Kurt Vonnegut's novels have been peaking my interest as of late. Travel to any well known bookstore and you'll be met with a plethora of colorful spines and whimsical titles, all with the name Vonnegut. (I'm a sucker for a good spine.)
Slaughterhouse Five is an episode of Doctor Who. Time is relative, not a straight line but a continuous mass of bursts and explosions. So to begin, this novel is not chronological. Rather, Vonnegut structured Billy Pilgrim's narrative with frequent jumps through time and space.
Billy Pilgrim is an alien abductee, a soldier in World War II, an optometrist, a prisoner of war, a father, husband, and son. "And so it goes." And it went on and on and on for Billy Pilgrim. Life never stops, have you ever noticed that? Have you ever noticed that amid happiness, tragedy, desperation, and contentment life goes on? And as it goes on, quickly and forebodingly, we have to run to catch up. We have to search for time to understand, to accept, to explain away, or to comply with the human condition.
I found this novel very human, which is a weird way to explain anything- especially something hailed for its science fiction. If anything I should have found a very alien novel. Rather the perspective from which Vonnegut writes is that of a very human nature. He seems to pick apart everything that builds the human race- even the less than favorable qualities.
There are many opinions floating around this novel- as is common with many critically acclaimed novels. (Rather, which is common with Vonnegut in general.) Is it an anti-war novel? Is it really about aliens? An old man's decent into lunacy? Is it about death? Life? Love? Hate? What is it?
For me it was all of the above.
Billy Pilgrim has been drafted into the war, has been abducted by an alien race- the Tralfamadorians, is getting married, going to optometry school, and dying all at once. 'Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time.' Each and every traumatic moment of Billy's life is constantly happening, every day, every minute, and in every second- or so the Tralfamadorians have explained.
And amid the trauma there is Dresden, there is a Slaughterhouse, and there is a war.
The basis for this novel is completely for your own interpretation. It bonds the reader and the writer; and it bonded me with Billy Pilgrim. So it's not in my realm of capability to tell you what you will experience while reading this book, rather I will try to express what I found while scrolling my eyes up and down its pages.
World War II is on the rise, and Billy Pilgrim has become the most unlikely protagonist. He seems to have the characteristics more common with secondary characters, i.e weak, unpopular, thin as a rake, no real motivation. Soon he learns of the power he has, that of which he has no real control over, being a time traveler. He begins experiencing his life through snippets- like memories you have while falling asleep. Yet the kicker is his first alien abduction. During these abductions he is given the insight to rethink the human condition- namely death.
Death is a common motif found in this novel. A very nonchalant view is given right from the very start, namely in the form of "So it goes". Meaning: "And life goes on." Yet to the Tralfamadorians it literally does "go on". As stated before, time is of relative nature and so is death. To a Tralfamadorian, rather than viewing death as an end, it's a mere puzzle piece to an endless puzzle. Rather than time being an absolute, straight line it resembles the stars- scattered yet constant.
"All moments, past, present, and future, always have existed, always will exist."
I loved this book. I devoured this book. I praised this book. And I found purpose in this book. Books that hold this much magic and meaning are rare, and Slaughterhouse 5 holds a very special position on my bookshelf. I found myself taking pictures and scribbling notes of the beautiful phrases scattered throughout this novel.
And if you take the time to read it you will see what I mean, when I say it has multiple leanings and meanings.
Was it truly aliens giving a human perspective on inhumane people? Or is Billy Pilgrim suffering from a lifetime of war, pain, suffering, and madness? Can we ever become immune to death and its effects? And when we do relive the past, are those moments 'nice'?
"If I am going to spend eternity visiting this moment and that, I'm grateful that so many of those moments are nice."
As always you can find links, to purchase any one of the books mentioned on this blog-to the right.
Give Vonnegut a chance to change your life.
“There is no beginning, no middle, no end, no suspense, no moral, no causes, no effects. What we love in our books are the depths of many marvelous moments seen all at one time.”
Happy Reading.
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