Slaughterhouse-Five

De: Kurt Vonnegut

Narrado por: James Franco

Slaughterhouse-Five is the now famous parable of Billy Pilgrim, a World War II veteran and POW who has, in the later stage of his life, become "unstuck in time" and who experiences at will (or unwillingly) all known events of his chronology out of order and sometimes simultaneously.

Traumatized by the bombing of Dresden at the time he had been imprisoned, Pilgrim drifts through all events and history, sometimes deeply implicated, sometimes a witness. He is surrounded by Vonnegut's usual large cast of continuing characters (notably here the hack science fiction writer Kilgore Trout and the alien Tralfamadorians, who oversee his life and remind him constantly that there is no causation, no order, no motive to existence). The "unstuck" nature of Pilgrim's experience may constitute an early novelistic use of what we now call post-traumatic stress disorder; then again, Pilgrim's aliens may be as "real" as Dresden is real to him.

Struggling to find some purpose, order, or meaning to his existence and humanity's, Pilgrim meets the beauteous and mysterious Montana Wildhack (certainly the author's best character name), has a child with her, and drifts on some supernal plane, finally, in which Kilgore Trout, the Tralfamadorians, Montana Wildhack, and the ruins of Dresden do not merge but rather disperse through all planes of existence.

Slaughterhouse-Five was hugely successful, brought Vonnegut an enormous audience, was a finalist for the National Book Award and a best seller, and remains four decades later as timeless and shattering a war fiction as Catch-22, with which it stands as the two signal novels of their riotous and furious decade.

©1969 Kurt Vonnegut (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"James Franco is an inspired choice as narrator for this anti-war classic. While still young, he still manages to sound world-weary.... Franco has fun with the offbeat characters and Vonnegut's quirky text but keeps the overall tone thoughtful.... Franco's reading gives the 1960s classic a freshness that will appeal to both new listeners and Vonnegut's many fans." ( AudioFile)

Don't Quit Your Daytime Job, James

Vonnegut is one of a kind, and if you like that kind, Slaughterhouse Five is not to be missed. However, the same cannot be said about this audiobook. I usually like James Franco as an actor, but I was greatly disappointed with his narration of this book. There was nothing at all remarkable about his voice. He mumbled some of the time, and he sounded bored and listless all of the time. He seemed to be phoning it in.

Please God, no more James Franco.

Normally, no matter good or bad a book may be, I HAVE to finish it. I have to know how it ends. This book is the exception. It's not so much to do with the Author, but the Narrator. James Franco's narration of the book makes this story virtually unbearable. Honestly, I couldn't even get past the first hour. I'll have to see if there's another narrator for the book.

Good book, meh narrator

Although I liked the book, I wasn't a fan of James Franco's reading of it. His mumbling and flat affect made the book made the book feel a bit tedious.

So glad

I finally got to this. A great listen to an American classic. On of those books that will stay in my library and get revisited often

Franco is the perfect pick for this odd book.

The first thing I need to say is that I have a bias against science fiction. I rarely enjoy it. That has a big impact on my rating, because for me this felt like two books. The first was this odd time-travel, alien-world, science fiction book that baffled me. I didn't connect with it at all. But the examination of the Dresden bombings, the moments spent in the shoes of Americans who are being held as POWs in Germany, the satiric anti-war voice were spot on. I felt like the book made me think, made me study, made me laugh, made me learn. I enjoyed it more than I expected. And 24 hours after finishing it I am anxious to read from others what they think of the book. I want to know what I missed, because I think it may have been a lot.

There is one thing I absolutely loved. Vonnegut's use of the words "and so it goes" served to both emphasize and minimize death. Both. At the same time. It was brilliant. Each time it became more apparent to me that someone, or many someones, had died. But it also was just like he was saying, "yeah... so what? Next." It was one of the smartest cases of wordplay I have seen.

3.5 stars