Slaughterhouse-Five Or The Childrens Crusade

Insightful, psychological, and satirical

Mel Williams, Library aid

Author: Kurt Vonnegut

Call #: FIC VON

Reviewed By: Mel Williams

Published in March of 1969, this book is an insightful, comical, and yet melancholic reflection of the impacts of World War II. Through his experience and research, Vonnegut fictionally describes the twisted world and mentality of Billy Pilgrim, a young man who, like many others of his generation, is unfit to fight in the war. I usually am not interested in war books, but Vonnegut’s perception of the war reflects the true essence of its impact on the individual and those around them. It is written thoughtfully and logically and still has relevance to this day. Vonnegut, through his experience in the war, reflects the devastating and untold of destruction of Dresden, Germany- bombed by American fleets with their soldiers on the ground.

Through reading of Billy Pilgrim’s psychological disturbances, the reader can further understand the misfortunes that come from war and not just the events that take place. By far, this is the best book involving war that I’ve read. It is more intriguing than Catch-22 and almost as heart-wrenching as Night. I would recommend this book for anyone who wants a better understanding of WWII and doesn’t want to bore themselves. I would give this book four out of five stars for the sole reason that I couldn’t read the full book at my first attempt. Vonnegut put work into writing this novel, and it shows. It’s rare to find a book that is fictional, but based off of events that happened around the author. Slaughterhouse Five is a good, short, and sweet read.

I give it a 4 stars out of 5