Reddit reviews Slaughterhouse-Five: A Novel (Modern Library 100 Best Novels)
We found 17 Reddit comments about Slaughterhouse-Five: A Novel (Modern Library 100 Best Novels). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Delta
Time for you to reread Slaughterhouse Five.
https://www.amazon.com/Slaughterhouse-Five-Novel-Modern-Library-Novels/dp/0385333846
I loved that book so much I tried following it back to some of its roots...there's really nothing else out there like it, But there are a few other books in the "surreality/absurdity of war tradition"
Slaughterhouse V-for absurdity and surreality it's pretty hard to beat Vonnegut.
Journey to the End of The Night -Heller freely admitted he got the form of Catch 22 from this novel. Though if you are going to read this mentally prepare yourself for one of the bitterest, angriest, misanthropic diatribes in literary history.
Good Soldier Svejk -a absurd psuedo-comedy about an drunk who half-asses his way through the war. For some reason Ignatius J Reilly reminded me of Svejk
Going After Cacciato-A lesser known, and IMO, better novel by the Things They Carried author, this one follows a vietnam squad as they attempt to track down an AWOL soldier...who tries to escape Vietnam by foot...and makes it. The whole book is written in a surreal style that made we wonder if the whole thing was a dream or not.
A Case of Exploding Mangos - Amazon:On August 17, 1988, Pak One, the airplane carrying Pakistani dictator General Zia and several top generals, crashed, killing all on board --and despite continued investigation, a smoking gun--mechanical or conspiratorial--has yet to be found. Mohammed Hanif's outrageous debut novel, A Case of Exploding Mangoes, tracks at least two (and as many as a half-dozen) assassination vectors to their convergence in the plane crash, incorporating elements as diverse as venom-tipped sabers, poison gas, the curses of a scorned First Lady, and a crow impaired by an overindulgence of ripe mangoes.
The following are some of my favorite books that I could think of off the top of my head. Hopefully you dig the list.
Well, my favorites are
The Moviegoer
The Road
A Confederacy of Dunces
Rendezvous with Rama
Watchmen
Snow Crash
Slaughterhouse-Five
Cat's Cradle
The Big Sleep
The Maltese Falcon
American Gods
A Clockwork Orange
Preacher
Fahrenheit 451
1984
Akira
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Lolita
Love in the Time of Cholera
Naked Lunch
Animal Farm
The Sandman
At the Mountains of Madness
The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Tales
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Brave New World
We
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
I have not read all of these. Hopeful this will be a good excuse to start some of them sooner. Hopefully it is not too late to post in this thread.
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
or
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut.
Both of these books significantly shaped my personal philosophy and attitude to life.
If you're looking for fairly light, escapist type lit, you might try Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Quick, humorous reads, similar in style to Douglas Adams, but more fantasy than sci-fi.
I'd also suggest the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. The Napoleonic Wars + dragons. Again, fairly quick reads and not super heavy, but they're just enjoyable books to escape into for a bit.
World War Z by Max Brooks: Oral history of the zombie war, and surprisingly more thoughtful than you might expect.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: Gorgeous book about a German girl during WWII, narrated by Death.
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut: Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time.
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler: Dana has also become unstuck in time. She's a modern black woman who finds herself suddenly transported, over and over, into the time of slavery.
Kushiel's Dart (and the rest of the Kushiel series) by Jacqueline Carey: I don't know if this would be up your alley or not, but it's definitely one of my "islands," as you put it. Be forewarnd that there is explicit BDSM sex within.
Peter S. Beagle's works are another of my "islands." He's one of the most often underrated and overlooked living fantasy authors, IMO. The Last Unicorn is his best known, and it's a thing of beauty. I also really like A Fine and Private Place.
One of the truly marvelous things about Vonnegut's books is that they're all like that.
Just an FYI, Breakfast of Champions is my favorite.
And, if you haven't, you must must must read Slaughterhouse Five. I read once that it arose from his viewing of the devastation caused by the bombing of Dresden. I can't say it's the greatest book written in English in the 20th century, but it's not far from it.
The thing about Vonnegut's writing is that it took incredible skill to make his writing seem so simple. It was Pascal who said that if he'd had more time, his letter would've been shorter. But Vonnegut fully understood that concept. The simplicity of his prose, to people who aren't paying attention, might mask the complexity of the ideas behind it.
See, Vonnegut wasn't writing to be artsy or to speak to some glorified idea of an audience. He was talking to us, generally almost always about who we are and what we're doing to ourselves and the planet.
I realize I'm gushing, and I don't praise many people like this, but he was truly a great great writer. And there are reasons why some books are called great.
Life of Pi is really good. I also just read Slaughterhouse 5, which was excellent, but I felt it was too short. I am reading Ender's Game right now, which is excellent. There are so many good books. Check out /r/books, /r/booksuggestions and I think you'll find a bunch to read.
The ebook version is really cheap, unless you want a physical copy.
I'm also about to do a road trip with two other scientists! Here are some awesome books that either I've read, or I plan on reading on my trip:
Contact - Carl Sagan. This book is absolutely my favorite science-y fiction, ever.
Cat's Cradle or Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, if you haven't read them already.
Anything by Ray Bradbury - specifically Fahrenheit 451, also if you haven't read it already.
If you're into full-on science fiction, I can totally recommend the Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card and the Hyperion series by Dan Simmons.
the last podcast that i could find which had post malone in it was this one from june 9th
last time i watched it was when it aired 3 months ago so i don't recall anything about documentaries but i know that he recommended the book slaughterhouse five by kurt vonnegut which i have since bought on amazon kindle but haven't had time to read.
Maybe Slaughterhouse-Five? It's also got elements of comedy and sci-fi, but it's a lot darker.
https://www.amazon.com/Slaughterhouse-Five-Novel-Modern-Library-Novels/dp/0385333846/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3IYA7H4BZ0NYU&keywords=slaughterhouse-five&qid=1551131451&s=books&sprefix=slaughterhouse%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C284&sr=1-1
I've never had time to read the whole thing, but Time Travel Hotel by Clive Birnie seems kinda sci-fi and quirky in a similar way to Hitchhiker's, but the humour is more offbeat.
https://www.amazon.com/Time-Travel-Hotel-Clive-Birnie/dp/1909136522
Kurt Vonnegut had an opinion on this. However, I don't know if you can really consider connecting Dresden and Hiroshima together. Different scale. Different purpose. Totally different ramifications.
Slaughterhouse-Five: A Novel by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. when i was in High School.
I had a nice time walking along the river today, and found some cool rocks. Then I went out and bought supplies to make my girl friend something...
This book would make my job easier just because some times I have nothing to do.