(7) KURT VONNEGUT –

SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE (1969)

“And so it goes”.

Kurt Vonnegut has his own eponymous literary adjectives – or adjectives, Vonnegutian as pertaining to Vonnegut or his works, and Vonnegutesque more broadly as reminiscent or in the style of Vonnegut’s works.

Of course, he earned his eponymous adjectives with his signature style and themes. For the former, I always think of his conversational prose or playful synchronicity, and for the latter, I always think of his absurdist satire.

Vonnegut definitely wandered into here from the science fiction section. Of course, the literary establishment tend to identify him as ‘proper’ literature rather than science fiction, despite the time travel and aliens in his most iconic work, Slaughterhouse Five.

“Satirical, anti-authoritarian, humanist, absurdist and often brutally depressing world-view” (although tempered by his recurring theme that love may fail but courtesy will prevail).

The focus of Slaughterhouse-Five, is the bombing of Dresden in the WW2 – as it was for Vonnegut himself as a prisoner-of-war in the city at the time (even if he understandably relied on over-estimates of the civilian casualties).

Hapless protagonist Billy Pilgrim, stand-in for Vonnegut as POW in Dresden, has come “unstuck in time”, due to being abducted by the four-dimensional Tralfamadorian aliens.

Among other things, they place Pilgrim in an alien zoo to mate with a fellow abductee, adult film star Montana Wildhack – which, incidentally, is my own fervent aspiration in the event of alien abduction or invasion. Or really just any excuse for it.

And it gets weirder from there – interspersed throughout with characteristic running gags of synchronicity or serendipity. In this case, the recurring first dirty photograph in the world, made a year after photography itself.

POETRY (DRAMA & ESSAYS)

Yeah – I can’t give Kurt a poetry ranking. He had one of the most, ah, prosaic prose styles of my top ten, albeit easy-going for the reader. Unless you count “So it goes”.

He did write plays however so I suppose he should get a drama ranking – but even more so he earns a ranking for essays if only for the conversational introductions to his books. I particularly liked his introduction to Jailbird – which I might rank higher than Slaughterhouse but for that book’s iconic status – in which he quips a student summed up all his writing in just seven words. “Love may fail but courtesy will prevail”.

FANTASY & SF (COMEDY)

As I said, he wandered into literary fiction from the SF section – and also is one of the more comedic writers in my top ten.

RATING: 4 STARS****
A-TIER (TOP TIER)