Literary Pick (**)

Slaughterhouse-Five
-Kurt Vonnegut

It's funny the misconceptions we have about certain books before we read them. I don't know why, but I thought this book was about a totalitarian society. Perhaps I read a description of one of his other books and thought it was Slaughterhouse-5? anyway...the theme is an anti-war theme that didn't really reach out to me. Sure the story was interesting enough and I enjoyed where Vonnegut was leading Billy's character, but to me it seemed to be the only real interesting part of the story, the rest of it was a flat-line. There were no highs and lows, it just glided on an even level. I know I haven't described much about what the book is about, so here it goes. A guy who once fought in the war tracks down a few of his friends because he wants to write about his war experiences, and so he begins to write a story about Billy, one of his war buddies, who becomes insane and eventually dies. Vonnegut, in my opinion, took the alien theme with Billy too far. I think that's what turned me off about the story. It seemed so unrealistic and fluffy. Had he with the exact talent omitted the alien stuff, I would have been able to enjoy it more, but I don't really have an open mind to subjects having to do with aliens or anything else of that nature, especially if it's dragged out too long. I know it was what Vonnegut thought necessary to demonstrate how crazy Billy's character was, but it was a bit too much for me. However, I love the way Vonnegut writes and I'm looking forward to reading Cats Cradle.