A strange book that was strangely very good.
It had its ups and downs, ups and downs.
Another book scratched off my tbr list.
So it goes.

"Such things" is the author's refrain stating someone's death in the novel. Men, women, children, dogs, pigs in the slaughterhouse or tens of thousands of dead during the Dresden bombing. In a small volume, the phrase sounds one hundred and six times. I didn't remember it from the first reading twenty years ago. In general, I didn't remember much, except for the feeling - a very strong and completely my book. Neither the plot, nor, by and large, the characters. Someone flew with aliens, the bombing of Dresden, the prisoner of war camp, the story of the children's Crusade.

Такие дела
"Такие дела" - авторский рефрен, констатирующий чью-либо смерть в романе. Мужчины, женщины, ребенка, собаки, свиньи на бойне или десятков тысяч погибших во время дрезденской бомбардировки. В небольшом объеме фраза звучит сто шесть раз. Не запомнилось с первого чтения двадцать лет назад. Вообще мало что запомнила, кроме ощущения - очень сильная и совершенно моя книга. Ни сюжета, ни, по большому счету, героев. Кто-то летал с инопланетянами, бомбардировка Дрездена, лагерь военнопленных, история о Крестовом походе детей.

С начала лета все хотела перечитать, все откладывая. Еще об одном забыла напрочь. Или не было этого в первый раз. Эмоциональная привязка. Не к герою даже, который слишком нескладен и неуклюж для этого в бытовом, обыденном смысле и слишком, недосягаемо хорош в человеческом. К самому действию, к рассказу, к жизни, взятой, как череда бесконечно длящихся мгновений, из которых имеет смысл сосредотачиваться на хороших. Но прожить и пройти нужно все. Как иначе сумеешь отличить хорошие от плохих?

Так вот, эмоциональное ценю, грешна. Каким бы пиршеством интеллекта ни одарил автор, какую бы сложносочиненную интригу ни сплел, какими новаторскими приемами не тщился поразить воображение, если книга напугала до вздыбленных на спине рудиментарных волосков. Или рассмешила до состояния "кататьсяпополу". Или заставила плакать. Запомнится она надолго и качественно иначе. Вот ведь какие дела, не помню из первого чтения особых эмоций.

Может оттого, что была тогда вдвое моложе или чуть глупее, или не могла интегрировать в себя авторского взгляда на жизнь, как череду вещей, происходящих одновременно. Как не видела в Билли Пилигриме (ах, говорящее имя!) ничего, кроме бытовой неприспособленности и нелепости. В этот раз все смеялась. И плакала. По-настоящему, слезами, от которых глаза сегодня припухли и выгляжу не очень, несмотря на великое благо мейк-апа. И плакала, смеясь. И смеялась, плача. Такой оксюморон.

Потому что нельзя ведь не рассмеяться. представив себе героя, в опорках и одетого в махонькое пальтецо с чужого, переставшего физически быть, плеча (о чем красноречиво свидетельствуют пулевые отверстия и бурые пятна), которое тут же расползается на нескладной его фигуре совсем иначе распределяя по ней детали кроя. А за пару минут до того нельзя не разреветься видя прибытие состава с военнопленными в концлагерь. В котором люди низведены до жидкого состояния.

Или девочки-беженки в душевой на дрезденской бойне, куда по незнанию приводит вместо кухблока конвоируемых пленных мальчишка немецкий солдат. Клубы пара, визжащая голая толпа в раздвинутых внезапно дверях, ошеломенное оторопевшее, но и жадное смотрение. Смешно. И авторская ремарка о том, что эти девочки сгорят завтра заживо в подвале бомбоубежища. Которое не спасет от такой силы бомбардировки. И близкие еще слезы снова подступают.

А история двух землян, выставленных инопланетянами голыми же в подобии зоопарка, дабы совокупились, не смешит вовсе. И возмущения не вызывает. Но жаркую щемящую нежность. Умеет автор рассказать. И умеет протянуть нити. От всего ко всему. Говард Кэмпбелл младший из его же "Мать Тьма" появляется здесь. И воин-маори из австралийских союзнических войск, изображенный на главной картине героем "Синей бороды". А шире, что ж, можно и шире. Герой моей любимой книги все время повторяет : "Такова структура момента". Пан, "Иное небо", Лазарчук.

И так уж хороша эта фраза или такой родной показалась, что не умея даже определить, откуда, повторяю ее последние восемнадцать лет за ним, даже и в обращение введя среди своих. Отсюда, из "Бойни". Как отсюда же пересказанная на страницах этой книги апокрифическая история об Иисусе и Иосифе, которым римские солдаты заказывают крест для распятия по сложному чертежу. Они плотничали, если кто забыл. И делают, отчего не сделать, заказ как заказ.

Я не очень умею объяснить, но суть здесь не в том, чтобы прежде, чем распнуть кого-то, посмотреть - нет ли у него влиятельной родни. Суть - все со всем связано и существование есть такого рода непрерывность. И для него необходимы самые разные, на первый взгляд ненужные, вещи. На второй и на третий тоже. Увидеть их можно только долго и пристально вглядываясь. Но когда и если берешь на себя труд вглядеться имеешь шанс научиться такому, что качественно на порядок улучшит жизнь. Такие дела.

So it goes

Troppo doloroso per Vonnegut scrivere questo libro. Tra i fatti raccontati e la loro rappresentazione ha dovuto mettere un tempo sufficiente, vent'anni, per smorzarne il terrore, l'orrore, il dolore.

Sì, perchè qui c'è lui e la sua esperienza nella seconda guerra mondiale, come fante americano impegnato nella liberazione dell'Europa dall'esercito tedesco. Prigioniero di guerra, si ritroverà sotto uno dei più terribili bombardamenti della storia, quello di Dresda, di cui a tutt'oggi non ci sono neppure cifre certe sul numero dei morti, visto che la potenza di fuoco ha ridotto tanti ad un mucchietto di cenere. Si è salvato grazie al rifugio trovato nel mattatoio nr. 5.

Ce la racconta in modo affatto originale, fuori dagli schemi, con un pizzico di ironia/humor nero, ed efficacemente. In prima persona e nei panni del suo alter ego, Billy Pilgrim, incastona quell'evento nel nastro temporale della vita di un uomo, srotolato attraverso continui salti temporali. Una vita che come tutte si sviluppa in modo spesso casuale e con eventi ed esiti imprevedibili, talvolta negativi, talvolta positivi. E sebbene il bilancio finale sia tutto sommato in attivo, quell'evento rimane lì, non evitabile, neppure fuggendo sul pianeta Tralfamadore.

E quindi, che fare? La speranza che la politica e l'umanità impari dal passato non aiuta. Il commilitone ritrovato, il ritorno a Dresda, l'amicizia con un taxista locale che ha perso la madre in quel bombardamento, ci emozionano, già nel primo capitolo, prima di realizzare che Dresda è sotto il dominio sovietico in piena guerra fredda. Nell'ultimo capitolo, amaramente, V. rileva che mentre termina questo libro gli USA sono impegnati nella guerra del Vietman e Kennedy e M.L.King sono stati da poco assassinati. Potremmo continuare noi, fino al presente.

"Puu-tii-uiit?" cinguetta e ci interroga l'uccello che attraversa il libro, incapace di comprendere la nostra insensatezza. 

Forse aiuta tornare a srotolare il nastro della propria vita e trovare conforto e carburante in tutte le cose buone che ci sono e ci sono state, e prendere il resto come viene, perché così va la vita (so it goes). 


Guernica, Picasso

I'm looking at the introduction to this book (which claims that it is one of the 100 great novels of all time and one of the great antiwar novels)and shaking my head.

I disliked it as much as Catch 22,supposedly another classic of the absurd.Having read so many rave reviews and having rebuked myself for not having read this classic,I tried gamely but I was too bored to continue.

These days I have a bit of trouble sleeping,this book is a great cure for insomnia.Maybe there are hidden layers of meaning in those pages,but I couldn't care less.

It is a short book,but still felt much too long to me.Me and Kurt Vonnegut won't be meeting again,that is for sure.

And it seems I'm not the only one who dislikes this book.It has had its share of controversy,having been banned from US schools,removed from school libraries and stuck off curricula.

Seems to me that the author was on LSD,when he wrote it.

Abandoned.

I've only just finished this, literally minutes ago - look I had no idea this was going to be nearly so good. When he died last year I read some of his short stories, which were okay, but nothing to write home about. This was something else.

A friend of mine I don't talk to any more by a strange form of mutual agreement / obligation (though, now I’ve worked out how this all works, perhaps we’ve found an alternative means of one way communication?) – was thinking of starting up a science fiction reading group for people who don’t read science fiction. Now, this is exactly the sort of book that would be great for that.

What I liked most about it was that the aliens did not have to be real – there was a bump on the head that could explain much. This is an interesting book and like many interesting books it can be read on many levels.

It is an anti-war story that is both confronting and stunningly well written. I really loved the time travel sequences – how the novel told itself in much the same way that it wanted to explain what fourth dimensional living would be like. The structure of the story is very interesting – brilliantly clever. There is also a lot of very black humour – my favourite kind.

Every time someone dies in the book – and it is about (in part) the bombing of Dresden, so there are plenty of opportunities for people to die – the narrator says, “so it goes”. If you had asked me before reading this if I would have thought this would work as a device I would have said that it definitely would not – that soon it would be a pain in the bum. But I would have been wrong. It was inspired – catching me in much the same way every time and making the deaths more ‘real’ each time. Even when I knew they were coming their iteration was a mantra and one that worked for me in that it did focus my attention. This, even though the stated intention was to do the opposite.

There is, of course, a logical flaw in the aliens seeing all times but making the same mistakes every time which isn’t really covered over by saying all times need to correspond to their inherent structure – but this is a novel and this was not a flaw that annoyed me enough to stop me reading.

This is a humorous book, it is a book that stops you reading and makes you think of the implications of what you are reading. It is a book that is not seeking bland ‘realism’ – at no time is the reader unaware that this is art, rather than ‘life’ (whatever that is) – but this is its power – this is what takes the breath away. What is artifice comments on the real and shows it to as again as new.

I really had not expected this book to be nearly as good as it was. It is one of those books I’ve always known was there, but thought it would be just another science fiction novel. This is anything but ‘just’ anything. A remarkable book I might force my daughters to read.

In Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut begins with a forward that is really a first chapter. In it he talks a little bit about the war, about his life after, the time between and trying to remember. Just before chapter 2, he says a couple of things that resonated with me. I knew then I had become a fan of Vonnegut’s writing. He mentions Lot’s wife during the destruction of Sodom and Gommorah, who was told not to look back. “But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human”. For the writing of this novel, Vonnegut is indirectly comparing himself to her. Maybe he did not want to look back at the painful memories, but sometimes we are just human.

“Billy Pilgrim had become unstuck in time.’ Like memories in a life, this novel about Billy is completely non-linear. It is so satirical, yet at the same time very real. And it’s so damned funny. If there weren’t so much reality underneath the black humor, I would have continually laughed out loud. Actually, I did at times. I couldn’t help myself. It is the way of Vonnegut’s writing.

“He told about having come unstuck in time. He said, too, that he had been kidnapped by a flying saucer in 1967. The saucer was from planet Tralfadamore, he said…”

Yeah, Billy is a time-traveler. He was also kidnapped by aliens from Trafaldamore. Can that be true? Well, no. Suspend disbelief here. His event occurred shortly after a plane crash that cracked his skull and killed everyone else on board. Billy may have been broken before this. A most sane of broken men. I grew to like Billy Pilgrim for all that he was.

Central to this story (much of it based on Vonnegut’s real experience in WWII), is the fire-bombing of Dresden, Germany where 135,000 people were killed, mostly civilian, during the American-English air raid. Billy was one of the one hundred American prisoners of war captured and brought to Dresden in January 1945, just in time for its total destruction.

“He was down in the meat locker on the night that Dresden was destroyed. There were sounds like giant footsteps above. Those were sticks of high-explosive bombs. The giants walked and walked.”

Uncannily, most of these men lived, although their time as prisoners of war was not without peril, hardship and death. You see there was really very little food for the POW’s by this point, so late in the war. Yet even things are most bleak people have a will to live. n  So it goes.n

This is absolutely a dark satirical masterpiece!

Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five" stands as a timeless testament to the power of literature to confront the horrors of war and challenge the boundaries of storytelling. Published in 1969, this anti-war science fiction novel has captivated readers with its unique blend of dark humor, nonlinear narrative, and poignant social commentary. With its exploration of themes like the destructiveness of war, the nature of time, and the fragility of human existence, "Slaughterhouse-Five" remains a literary masterpiece.

The novel follows the life of Billy Pilgrim, an American soldier who becomes "unstuck in time" after surviving the firebombing of Dresden during World War II. Billy's experiences are recounted in a non-linear fashion, shifting seamlessly between his wartime captivity, his post-war life, and even moments from his future. Through this fractured narrative structure, Vonnegut brilliantly portrays the disorienting effects of war and the jumbled nature of memory and time.

One of the defining features of "Slaughterhouse-Five" is Vonnegut's unique writing style, characterized by a deadpan humor and a biting satirical tone. With his concise and straightforward prose, he navigates the darkest corners of human history, confronting the absurdity and senselessness of war. The juxtaposition of gallows humor and harrowing imagery creates a surreal and unforgettable reading experience, as Vonnegut challenges the conventional expectations of war literature.

Vonnegut's ability to convey the horrors of war while maintaining a detached yet compassionate voice is truly remarkable. He forces readers to confront the atrocities of Dresden, where thousands of innocent lives were lost in a devastating firestorm. Through Billy's eyes, Vonnegut captures the surreal and nightmarish reality of war, exposing the futility and absurdity of human conflict.

The characters in "Slaughterhouse-Five" are vividly portrayed and deeply human. Billy Pilgrim, with his passive demeanor and detached perspective, serves as a symbol of the everyman caught in the tumult of war. Supporting characters like the witty and irreverent Kilgore Trout, and the tragic figure of Edgar Derby, further enrich the narrative, highlighting different aspects of the human condition.

Moreover, Vonnegut's exploration of the concept of time and its effects on human perception adds an additional layer of depth to the novel. The non-linear structure, with its time-traveling narrative, challenges the linear perception of time and questions the very nature of cause and effect. This unconventional approach prompts readers to consider the subjective nature of reality and the limitations of human understanding.

"Slaughterhouse-Five" is a profound and thought-provoking novel that addresses important moral and philosophical questions. Vonnegut uses his narrative to question the glorification of war, to challenge the notion of free will, and to explore the ethical implications of human actions. By weaving together elements of science fiction, autobiography, and social critique, he crafts a narrative that defies categorization and invites readers to engage in critical reflection.
Overall, "Slaughterhouse-Five" is a literary masterpiece that continues to resonate with readers decades after its initial publication. Kurt Vonnegut's unique blend of dark humor, poignant social commentary, and experimental storytelling elevates this novel to the ranks of classic literature.

By confronting the devastating consequences of war and challenging the conventional notions of time and reality, "Slaughterhouse-Five" leaves an indelible impression on its readers, urging them to question the status quo and consider the profound complexities of the human experience.

OK, I may be the only one on the planet earth, or even on Tralfamadore, not to have read the all-time classic  by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. So it goes.

The gripping Foreword by Kevin Powers spoke to me on so many levels. Kevin Powers is the author of The Yellow Birds, a harrowing story of two young soldiers just trying to stay alive in Iraq. In this riveting piece, Powers relates a gruesome act of violence under the cover of war in Tal Afar, Iraq. He tells us of Vonnegut's drive to write this book as an example of his moral clarity. As the book opens, we witness the demolition and devastation of the city of Dresden by the British-American bombing attack on the city. And so it goes.

This anti-war book brings me to reflect on my beautiful friend and neighbor, Harold. Harold was a career U.S. Army soldier serving in World War II with the likes of General Eisenhower and was a very gifted and talented photographer. We loved spending time with him, listening to his stories, and poring over his many unique and timely photographs. Where are you going to again see aerial photographs of Washington, D.C. from the 1940s? He gave me one of his pristine photographs taken after the senseless bombing of Dresden because amid the rubble and devastation, what still stood was Lady Justicia. I was so moved that I had it enlarged and framed where it remained on the walls of my office for many years. I love old photographs in black and white but this will always take my heart because of the message that amid all of this devastation, the scales of justice will prevail.

This one is for you, Harold. So it goes.

I think I might be part of the minority here, in regards of how I feel about this book, and I might be deemed unpopular, but being honest, I didn't really enjoy this, and I'm rather disappointed.
I knew before I began reading this, that the narration was going to jump back and forth a bit, but this caused me to develop a headache. I found it tedious and it left me immensely dissatisfied. I think it left me feeling very detached from the characters, too.
The "So it goes" expression, was repeated SO much, it left me on a borderline breakdown. It was irritatingly ridiculous. There were some parts of the book that I smiled at, and possibly even tittered to myself about, but really, overall, this book was difficult to like, useless and Vonnegut, in my opinion, is like a Marmite storyteller . You either love him or you hate him. At this moment, I'm not inspired to read more from him!

All this happened, more or less.

I forgot how weirdly awesome this book is. I haven’t read it in a few years but remember enjoying it every time I would read it. It’s just so odd and magical. I feel that way more now as an adult than I did when I first read it many years ago. I think as we get older we see all the subtleness of this book. It actually an adventure in itself. The theme is just so psychological and sociological that as an adult you appreciate this novel more.

So it goes.

My quick and simple overall: always fun and weird to read.

☠️

Kurt Vonnegut experienced the WW2 fire-bombing of Dresden as a private in the US army.
He says of the experience: "There is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre" - and this is effectively communicated in the deliberate anti-climax to Slaughterhouse 5.

I seem to find myself pretty ambivalent towards Vonnegut. I like his pacifist leanings, and I find his use of an anti-hero and anticlimax as well as his ideas on time interesting.

Vonnegut manages to convey the disorienting effect of horror pretty effectively with his impressionist style. Bernard Schlink and others examine in an intellectual fashion how the horrors of WWII slipped by everyone so effortlessly at the time, but Vonnegut makes the numbing effect of the horror easier for the reader to understand on a gut-level, by portraying how powerless the 'little people' must have felt when it came down to the nitty-gritty.

Interesting to note is the bleak fatalistic leitmotif "So it goes" whenever something or someone in the novel dies. (You hear the refrain quite often, and it creates a chilling tally of how often death rears its head.

The bleakness of Vonnegut's subject matter is offset by his offbeat black humor. An example of the playful quality of Vonnegut's sense of humor is demonstrated when he even adds the "So it goes" leitmotif to a bottle of Coca-cola going 'dead'. ( or flat)

But... his method of employing an anticlimax also made me feel a bit deflated with regard to the ending of Slaughterhouse 5, which, in a sense, is, I suppose part of what he tries to achieve, especially given the bit of background regarding the feelings of his friend's wife that Vonnegut gives in the informal prologue to Slaughterhouse 5.

In the end, I feel a bit confused as to if I should read more work by him, wondering if he will have more to say - not quite sure how to express this... on the other hand, the fact that he is more subtle in what he has to say, also makes him pretty appealing, since I don't particularly value authors who are in your face and whose work reads too 'easily', or who don't say anything that leaves you with something to chew on.

I do enjoy Vonnegut's dark humor; it's almost worthwhile reading him just for that alone. So.. like I said, - I feel pretty ambivalent.

Leggere questo romanzo è fare un salto nel buio e rimanere senza fiato.
Al termine ci si domanda se sia un romanzo sulle atrocità della guerra, sulle esperienze ancora vivide di un testimone, un romanzo di fantascienza e viaggi nel tempo oppure un delirio indotto dai farmaci per anestetizzare la sofferenza fisica e mentale di un reduce.
Fatto sta che Mattatoio n.5 non lascia indifferenti.
Riesce a comprendere tutti questi elementi ed altri ancora, una fonte infinita di riflessioni e congetture per dimostrare, infine, la follia umana.

-----------------------------------
Reading this novel is taking a leap in the dark and being breathless.
At the end one wonders if it is a novel about the atrocities of war, about the still vivid experiences of a witness, a science fiction novel and time travel or a delirium induced by drugs to anesthetize the physical and mental suffering of a veteran.
The fact is that Slaughterhouse n.5 leaves no one indifferent.
He manages to understand all these elements and more, an endless source of reflections and conjectures to finally demonstrate human folly.