Slaughterhouse-FiveSlaughterhouse-Five
Score Classic
What it's about
Billy Pilgrim, a gentle, hapless chaplain's assistant in World War II, is captured by the Germans and held as a prisoner of war in Dresden, in the underground meat locker of a slaughterhouse, when Allied bombers destroy the city in February 1945. Billy has also come "unstuck in time": he moves helplessly between moments of his life, from his childhood to his career as an optometrist to his abduction by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore, who see all of time at once.
Why it's worth reading
It's on both TIME's list of the best novels and the Modern Library's, and it's one of the great anti-war novels. Vonnegut survived the Dresden bombing himself as a prisoner, and the book is funny, sad and strange at once.
You'll love it if you liked
Catch-22
1984
The Handmaid’s TaleGood to know
It's short and jumps around in time on purpose. It has been banned in some schools for its language and frankness.
By the numbers
- Readers64 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics83 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller39 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #30 of the 313 science fiction books we rank
- #100 of the 762 classics we rank
- #318 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Adventurous
If you like this, read next
Ender's Game
Dune
The Lord of the Rings
Hyperion
The Dispossessed
FoundationExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is Slaughterhouse-Five worth reading?
Yes. It's on both TIME's list of the best novels and the Modern Library's, and it's one of the great anti-war novels. It ranks #318 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 81.1 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Slaughterhouse-Five about?
Billy Pilgrim, a gentle, hapless chaplain's assistant in World War II, is captured by the Germans and held as a prisoner of war in Dresden, in the underground meat locker of a slaughterhouse, when Allied bombers destroy the city in February 1945. Billy has also come "unstuck in time": he moves helplessly between moments of his life, from his childhood to his career as an optometrist to his abduction by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore, who see all of time at once.
How long does it take to read Slaughterhouse-Five?
About 5 hours (215 pages), or about 10 days at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Slaughterhouse-Five?
If you liked it, try Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, 1984 by George Orwell or The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.