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Aug 09, 2016ArapahoeJeremiah rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Not a typical sci-fi novel at all, but more of a literary-historical-memoir with sci-fi used as a rhetorical tool to enhance the main message/narrative. The story is partially autobiographical, of Vonnegut’s experience as a POW in WW2 in the German town of Dresden, and of the fire-bombing of this city by the Allies. The novel follows Billy Pilgrim as he experiences this same incident, and goes on to tell of his life afterwards, including his abduction by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore, and his time on their world. The narrative moves back and forth in time, now that Billy has ability to time-travel to any moment of his life, and makes for very interesting reading. Written in Vonnegut’s very clever, laid back style, extremely sharp and sardonic, and full of humor. A very pleasurable and profound reading experience, dealing with very un-pleasurable topics. A modern classic.