Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
I'm back again! I've just spent a month in Europe: I was there for a conference in the Czech Republic, and my travel partner and I decided to take the opportunity to visit Italy, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Just that. So no time to write reviews, or read for that matter. But I'm now immune to travel for at least a few years, so don't expect this absence to be repeated often!
I resume my weekly reviews with Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut.
Summary
Towards the end of the Second World War, the Allies bombed the city of Dresden, Germany. The result: some 35,000 dead and an entire city decimated. Kurt Vonnegut was there without being there: he was a prisoner of war in a slaughterhouse in the city (Slaughterhouse 5), and had taken refuge in the cellars during the bombardment, which allowed him to survive.
The author knew he had to write something about it, but, traumatized and unsure of how to put words to this horror (especially as he wasn't the only one who wanted to, was he), it took him some twenty years to get there.
The novel is told from the point of view of Billy Pilgrim. Billy Pilgrim realizes that he is no longer fixed in time. From one moment to the next, he finds himself, against his will, in the middle of World War II (his past), in bed with his fiancée (his present), or on a spaceship with a race of aliens who explain to him why free will doesn't exist (his future). And truth be told, the present doesn't take up much space in this back-and-forth.
Impressions
Perhaps you can guess the person who gave me this book: it's my favorite father-in-law, the same one who gave me The Kindly Ones at Christmas. He had read my review and decided to spare me this time. So he gave me a book that was supposed to be funny and light.
That's not untrue. The book is about 100 times smaller than The Kindly Ones, there's a lot of absurd humor, and there are even little drawings. I smiled a few times and didn't feel nauseous. But it's still a book about the Second World War.
This book is a classic, and its lightness is certainly the main reason why. Some reviewers have predicted that this book will endure over time because of it, and they're probably right. If you want to learn about a tragic event but aren't prepared to have nightmares for weeks afterwards, then this book is a good way to do it.
But, much as I feel immune to travel for a while, I feel immune to books about the Second. I'm going to take a break. Because no matter how much humor is inserted, the theme will remain the same and will continue to disturb me.
Click here to purchase the book in a Quebec bookstore.
