Rating: 
Summary: Not my cup of tea.
Review: As a reader, I enjoy a novel that spins a vast plot and investigates characters. Slaughterhouse-Five fails to do that. The book lacks the infra-structure that supports great writing. The book does, though, carry some philosophical meaning. The character's experiences with the aliens did shine a light on some of my own practices and beliefs. All in all, the book is difficult to follow and hard to define. However, it should continue to be read and studied. Perhaps I just didn't get it.
Rating: 
Summary: A great book that shows the effect of war
Review: I read this book in a little over a week. It was an easy read, with my greatest difficulty being trying to follow as it jumped from time period to time period. I was a little thrown back when I first heard about the Tralfamadore part before I read it, but it is an important segment of the novel. I thouroughly enjoyed this book.
Rating:
Summary: "I suppose they will all want dignity."
Review: Although I'm just beginning to explore Vonnegut's works, I did thoroughly enjoy this book. His cynical yet witty style reads wonderfully while the story's dark, anti-war sentiments are clearly present. Slaughterhouse five makes me excited to delve further into Vonnegut's work.
Rating:
Summary: Grimly amusing
Review: I always enjoy rereading this book. Once you get used to the rather confusing structure, it provides horror and amusement in roughly equal measure. The writing style is excellent. I recently visited the beautiful city of Dresden for the first time, and had this book in mind for much of my visit. It was a sobering experience.
Rating:
Summary: Funny as hell, even though it IS about horrors of war.
Review: Billy Pilgrim, the hero of the book, is just a great target for his entourage throughout time. At first, being one of the only prisoners of war without a decent coat, being shun for his loud sleeping, the death of others being blamed on him and such. However (here's where it gets unexpected), Billy had become unstuck in time, meaning that he can travel in the fourth dimension (time) just like a normal person could travel in the other three (up/down, left/right, backwards/forwards). This talent is typical of the good people of Tralfamadore, with whom Billy has contact with at one point. To these people, dying does not matter, because it is simply a moment like any other, one that can be lived over and over by the Tralfamadorian. So all the moments in life are predetermined, and it is up to everyone to go live the moments which he prefers. A good point, applicable to even those who cannot travel in the fourth dimension. This book contains some hilarious material. Billy, at one point, watches a WWII movie, but backwards (remember, Billy has become unstuck in time, meaning backwards movie-watching is accessible to him). The movie develops like this: Crashes American planes begin flying backwards, and magical German cylinders attract and suck in bullets from the planes and the corpses inside, healing them. Later, bombs are sent to the USA, where they are dismantled and the parts are never to be used again. Hitler (this isn't in the movie - Billy imagines this) then shrinks back to childhood, then babyhood, then doesn't exist. All ends in perfect harmony. Please, all, you must read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Vonnegut at his cynical best
Review: Over the years I've been fascinated to see how people interpret and misinterpret this famous work, which I first read while studying abroad in 1989. Some people think it is a absurd comedy, others a quirky science fiction novel, others simply don't know what to make of it. But for those of us "lucky" enough to be keyed into Vonnegut's cynicism, the book is a powerful anti-war statement; nothing more, nothing less. In his amusing, rambling, self-reflexive introduction, Vonnegut seems to concede that the only way to write a great anti-war novel is not to write a great anti-war novel. After all, as he says, "...there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre." Thus I'm inclined to say; this is one of the best anti-war books never written. I'm glad I never read it three or four times cover to cover.
Rating:
Summary: Hmmm. On second thought...
Review: I read this book four years ago, so this is what remains of it as a shadow of my original impression. Sure, it's a very strong anti-war story, but what else is it? Prerequisite is Palm Sunday, where Vonnegut explains the origin of his interest in Germany and Germans. Billy Pilgrim is a symbol for all of us are aware and insecure enough to feel disconnected because we have no roots (our connection to old pre-immigration culture has vanished). If you find this book hard to read then maybe you have no such trouble to be American today: you're not 'unstuck' because you fit. People who feel unstuck from modern consumerism and all its idiocy might say that they feel like they're from some place else, like 'outer space'. Anyway, following the Holocaust and also the far less important but still very sorrowful allied destruction of medieval architecture in Germany, the ending of the book in Dresden is believable-the old Wirt worrying that people need food, drink, and shelter and offering it. Sister book/complement to Schlacthof Funf is Mother Night, where maybe Vonnegut imagines himself on the other side-? I was in A-burg when the opera played Schlacthof Funf in Munich and didn't bother to go. I had read that Vonnegut didn't go because they invited him AFTER constructing and planning the opera, but not before.
Rating:
Summary: This book satisfied my craving for a time traveling war book
Review: This book is a fantastic read. It is about a man who fights in world war II, thru one of the most dangerous bombings of the war. The fire bombing of Dresden. The book describes the life of Billy Pilgrim a youth who grows up in a small town and becomes a Optometrist. The book goes thou his entire life going into detail on his time as a P.O.W. in WWII. Before the story Kurt speaks very well on his anti war thoughts. My favorite character in this book is Billy pilgrim,although Billy is very girl like and fragile he toughs it out and survives some of the hardest periods of WWII. My favorite part of this story is when Billy speaks about he was unstuck in time, it gives him the ability to spontaneously travel to other times in his life. He never remembers where he has just been. But he knows he has the ability to travel thru time. I would recomend this book to any one who enjoys historical fiction or science fiction books. If you have never read a book by this author before, i suggest you do to adjust to his writing style. Overall i thought this was a fantastic book and it deserves more recognition.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious, makes me wanna go to war already
Review: I would give this book five stars, but then that would leave no room for me to rate books any higher, and I have liked books better than this one, so it is in the next teir. The title of my review was sarcastic, I'm just thinking about all those people who think this book fails as an anti-war book. I wonder how many of those people who said it was a failure went to war, I know Vonnegut did, and he said the book was a failure, and so to some it was. I thought it was funny. But what is truly sad is the people who hate this book because they think "wow, war is bad--like we didn't know that" and I think that's the most awful thing anybody can say since we need to be reminded of that every day of our psychopathic lives. Propaganda still exists and the probability that we will go to war for some stupid reason is always imminent, look at how we withdrew from Austria. We're morons, and if we can laugh at ourselves that's good, and this book helps us do it. It's the Dr. Strangelove of books. There will always be wars, but to say that it's stupid to argue against causing them is just ignorant. Anyone would rather prevent war, or at least delay it as much as possible, than fight in one. And to anyone who says this book teaches immorality, they have obviously missed the irony of this "immorality." Although, the biggest irony is that people who don't like the book want Pilgrim to be stronger, they want a proud character who isn't a wimp, as though everyone should be proud and robust. Heroes don't always have to be heroic. Good book, unique philosophy, and a short read.
Rating:
Summary: Listen: Vonegut came unstuck in time!
Review: This is the second Vonegut book I've read and a good one I must say. He does a terrific job describing the horrors of war without really having any grafic details. It's also done with some of his bizarre touch of humor. Also, the way he's chosen to tell the story is extremly brilliant. A definite must-read.
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