Slaughterhouse-Five

It's a travesty that before picking up this book my only knowledge of Kurt Vonnegut was his cameo appearance in "Back to School".  "Slaughterhouse-Five" may be the most interesting book I've ever read, which explains why it was towards the top of the reading list.  The story, which doesn't begin until chapter 2, starts with the line, "Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time." And the journey begins.


We follow Billy Pilgrim as he is transported from his time as a POW during WWII, to a middle-aged husband and father, to his time on the alien planet Tralfamadore. Vonnegut's prose flows seamlessly between these various events and times of his life.  Pilgrim's experience in WWII focuses on an event I was not familiar with, the bombing of Dresden.  An event mired in controversy, with some death toll estimates surpassing that of Hiroshima.    After the war, Billy marries and becomes an optometrist with some measure of success.  Then in 1967 he is abducted by the Tralfamadorians and taken to their home planet to be on display in their zoo.  Since Billy is "unstuck in time" he travels freely between these parts of his life. 


There is a theme of imprisonment throughout Billy's journeys.  He's trapped as a POW, told what to do and when to do it, as an exhibit in the Tralfamadorian Zoo, and he's trapped in the real world in a marriage he doesn't enjoy with people who don't understand him.  All of these outside forces contribute to his utter disconnection with everything and everyone around him.  These feelings of entrapment permeate much of the Western world.  I confess that there have been and continue to be moments when I feel trapped by entities I do not and cannot control.  Oftentimes this results in disconnecting from the world and focusing my attention and energies on other pursuits that offer, at the very least, a perceived freedom.


My first foray into Vonnegut's writings provided much enjoyment.  I literally laughed out loud during several passages.  His ability to weave together seemingly disparate parts of Billy's life is utterly amazing, he was a genius.  (And so it goes.)  I'm looking forward to reading more from Vonnegut as I make my way down the list.