fiction, as apposed to half real life and the other half imaginary. This novel is much more entertaining, since it is easier to picture what is happening, rather than being confused throughout the entire plot. Overall, I perceived Slaughterhouse Five; the Children's Crusade to be somewhat strange and intriguing, yet it did not have enough 'pizzazz' to keep me glued to the novel. Also, it lacked many characteristics and qualities that I look for in a book. Once again, I do want to give credit to Kurt Vonnegut for writing such a creative and unique piece, but to anyone who has not yet read this novel, I do not strongly recommend reading it.
Rating:
Summary: 3 Star classic
Review: Sorry folks. not a big deal here. 3 star on yet another so called brilliant "classic". Thematic parts are good but the main character "billy pilgrim" is boring and this book doesnt seem to be going anywhere even when giving respect to the story and those who perished in Dresden..then it ends. Nothing earth shaking happens in this book in theme, style or story.
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