Slaughterhouse-Five

Kurt Vonnegut released Slaughterhouse-Five in 1969. It is a satirical science fiction novel that follows Billy Pilgrim as he becomes time-stuck and is kidnapped by aliens. The book spends a lot of time delving into the atrocities of World War II by using the soldier Pilgrim to demonstrate how his life was sacrificed. Shell shock from being a prisoner of war causes him to become unstick in time.

He relives his life's events at that point. At first glance, nothing really stands out as contentious, but the book has many themes that deal with free will and the price of war as seen through Billy's connection with time. It's a fascinating book that helps us understand our own mortality and how, because it's impossible to change time, time doesn't give us free will. Why then was it forbidden?

One of the most contentious works of the 20th century is Slaughterhouse-Five. It was the focus of a First Amendment dispute that, in Island Trees School District v. Pico, reached the Supreme Court in 1982. Even though the students' appeal won and the ban was lifted as a result, it has since continued to be contested. Slaughterhouse-Five was previously prohibited in 1972 when a circuit judge labeled it "depraved, immoral, psychotic, vulgar, and anti-Christian."

However, others have suggested that the anti-war sentiment back in the '70s and '80s ruffled a few feathers. Typically, the challenges on Slaughterhouse-Five are regarding to obscene language or strong sexual content. Even after all these years, Vonnegut's classic still encounters opposition every few years, echoing the arguments of those who have previously tried to have it outlawed.

Author: Kurt Vonnegut
Country: United States
Language: English
Genre: Dark comedySatireScience fictionWar novelMetafictionPostmodernism
Publisher: Delacorte
Publication date: March 31, 1969