Slaughterhouse Five

Kurt Vonnegut, the author, writes his experiences as a prisoner of war during World War II, particularly the events leading to the surprise firebombing of Dresden in eastern Germany and its aftermath, by telling a third person account of Billy Pilgrim’s story. Like the narrator/author, Billy – an unlikely antiwar hero, so it goes – too, was a prisoner of war in that war. The most interesting thing about Billy is that he has become unstuck in time; so, without having control on which particular period he lands in, he travels back and forth between periods of his life. This is how we know and, eventually, understand or be critical of Billy’s character. It’s like watching a science fiction film with nonlinear editing. The structure can be dizzying but the simple sentences that make up the long paragraphs that describe various moments of Billy’s life help make the narrative accessible and easier to appreciate.