Rating: 
Summary: 20th century masterpiece
Review: This book stunned me from start to finish...this was my introduction to Vonnegut and probably my favirote book that ive read by him.I love how Vonnegut can blend the two concepts of WW2 and the Aliens produced by Billy Pilgrims Schizophrenic mind.With those kind of ideas alot of times books are confusing and hard to follow but somehow Vonnegut makes everything seem like perfect sense.I would highly recommend this to anyone that is looking for a book to read...read this book!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Crazy
Review: This was an interesting book that I would not have choosen if it had not been for a recommendation from my english teacher. Although I though it was a very confusing book I never felt board. The crazieness of it made me want to turn each page cause you never know whats going to come next. Unless you are an extreamly analitical person I would recommend reading this book with an english teacher or somebody would could help you to understand the "deeper meanings".
Rating:
Summary: Innovative Anti-War Novel
Review: The hero, or antihero, of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five is Billy Pilgrim, a time traveling idiot savant. The central event in Billy's life is the firebombing of Dresden, Germany, an event he witnesses with little emotion. Billy has the sense to cry when he sees a pair of horses suffering but he is unnaturally passive in war, in his marriage, in raising his son, in being kidnapped and taken to the planet of Tralfamadore, and so on. From his experiences on Tralfamadore, Billy comes to perceive time in a different way that is very comforting to him and perhaps to Vonnegut as well. First published in 1969, Slaughterhouse-Five has an experimental feel to it. Billy's time travel leads to some unconventional juxtaposition of scenes, and Vonnegut makes frequent use of asides to the reader to tell us about himself and why he wrote the book. Tragic events are described in flat, emotionless terms. Slaughterhouse-Five is a quick and entertaining read, and it educates the reader about the horrors of bombing directed against civilians. Because of the flat tone, though, and because the characters are so unattractive, there doesn't seem to be much of a message here except to say that men are fools.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Novel
Review: The first statement I have about this book is that it is not for everyone. This book's plot jumps around between different moments in the main character's life. If to read a certain section of the book where the main character, Billy, is in World War II, in the next few pages, he could be an infant or an elderly man! Therefore the plot is difficult to navigate through.
However, the plot is no reason to deter you from his excellent novel! If you can follow it, the plot is extraordinary! The author introduces us to vivid characters, new lands, and a great message: Choose what is important and good in life and focus on that, and try to ignore the bad. You see, in Billy's spastic trips through time he meets a race of aliens called Tralfemadorians. These aliens can see in the fourth dimension, which is time, and they teach Billy a valuable lesson about life: "That's one thing Earthlings might learn to do, if they tried hard enough: Ignore the awful times, and concentrate on the good ones." (Slaughterhouse-Five, Vonnegut page 117).
This is also a great antiwar novel. The only plot that returns in a linear way in this novel is Billy's experiences in World War II. We learn of a place called Dresden, where there was no military action on behalf of the Nazis, it was a civilian area used only as a Prisoner Of War camp. The Allies bombed it and killed more people there than when they dropped the atomic bomb in Japan. The author shows us the true horrors of war, the desire of man to win; at all costs.
Slaughterhouse-Five is an excellent novel for most readers, but those who cannot follow plots, might want to look elsewhere. It has a great message and compels us to look at ourselves inside and see what we would do to win, what we would sacrifice.
Rating:
Summary: Cute book
Review: Note this is review number 433 of this book on Amazon....that says something, no? I liked Player Piano and Breakfast of Champions better, but then I'm not into war stories. There are things to learn here, though. Did you know about the bombing of Dresden? I didn't. I didn't know that more people died in the Dresden bombing than in Hiroshima. Truman's speech, given verbatim in this book (supposedly, I didn't check) was very eye-opening. So the value here, to me, was to learn a little history in a palatable and interesting story. It's much better than trying to read it in one of those dull textbooks (whose authors should be ashamed and stop writing, or try to write like Mr. Vonnegut). By the way, what ever happened to Kurt's son, Mark, the one who wrote about recovering from schizophrenia? Diximus.
Rating: 
Summary: It's not a Daniele Steele book, so I don't like it
Review: While cultural pundits try to convince you that some literature is better than other literature, the truth is that all art is relative to individial tastes. Thus, it doesn't make any sense to think that a novel like this one is really any better than say, Michael Crichton or Stephen King. Aesthetic standards can't be grounded. Thus, don't listen to anyone who tries to distinguish between "serious" works of literature like this one and allegedly "lesser" novels. The distinction is entirely illusory, because no novels are "better" than any others, and the concept of a "great novel" is an intellectual hoax. I prefer Daniele Steele, and there's no basis for telling me I'm wrong. Vonnegut is no better or worse than Daniele Steele!
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece!
Review: I don't feel that I am making an overstatement when I say that this is the best novel ever written. The theme is one of man's insignificance in space and time. All we can do as humans is hold onto the present as it is. We will never change that the past has happened, that the present is happening and that the future will always happen. I first read this book in high school and then several years later when I was in college and it is amazing how the book seems to grow with you as your understanding and world views change. Vonnegut takes the reader on a roller coaster ride through the life of his character Billy Pilgram and jumps from one peak to the next valley of the various stages of his life without ever losing his main story line. A very hard book to put down that only gets better each time you read it.
Rating:
Summary: Poor Ol' Billy
Review: The most ardent hawk would have to love this anti-war tale as spun by one of our greatest authors. It's important to remember that, in a time when we're used to having political opinions rammed down our throats, Vonnegut makes his points humbly and humorously without the slightest hint of name-calling. That's a task of which very few of us are capable. It also puts you in the strange position of laughing at things that happen in the most tragic of circumstances. A nearly perfect tale told in the quirky style that is Kurt Vonnegut. I'd love to shake his hand.
Rating:
Summary: Slaughter House Five
Review: This is a very interesting book. I found it to be deeply thought provoking. Billy Pilgrim is someone you can see and understand. The entire basis of the book is about a man who lives outside the boundaries of out three dimensional world. He can become "unstuck" in time.
The book is very difficult to explain because of Mr. Vonnegut's writing technique. Billy Pilgrim's adventures jump around, but the entire book's setting is World War II. It is historical facts mixed with the authors crazy plot structure. Billy's adventures include an alien encounter, on the night of his honey moon he is whisked away by an alien race called the Tralfamadores. These aliens teach Billy how to become "unstuck" in time. By using this concept Billy knows every detail to his life, something most living people would love to have.
All in all this book makes you think. Mr. Vonnegut dosen't go overboard and confuse you. He makes sure you know exactly where you are and he then points you in the directions he wants to take you. He throws in his feelings since he lived through World War II and the historical events are true. The bombing of Dresden is what the author seems to want to focus on considering the prologue and any event that occurs to Billy refers to Dresden. When the author acutally gets to that point in the book he seems to have forgotten that he builds the readers up for that event. He gives a few details and goes to a Billy Pilgrim adventure. Maybe, because he lived the event, he does not want to think about those vivid memories. I have not read a book quiet like this one, and I don't think I ever will. To realize what our futures hold and having the self restraint to let the bad things happen could not be done. Maybe this is why I can see Billy being a hero. He doesn't do anything that you would call heroic. When he is running away from the Germans he dosen't have a weapon and someone else is forced to look after him. He is the main reason why his group is captured. Most peole won't call that a heroic act, but you have to read the book to find his acts of courage.
Just a side note, this book reminds me of the short story " The Secret Life of Walter Mitty".
Rating:
Summary: My first Vonnegut book, and certainly not my last...
Review: I picked up this book about a month ago because I had never read it in high school and I was aware that it was a classic. Now I know why. After reading it in a matter of days, I walked away very pleased and eager to read more books by Vonnegut. Although it is not my all-time favorite novel (that label belongs to John Steinbeck's ingenious "Grapes of Wrath"), "Slaughterhouse-Five" is without a doubt the craziest and most abstract novel I've ever read. The story is about Billy Pilgrim who is "unstuck in time" and can travel to his past or future. There is no order in the story whatsoever, in fact it is quite chaotic... which is why it is such a fun read. It does have anti-war elements in it, but I wouldnt say that it is the overriding theme of the novel (although the part of the book where Billy watches a war movie backwards points out the absurdity of war). What Billy learns from the Tralfamadorians (the alien civilization that abducts Billy) is just as important of a theme. Well after I finished this novel, I ordered "Cat's Cradle". I'm halfway through it right now and it is just as impressive. I suggest you pick up one of these two books immediately.
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