The Stranger
A clerk in Algiers kills a man, then faces a court more interested in his behavior at his mother’s funeral.
Read our take
Slaughterhouse-Five
by Kurt Vonnegut
A survivor of Dresden moves through war and time in short sentences that refuse heroic explanations.
- 1969
The story, briefly
Spoiler-freeKurt Vonnegut’s 1969 novel combines the bombing of Dresden, science fiction, autobiography, and dark humor through Billy Pilgrim’s disordered experience of time.
Why we recommend it
Plain language facing mass death
Vonnegut uses absurdity, humor, and deceptively simple sentences to write about death without offering a grand explanation for it.
What this book explores
Book editions
Paperback
- Paperback
Reader reviews
Readers may also like
If you like Kurt Vonnegut
Explore authors with a similar voice, perspective, and influence.
Louis-Ferdinand Céline
The doctor of the Paris slums who wrote the century's blackest, funniest novel — and changed the sound of French prose.
View author
Martha Gellhorn
War correspondent who covered the Spanish Civil War, D-Day, and conflicts across five more decades; Hemingway's third wife, 1940–1945.
View author
Ernest Hemingway
Author of The Sun Also Rises and A Moveable Feast; his pared-down style, developed in 1920s Paris, became the most imitated in American prose.
View author
References
References
The sources below include the primary text, editions, scholarship, archival materials, and other records that informed this page. They document Slaughterhouse-Five, its publication, and its place in literary history.
1Slaughterhouse-Five — Open Library ISBN catalogue
Official recordOpen Library, Internet ArchiveUsed forOpen Library ISBN catalogue used to verify the title, ISBN, and publication metadata.
2Slaughterhouse-Five — Google Books catalogue
Official recordGoogleUsed forGoogle Books catalogue record used to cross-check the title and edition metadata.
3Slaughterhouse-Five — Internet Archive ISBN catalogue
Official recordInternet ArchiveUsed forInternet Archive ISBN catalogue used to cross-check the edition and its availability in library holdings.
4Slaughterhouse-Five — Library of Congress books catalogue
Official recordLibrary of CongressUsed forLibrary of Congress books catalogue used to cross-check the bibliographic record by ISBN.
i
Why these sources are here
The primary text is the baseline reference for every book page. Additional references document publication history, interpretation, and historical context where that evidence is available.
Explore more resources