This is an Online Internet Book Club on Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. Discuss this book, share your thoughts, make comments, ask questions, offer responses...
Description
Kurt Vonnegut's absurdist classic
Slaughterhouse-Five introduces us to Billy Pilgrim, a man who becomes unstuck in time after he is abducted by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore. In a plot-scrambling display of virtuosity, we follow Pilgrim simultaneously through all phases of his life, concentrating on his (and Vonnegut's) shattering experience as an American prisoner of war who witnesses the firebombing of Dresden.
Don't let the ease of reading fool you--Vonnegut's isn't a conventional, or simple, novel. He writes, "There are almost no characters in this story, and almost no dramatic confrontations, because most of the people in it are so sick, and so much the listless playthings of enormous forces. One of the main effects of war, after all, is that people are discouraged from being characters..." Slaughterhouse-Five (taken from the name of the building where the POWs were held) is not only Vonnegut's most powerful book, it is as important as any written since 1945. Like Catch- 22, it fashions the author's experiences in the Second World War into an eloquent and deeply funny plea against butchery in the service of authority. Slaughterhouse-Five boasts the same imagination, humanity, and gleeful appreciation of the absurd found in Vonnegut's other works, but the book's basis in rock-hard, tragic fact gives it a unique poignancy--and humor.
Book Club Questions for Slaughterhouse-Five (Fiction)
Suggested Book Club Questions for Slaughterhouse-Five (Fiction)
The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on Slaughterhouse-Five:
- Did Kurt Vonnegut emphasize any specific themes throughout Slaughterhouse-Five? What do you think Kurt Vonnegut is trying to explain with this theme?
- What was unique about the setting of Slaughterhouse-Five and how did it affect the storyline?
- Could you relate to any of the characters? If so, which ones and why?
- How do characters change or learn throughout Slaughterhouse-Five? What events caused these changes? Have you or someone you know experienced the same thing?
- How does Slaughterhouse-Five reveal Kurt Vonnegut's own perspectives about people and the world? For a lively discussion, describe why you think Kurt Vonnegut is liberal or conservative.
- Did certain parts of Slaughterhouse-Five affect you emotionally? Why did it evoke those emotions?
- Did Kurt Vonnegut's point of view on things lend new perspective to your own view of the world?
Book Club Questions for Slaughterhouse-Five (for Non-Fiction)
Suggested Book Club Questions for Slaughterhouse-Five (Non-fiction)
The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on Slaughterhouse-Five:
- Did Kurt Vonnegut make persuasive arguments in Slaughterhouse-Five? Did Slaughterhouse-Five change or reinforce your opinion on the subject?
- What did you learn from Slaughterhouse-Five?
- How does Kurt Vonnegut present the information and did you enjoy it?
- How is Kurt Vonnegut biased within Slaughterhouse-Five? Is there a political slant to what is being discussed and how does it impact the book?
- What, if anything, does Slaughterhouse-Five make you want to read next? Why?
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