The Writer's Crusade: Kurt Vonnegut and the Many Lives of Slaughterhouse-Five (Books About Books)

This is the story of Kurt Vonnegut and his acclaimed work, Slaughterhouse Five. Two years after enlisting in the army for WWII, at age 20, Vonnegut faced a harrowing journey — becoming a prisoner of war camp to work camp to Schlachthof Fünf (slaughterhouse five), where he survived the bombing of the city of Dresden.

Writer Tom Roston explores the history between writer and his story — one of Vonnegut’s own trauma being transmuted into literary work. Roston inquires into the nature of trauma — could one say Vonnegut displayed what is known as post-traumatic stress? — and the power of storytelling itself. Roston does a deep dive into the history of the novel: looking at drafts, interviewing family members, dialoguing with scholars and psychologists, consulting with other writers. This is the story of a story within the canon of American literature.

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