Slaughterhouse-Five

Slaughterhouse-Five is a 1969 science fiction novel written by the American author Kurt Vonnegut Jr. The novel deals with anti-war themes and time travel while centering its narrative around the bombing of Dresden, Germany during World War II. Slaughterhouse-Five is considered one of the most important anti-war and science fiction novels of the 20th century and has been adapted into films, theatre productions, and radio plays.

Plot Summary

The narrative of Slaughterhouse-Five is told in a non-linear way. The protagonist Billy Pilgrim travels back and forth through time and experiences all of the events of his life at once. The story is bookended by an introduction and a conclusion told from the narrator’s point of view. Having belonged to the same American military unit as Billy Pilgrim during World War II, the narrator decides to write about Billy’s experiences.

Billy Pilgrim is a quiet and unassuming quiet optometry student who enlists in the United States Army during World War II. Because he is not a good soldier, Billy is stationed in Europe as a chaplain’s assistant. Upon arriving on the frontlines, Billy is immediately involved in a battle.