NYLONbooks

Slaughterhouse-Five

Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children’s Crusade: A Duty Dance With Death, June 2009, 7/10.

Written by Kurt Vonnegut. Published by Dial Press.

This modern classic was a quick read that was deceptively clever; a simple novella that works on multiple levels depending how deeply the reader wants to think. Contained both the message and the creativity that one expects of Vonnegut, but for my taste it was a little bit too science-fictiony. Despite the disordered timeframe the narrative is not difficult to follow, with the author obviously preferring to have his readership focus on what he writes about man’s motives, place, treatment of others and ability to control, which I would guess are the primary themes among many others. Many of the book’s more interesting ideas are drawn out through contrast with the alternative perspective of the aliens encountered by the protagonist.