Why Slaughterhouse-Five?

Mrs. had the idea that we should each read the other’s favorite book, and as she mentioned my choice was Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. Why is Slaughterhouse-Five my favorite book? First, let me say that Kurt Vonnegut is my favorite author and I’ve read almost everything he’s written. And Slaughterhouse-Five was my introduction to Vonnegut. I checked it out from the library years ago because I saw it on a top 100 novels list that I was attempting to read my way through (I still have a long way to go on that) and for whatever reason it resonated with me. From then on I read all the Vonnegut novels I could get my hands on. I’ve enjoyed most of his books to varying degrees, and even though I’ve gone back and forth with my favorite, I usually come back to Slaughterhouse-Five. Why did it affect me the way it did? Well, it was different than anything I’d read before. I hadn’t known what to expect going in. I’d thought of Vonnegut as a science fiction writer because that’s what I’d read, but this book was so much more than that. It was funny (in a dark way of course), but it also made me think in a way I don’t recall any book doing up until that point. And more than anything it was the type of book I would want to write.

I understand that Vonnegut’s writing is not for everyone, and I appreciate that Mrs. may hate this novel. If I read it again today it might not strike the same chord with me as it did back when I read it the first time. I’m going to have to schedule a re-read later this year. I hope I find it as poignant as I did the first time. For now though, for its originality, its black comedy, and the fact that it introduced me to the creative genius of Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five is my favorite book.