Slaughter House Five

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 broken spectre 05 Jun 2022

Read the first few pages just now on that "Look Inside" feature. What a hook! Ordered.

Funny how great books are sometimes accidently stumbled across. In this case it was a notification for a piece called "11 Novels That Thwart Traditional Narrative Structure (to Brilliant Effect)" and Slaughter House Five was in there (I was until then only vaguely aware of this book existing)

Can't wait to read it.

 Tony Buckley 05 Jun 2022
In reply to broken spectre:

The recently televised Station Eleven is a book like that.  No obvious central character to drive a twisting story about a dystopian world with an emphasis on theatre and comics.

It's quite a good read, much better than my summary suggests.  Haven't watched the adaptation as it was on a platform to which I don't subscribe.

T.

 duchessofmalfi 05 Jun 2022
In reply to broken spectre:

Don't read about it, don't look ahead, don't ruin it. 

It isn't what you think.

It is brilliant.

And please don't let anyone post any comment about it that spoils it for Rob or anyone else (Rob, I'd block yourself from messages until you're finished just in case).

It's only for discussion amongst those that have already read it - if you haven't look away now and get a copy.

Post edited at 21:24
In reply to duchessofmalfi:

Good point. I'll keep away from this thread for a few days.

cb294 05 Jun 2022
In reply to broken spectre:

One of the best books of ... what genre really?

Something between comedy, science fiction, religious or philosophical treatise, psychological self treatment by the author, or war novel would be my guess.

Also, one of the best opening lines.

CB

1
 yorkshireman 06 Jun 2022
In reply to broken spectre:

I just read it for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I got it as the correct answer on a quiz show and realised I knew enough about it to get the answer right but had never read it so ordered it straight away. 

I don't read much fiction (much prefer non fiction) but devoured it in pretty much one sitting. Highly recommended. 

 The New NickB 06 Jun 2022
In reply to broken spectre:

I absolutely loved it. One of my favourite books. Strangely though, I  have struggled with some of Vonnegut's other stuff.

 C Witter 06 Jun 2022
In reply to broken spectre:

Yes... a fantastic novel! And very funny, despite the bleak and poignant subject. Also... how many other novels of WW2 explode so tactfully the myth that we were "simply the good guys"? Without taking anything away from the horrors of fascism, writing abou the flattening of Dresden in the context of Cold War American imperialist wars is a brave move, and most of our popular so-called "history" of WW2 is sychophantic drivel and nationalist myth by comparison.

1
 nastyned 06 Jun 2022
In reply to C Witter:

The Unpatriotic History of the Second World War is a good counter to the usual guff we get: https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/zer0-books/our-books/unpatriotic-history...

 Matt Podd 06 Jun 2022
In reply to C Witter:

And so it goes!

What an excellent read.

 Tony & Sarah 09 Jun 2022
In reply to broken spectre:

We would recommend then reading Dresden A Survivor's Story

Tony & Sarah

 spenser 09 Jun 2022
In reply to C Witter:

No Picnic on Mount Kenya does this very effectively too, albeit it would only have that effect on climbers I think.

Slaughterhouse 5 is a wonderful book and I very much enjoy discussing it, it helped me start to feel less alone with my own mental health issues at the time.

In reply to Tony & Sarah:

Is it an upsetting book?

I'd put Slaughter House Five in a similar category as the graphic novel Maus. I can handle disturbing topics if the narrator is warm, if this makes sense? This is true of SHF and also Maus. Maus is about a man who survives the Holocaust. I would not choose to watch a documentary about the Holocaust and I would never visit Auschwitz because I find that chapter of History so vile. Throughout life you learn of what evil mankind is capable of (and learn to compartmentalise this knowledge too - otherwise I'd go crackers). It's essential that we learn from the past and I'm an advocate of this but I'm hesitant to spend my free time absorbing the worst stories out there without some kind of guidance woven into the narrative of how to deal with them psychologically which Slaughter House Five achieves consummately. See also Catch 22.

 Tony & Sarah 09 Jun 2022
In reply to broken spectre:

Hi Rob, the book is a true account of the aftermath of the bombing. The author gives you hope with kindness in unexpected ways between him and German soldiers trying to rescue people.

Tony & Sarah

 magma 10 Jun 2022

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