Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death
The novel follows the life of Billy Pilgrim, a World War II veteran who has become "unstuck in time," experiencing his life events out of order. This includes his experiences as a prisoner of war in Dresden during the Allies' firebombing, his post-war life as a successful optometrist, his abduction by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore, and his eventual death. The book is a critique of war and a demonstration of the destructive nature of time, with a nonlinear narrative that reflects the chaos and unpredictability of life.
The 59th greatest book of all time
- Published
- 1969
- Nationality
- American
- Type
- Fiction
- Pages
- 275-320
- Words
- 49,000
- Original Language
- English
- Alternate Titles
- None
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This book is on the following 45 lists:
- 4th on Quintessential American Fiction, According to the Rest of the World (Literary Hub)
- 16th on The 25 Best Science-Fiction Books of All Time (Spy.com)
- 18th on The Modern Library | 100 Best Novels (Modern Library)
- 19th on Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books (NPR)
- 20th on Koen Book Distributors Top 100 Books of the Past Century (themodernnovel.com)
- 20th on Top 200 Science Fiction Books (Pre-2000) (Sci-Fi Lists)
- 27th on Our Users' Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- 29th on Radcliffe's 100 Best Novels (Radcliffe Publishing Course)
- 30th on Our Users' Top 100 Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- 34th on The Greatest Books of All Time (Reader's Digest)
- 36th on TrueLit's Top 100 Favorite Books (2023) (/r/TrueLit)
- 42nd on The Most Significant SF & Fantasy Books of the Last 50 Years From 1953-2002 (Science Fiction Book Club)
- 54th on 20th Century's Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction (Larry McCaffery)
- 63rd on The Top 10: The Greatest Books of All Time (The Top 10 (Book))
- 67th on Waterstone's Books of the Century (LibraryThing)
- 75th on The 100 Favorite Novels of Librarians (Bookman.com)
- 209th on The Complete 500: OCLC (OCLC)
- The Books You've Always Meant to Read (Waterstones)
- The Great American Novels (The Atlantic)
- 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List (1,000 Books to Read Before You Die(Book))
- The 50 Best Sci-Fi Books for Every Kind of Reader (Men's Health)
- 100 Main Fantasy and Science-Fiction Books (www.mirf.ru (Russian))
- 50 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novels That Everyone Should Read (Flavor Wire)
- Books That Shaped America (Library of Congress)
- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (The Guardian)
- The 100 Best Science Fiction Books of All Time (Tor)
- 200 Books That Shaped 200 Years of Literature (The Center for Fiction)
- TIME Magazine All Time 100 Novels (TIME Magazine)
- The 100 Novels You Must Read in Your Lifetime (Esquire)
- 50 Memorable Books from 50 Years of Books to Remember (The New York Public Library)
- The 75 Best Books of the Past 75 Years (Parade Magazine)
- The 80 Books Every Man Should Read (Esquire)
- 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime (Amazon.com (USA))
- The College Board: 101 Great Books Recommended for College-Bound Readers (The College Board, an American not-for-profit organization)
- The 100 Greatest American Novels, 1893 – 1993 (Jeff O'Neal at Bookriot.com)
- 50 Books to (Re-)Read at 50 (nextavenue)
- From Zero to Well-Read in 100 Books (Jeff O'Neal at Bookriot.com)
- Best Books Ever (bookdepository.com)
- Select 100 (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)
- 222 Best Books of All Time That Deserve a Spot on Your Bookshelf, With Picks from Bestselling Authors and Indie Booksellers (Parade)
- 50 Best Cult Books (Telegraph)
- As if You Don't Have Enough to Read, Fiction Edition (New York Times)
- The Ultimate Book Bucket List: The 75 Best Books Of All Time (Refinery29)
- A Century of Reading (Lithub)