Kindle Book Review: Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

This was the first Vonnegut book I read, and I wasn’t prepared for the randomness. He has a wandering kind of writing style, which suited the plot of this book wonderfully. I picked it up originally because it was part of the “Lost” book club. While it’s easy to see where the “Lost” writers pulled inspiration from the book for several episodes (as well as an overall inspiration for non-linear storytelling), the book is fascinating on its own.

The book follows Billy Pilgrim in first person as he recounts his life – from his time in the war to making a living as an optometrist to living in a zoo on the alien planet of Tralfamadore. The story explores the concept of time and proposes that time isn’t linear and that moments exists forever. For example, you’re reading this review right now, but in another moment in time that still exists you’re experiencing your first day at school, or buying your first car, or grocery shopping last week. It’s a difficult concept to wrap your head around, but it makes for an astoundingly entertaining book.

We follow Billy as he slips in and out of different periods of his life – one moment he’s in the war and the next he’s preparing for his daughter’s wedding. He travels through full decades, countries, and even planets.

The writing style is very simple, but effective for the purpose of the book. It was entertaining, even though it could be confusing at times. My only real complaint is that it ended very abruptly. There was no wrap-up, per se. That may be a characteristic of Vonnegut’s work that I’ll just have to get used to, or it might have been a plot device (ie: the book never really ended because in some moment of time I’m still reading the book).

I would definitely recommend it to those who actually enjoyed the books they made you read in high school. This is definitely one I wish my English teacher had put on our summer reading list.

You can get Slaughterhouse Five for your Kindle, or in paperback at Amazon. If you’d like to know more about how it relates to the TV show “Lost” you can check out the “Lost” Book Club Official Website.