Slaughterhouse-Five is a seminal novel of contemporary literature, a
rumination on war, space, time and the meaning of life and death. In
Kurt Vonnegut's existential classic, we meet Billy Pilgrim, a man who
has become unmoored in time after being abducted by aliens from the
planet Tralfamadore. In a non-linear universe where time has no meaning,
we revisit key moments in Pilgrim's life, in particular his harrowing
experience as an American prisoner of war during the firebombing of
Dresden in World War II.
In this first title in the Bookmarked series, author Curtis Smith
examines the influence of Slaughterhouse-Five on his life, writing and
relationship with his young son. Of the book, Smith writes, "The best
books are invitations. They are time machines. They challenge us to
think, to reconsider. Behold Vonnegut's time machine, a narrative of a
hundred different frames, a splintered perspective that lifts his
whirligig contraption from the ground. He fuels his machine with man's
weightiest elements--time, war, death--and then mixes an infusion of
lightness, the spark of wit and irony. His machine rattles, taking
flight with a shambling grace."
The Bookmarked series focuses on a famous work of literature that left a
powerful impression on an author (hence the name, Bookmarked--a book
that left its mark). Each book in the series is a no-holds barred
personal narrative detailing how a particular novel influenced an author
on their journey to becoming a writer, as well as the myriad directions
in which that journey has taken them.
