Part Science Fiction, part Meta-text,
Slaughterhouse-Fiveis Kurt Vonnegut’s most famous novel and represents perhaps his most successful fusion of popular culture, popular genres, postmodern technique, and current events into the irreverent, parodic, but also lamenting style that has become its author’s signature.
The novel’s title – Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children’s Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death – refers, first, to the Dresden slaughterhouse where Billy Pilgrim hides during the Allied bombing of the German city during the second World War. Vonnegut’s choice of the subtitle “The Children’s Crusade” immediately makes clear his opinion of war by tying Billy Pilgrim’s experiences to the ill-fated crusade attempted largely by children during the Middle Ages.
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Citation: Meche, Jude. "Slaughterhouse Five; or The Children's Crusade". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 October 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2017, accessed 25 November 2024.]
