Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut - Book Report #288

A legendary classic of science fiction.

I was blown away by it.  It was nothing like I expected and I felt that I was truly in the hands of a genius and I was grateful for it.

The narrative bounces all over the timeline of the story but once I got used to it I loved it an enjoyed every jump forwards or backwards

Is it Science Fiction?  Sure.  Kind of.  It explores World War II, the bombing of Dresden, Germany and death.  Boy, does it explore death.

Slaughterhouse Five helped me to understand that death is just part of life.  And, wonderfully, because the Tralfamadorians do not experience time the way humans do, death really isn’t all that bad.  It is comforting to think and see things their way.  I was happy for the experience.

I am also happy that I chose to listen to the audiobook.  It was read by Ethan Hawke who did a  terrific job and gave the story a voice I would not have.  His inflections and emotion gave the book such depth.

I highly recommend the book.  Buy it any way you like, secondhand or new, you will want to keep it on the shelf to share and talk about.

Kurt Vonnegut’s Wiki Page - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut

Operation Paperclip by Annie Jacobsen - Book Report #186

This was a difficult book to get through, not because it was a hard read (I experienced it as an audio book) but because the subject matter was so difficult to digest.

The author, Jacobsen, did a staggering amount of research which I was so very impressed by.

I had a vague notion of Operation Paperclip - I knew it had something to do with the assimilation of Nazi scientists, the most notable of them all was Wernher von Braun who was instrumental in the design of the Saturn V rocket that took Americans to the moon.

But what did he do during the war?  What did he see?  What was he responsible for?

The questions were repeated many times for a surprising amount of men who were moved to the United States and exploited for their knowledge.

This book brought me to wonder just how important is it to stay ahead of the "enemy?"

Some good has come from all of this but the source material is truly terrifying and made me feel that there is no real hope for humanity.  We are so consumed with gaining power and killing each other that I wonder if there is any real hope for our species.

And much of the methods of killing, poison gas for instance, was simply added to the arsenal and perfected by the West.

I highly recommend this book.

It is truly a work that will help to heal the world that is, surprisingly, still influenced by the horrors of World War Two.

But be ready for it, Jacobsen does a commendable job of staying neutral in her reporting.  She just lays it out from the records that have been recently declassified.

It is a difficult thing to learn.

Annie Jacobsen website - http://anniejacobsen.com/

Annie Jacobsen

Book Report #125 - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Book 49 of 52
Page count 550

I have no idea how to do justice to such a lyrical, beautiful, desperate, tragic and important work.

Zusak's use of language is a thing of beauty.  The narrator was unique and I thoroughly enjoyed the style of story telling.

We follow the life, triumphs and tragedies of Liesel Meminger a young German girl caught in the circumstances of the Second World War.


I believe this novel will stay with me for weeks before I can shake the effects of it.  As sad as it was I feel fortunate that I had the opportunity to read it.

Highly recommended.  Not for the faint of heart.

He does not have a dedicated website.  His Wikipedia page is HERE.

Markus Zusak