Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut (1969)

I've read Vonnegut before.  Not in High School, but I've enjoyed his style and unique perspective a few occasions prior to this but in my adult life.  Of the many books on this list, I was looking forward to tackling this one and I was not disappointed.

To say this is a story about war would be an oversimplification.  This is, to me, a story about life after war.  A little discombobulated at first, Vonnegut jumps around a great deal in time and reality throughout the book, often times within a singular chapter.  It's definitely one of those stick-with-it-and-you'll-get-it stories.  Fortunately, you don't need to wait terribly long for things to come together.

Two things I enjoyed the most out of this story were the subtle connecting phrases used throughout the book: "So it goes." "More or less." "Poo-tee-weet."  I also enjoyed Vonnegut's signature meta-cognisant, almost humorous, story-telling.  I'd heard the following quote before, but was pleasantly surprised when I came across it in the novel, "discovering" where it came from:  "But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human. So she was turned to a pillar of salt. So it goes. People aren't supposed to look back. I'm certainly not going to do it anymore."

HIGH SCHOOL ME: The jury is still out on this.  I would like to think I would have enjoyed this, however, I don't know.  Given the right guidance, perhaps.  I'm not sure I had enough of a literary appreciation for this type of winking story-telling, but maybe I'm not giving my high-school self enough credit.  Let's go with "yes question mark."