For such a famous book, Slaughterhouse-Five is extremely easy to read while being richly layered. Note that its subtitle is very important: The Children's Crusade, a Duty-Dance with Death.

Throughout the book there are references to the Children's Crusade, a scam by which European priests hoped to sell street children to Africa by getting them to join a supposed crusade, hopping on ships that were to take them to their new life as slaves. This subtext enhances the confusing and absurd motions of war that the characters experience, especially as the soldiers themselves are frequently called babies.

Great reading it may be, but the author knew it would never stop war. Might as well write an anti-glacier book, a friend told him.

Vonnegut is brilliant all of the time, but this book in particular because it touches on his reality.

An easy read which switches between moments in Billy Pilgrims life on Earth and Tralfamadore, sanity, insanity & the effects of war. Thought-provoking but not preachy, humorous but not funny, sad but not angry.