Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut - So You Haven't Read

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So you haven't read Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut? Then pull up a seat as we dive into a sci-fi, time-traveling, autobiographical, post-modern, anti-war classic. One that centers on a WWII veteran
and stems from the author's own experiences and traumatic events he encountered in the war.
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♪ Intro music: "Coffee Beans" by Mike Wuerth
♪ Outro music: "So You Haven't Read Theme" by Tiffany Roman
#SoYouHaventRead #SlaughterhouseFive #KurtVonnegut

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[@WithScienceAsMySheperd]

Philip K F1ck had a weird event, with the "cosmic teapot", a pottery made by a lady, that brought me insight in other realities :P Vonnegut and K D1ck are 2 legends :D

[@vintheguy]

I love when Billy Pilgrim said "It's Pilgriming time" and recalled being a fetus

[@factsmachine9905]

All quiet on the western front?

[@umang3227]

Please bring back extra mythology. That was my bed time story teller

[@justaguy6100]

Do Kilgore Trout next.

[@ThatFanBoyGuy]

My favorite use of "So it goes" is when Vonnegut describes Billy cleaning with antibacterial cleaner. "Millions of bacteria were dying. So it goes."

[@Fish-dr8sd]

I love how the "so it goes" thing starts before the book explains it.

[@davidcalado744]

Nothing like a book about nothing

[@allisonbergh4429]

Tim Minchin wrote a whole song sort of inspired by “So it goes”. It’s called Airport Piano and it’s fun as heck. I just remembered he also wrote a song based on being “unstuck in time,” for the musical of Groundhog Day. It’s called Stuck and it’s even more fun. 😆

[@Jaydeeene]

even when he was talking about champagne he said "so it goes" cuz of the champagne is a drink of dead grapes

[@jagvillani338]

When I was younger and saw this on a shelf, I figured I should read Slaughterhouse one through four before I picked this up.

[@ZR3009]

I would've thought of that too back then

[@bthsr7113]

It's a logical assumption.

[@GarkKahn]

Same reason i never read any fahrenheit book before 451 Bruh i don't have the time to read 450 books just to understand the backstory of one! I barely watched most of marvel movies to understand endgame when a friend invited me to the cinema

[@briangarrow448]

My brother gave me a boxed set of Vonnegut novels for Christmas when I was 14. That was 50 years ago. When he died a couple of years ago I mentioned at his funeral that he had introduced me to the wonderful world of literature. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. And bless you, my dear brother Terry.

[@eshep71]

Slapstick , Dead Eye Dick, Sirens of Titan and Mother Night. I've read about a dozen myself. (about 22 years) I'm jealous of your collection. I forgot that my collection (8-9) was with a friend when I moved. I only have God Bless and Cats Craddle left.

[@renatowhitaker2104]

So it goes.

[@TheMightyZwom]

Sounds like an awesome brother to me.

[@ghostmanscores1666]

A friend gave me that same set.

[@andrewdavis8251]

Can't believe they got Jolyne Kujoh for this.

[@TheJacobG]

That poor family just can't escape time shenanigans.

[@lillianhaskins1667]

@@TheJacobG even in our god damn timeline. Shenanigans ensue

[@Magnustopheles]

Yeah, I was gonna say...

[@jegerslvjegers5380]

Happy I was not the only one noticing it.

[@markereeni]

I thought the same thing

[@MsZeeZed]

It was also subtitled “The Children’s Crusade” because the 106th division Vonnegut was part of in the Ardenne was one of the youngest and least experienced in the US Army in WWII. Although this chimed with the much younger US soldiers of the Vietnam War at publication of the novel, its was just a basic fact that the 106th were deliberately assigned to a “no trouble” front, where they were spread too thinly across a valley, to gain experience.

[@ZuluLifesaBeech-]

So it goes... 😞

[@ryanhouk3560]

I am going to read this back when i was in college. It is going to touched me deeply

[@adrikrotten880]

This was the first book I had read in years, and it is the sole reason that I now still read today. When I first finished it, I hated it. It was a tough read that made little no sense to me. But after researching its themes and actually analyzing what it was telling, my opinion took a hard 180. The realization of what that ending actually meant.... It has completely changed the way that I consume media.

[@g4zzen245]

What did the ending mean?

[@adrikrotten880]

@g4zzen The main character spends the story "traveling" through time, re-experiencing his life at different points. Turns out the vast majority of his life is unhappiness and trauma. There is one exception, though, being when he is living on the alien planet. Turns out at the end of the book, the main character is in a plane crash. The aliens and the life he lives on the alien planet were all just delusions. He spent his life suffering from PTSD from the war, and his only escape was through his alien delusions... a happy escape only made possible by permanent brain damage....

[@g4zzen245]

@@adrikrotten880 But why was his first travel to tralfamadore in luxembourg forrest, before he got PTSD/was in a plane crash

[@g4zzen245]

@@adrikrotten880 Also, do you have any sources for hidden/deeper meaning & or symbols, quotes from the book that reflect them?

[@adrikrotten880]

@g4zzen It's been like 3-4 years since I last read the book. I essentially just used sparknotes (or something along those lines) to figure out what the hell I just read and then re-analyzed from there.

[@duck8dodgers]

When I was in high school my English teacher offered extra credit if you dressed as a literary character. I dressed as a Tralfamadorian, and he loved it.

[@lancerguy3667]

In japanese society, there's an expression, "Shikata ga nai" ("It can't be helped"), that becomes something of a fatalistic coping mechanism for a lot of people. They respond to everything from personal misfortune to natural disasters with it... and while that kind hand-waving acceptance can make it easier to deal with misfortune that otherwise couldn't be avoided.... some people are so quick to cling to the philosophy that they don't even try to fix issues that likely COULD have been helped. I bring it up because it sounds like the novel's refrain of "So it goes" comes from a very similar phsychological reflex. I find it fascinating when shared humanity echoes across cultures like that.

[@dylanrodrigues]

Also the Russian version: nichevo.

[@hruben222ruben5]

American version here! We call it “it can’t be helped” in our native language ”

[@twigcollins8785]

Once you live through the bombing of Dresden it probably does a number on your ability to believe in a lot of things, including the universe being all that affected by even your grandest ambitions.

[@TumblinWeeds]

“Well, what can ya do?”

[@KasumiRINA]

@@dylanrodrigues "nichevo" is just the word "nothing" in russian though. Their attitude IS just like that though, as if the government they keep electing for 20 years "cannot be helped", and the wars they keep fighting "just happen". Absolutely despicable creatures.

[@zogkuma]

When I was reading this book back in high school, I had interpreted this whole plot as a man who was driven mad due to what he experienced in the war. To me these nonlinear time lapses with alien abduction was the protagonist's way of mental suffering. I guess being raised by psychologists really does make you see things on a psychologically academic level.

[@richard_d_bird]

the story is told from his perspective, but if you consider what the perspectives of anyone around him would have been, he would appear to be just another deranged man, apparently damaged by war experience, babbling about his imagined experiences with the "tralfamadorians" and eventually starting a sort of cult about them. a completely contemporary and recognizable madman in other words.

[@valentinarogers5101]

nope that's a pretty common perspective

[@wkody7]

That is literal basic surface level analysis you dunce. The book is literally categorized as psychological

[@suedoe4316]

Vonnegut is so great. This was the first Vonnegut I read and I was so underwhelmed because I didn't understand his style. Then I read Cat's Cradle and absolutely loved it but I think that was only possible because Slaughterhouse-Five helped me get used to his style even if I didn't like it at first.

[@suedoe4316]

I have a pet theory that everyone's favorite Vonnegut is whichever one they read second. The first one is too confusing. The second is perfect (still confusing but you learn to embrace it). And with every one after that, they are still good but there is a formulaicness to them that makes it hard for them to feel quite as good as the first two, when his weirdness was totally novel to you. I am curious if this rings true or false for other fans!

[@ecurewitz]

I have softness for Galapagos. Though I did read Slaughterhouse Five first and instantly loved it

[@abasdarhon]

@@suedoe4316 I hadn't considered this before, but you might be on to something; S5 was my first Vonnegut read and while I didn't hate it, I definitely can't say I enjoyed it until I reread it much later in the future. Like you, CC was my second novel and I enjoyed it very much; Mother Night was my third, and while I wouldn't go so far as to call it formulaic, the ending definitely is a spiritual refrain of both S5 and CC.

[@Highlyskeptical]

Where's the cat? Where's the cradle? Hit like a sledghammer.

[@KelsaRavenlock]

My first 2 books were "Cats Cradle" and "Slaughter House Five". I liked them both the first time I read them but being young and with my interests at the time I skewed twords the absurdity of the characters in "Cradle" i slight bit more. I ended up reading everything by him though.

[@paulsillanpaa8268]

The barbershop quartet... I first experienced Slaughterhouse 5 as an audiobook read by Ethan Hawke, which is great, but also really heavy. An awesome book that also beats you up. I loved it...

[@andrewkohler3707]

The barbershop quartet is so devastating. 😢😢😢😢

[@laikapupkino1767]

This is the only book by Vonnegut they made a movie of that didn't suck (Remember Jerry Lewis in SLAPSTICK? If not, you're lucky). Even Vonnegut loved SLAUGHTERHOUSE 5. saying: "What did I do to deserve such a beautiful adaptation of my work?" I'm hoping one of these days Terry Gilliam or someone will do justice to SIRENS OF TITAN or CAT'S CRADLE...

[@richardconnor2871]

Fantastic novel! Vonnegut is one of my favorite authors.

[@gunnysmack3163]

There’s also a comic adaptation out!

[@FreeBird75]

The nonlinear timeline actually makes sense, especially because it doesn’t. It’s an allegory for ptsd, a symptom of which is when people feel like they’re suddenly back in a traumatic moment, even though that moment could have been years ago. The same thing happens sometimes during panic attacks, (speaking from experience), it gives an odd sense of Deja vu

[@grauph1up]

Having experienced combat and finding this book 15 years later I can't praise this enough. The entirety of this story helped me better to 'cope' or 'reframe' a lot of my own personal head noise. Even when you're home decades later.. sometimes you are still just watching all the monkeys trading money back and forth for nfts from a space zoo and time means nothing. He's the first author that actually connected with me on how that feels.

[@king_kmarce]

I read this in high school, but it occurs to me now, he may have been trying to convey the experience from suffering post traumatic stress. The idea that you can be anywhen in time but memories so strong and so real that you may as well have been sent back in time to the exact moment. Edit : you said it 🤦🏿‍♂️

[@waleedkhalid7486]

I read this in high school as a choice. I did not know what I was getting myself into, and I remember thinking this book was insane and didn’t really make sense. Knowing what I know now about life, I think I’ll be ready to tackle it again.

[@TheMightyZwom]

Extra History: "You always end up in Dresden again" Me, literally watching the video in Dresden: "Well, yeah, I guess... So it goes"

[@everestjarvik5502]

Okay I definitely need to read this! I had an intense psychedelic experience once where I stopped experiencing linear time and instead felt my entire past and present all at once. I couldn’t feel the future too of course but that experience forever changed how I look at time and I bet this book would be really interesting to me

[@idnyftw]

in this episode, Jolyne Cujoh learns about Slaugterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

[@mikakestudios5891]

I know the time travels is a literary device, but as an untreated ADD person, buddy. I have never been all that attached to the regular flow of time.

[@timsullivan4566]

It is remarkable how well the film manages to capture the novel - especially given that special effects were not all that great when the film was made. Both book and film are a treat!

[@chibillama]

This is one of my favorites!!! I was originally introduced to this book by my High School English teacher, who has us read this since it was on the banned book list.

[@-jeff-]

Thanks for showcasing on of my favorite sci-fi novels. I've became "unstuck in time" many times reading it.

[@zoemccoy7799]

Slaughterhouse-Five has been one of my favorite books ever since I first read it. Probably the book I've read the fastest, because I couldn't put it down. Really happy to see it on Extra Credits!

[@floydblandston108]

....it's ALSO one of the most beautiful, humane pieces of literature ever written...AND, it reads so easily- to all reading levels- that it never feels like a 'chore'. Must read, 10/10, etc., etc.

[@lazyslistener]

I remember reading this book and so many of his others and they always transported me and they were never long enough. I cried after reading each and every one of his books

[@xeehaux115]

I haven't read the book. For those interested, last year a graphical novel came up, ilustrated by Albert Monteys, a very good Spanish artist. Someone told me that the book can be difficult to read, but I found the graphical novel delightful and not difficult to follow at all.

[@penname8441]

+

[@ecurewitz]

Read it!

[@xeehaux115]

@@ecurewitz Well, thing is that now I've read the graphical novel (again, very good). So, basically I already have.

[@ecurewitz]

@@xeehaux115 glad you enjoyed it

[@Escalotes]

This book is the best allegory for PTSD and the ruminating nature of trauma I've ever read. Vonnegut's library remains my favorite.

[@happygoluckyscamp]

I always read it as Pilgrim's dealing with his PTSD that came back to the fore after the plane crash.

[@Mariobro364]

This was the book that made me aware of my own mortality. 10/10 would recommend it to everyone.

[@LoudRevised]

I remember this book from high school. I didn’t like it cus I had just read Pride and Prejudice and it was like whiplash for me reading two different writing styles.

[@rad4924]

Slaughterhouse Five is one of only a very small handful of books I've ever read in a single sitting, because I loved it that much.

[@cmccarty0724]

I read this years back in high school in line 2007. Probably a few years too young to understand it but it really blew my mind.

[@PBOZAI]

I've read Cat's Cradle a dozen times. I've read Slaughterhouse Five once. It's not an easy book. But, it is worth reading.

[@jeremy1860]

At this point I just have the headcanon that Matt legit just grabs onto strangers whenever he goes to real-world coffee shops and starts talking to them about little-known books 😅

[@baronDioxid]

>little-known

[@bobpobcf9723]

Slaughter House 5 is great. I dont think its that unknown

[@Selrahcthewise]

Matt and CGP Grey would make a great video together.

[@abasdarhon]

You might need to read more books if you think this series discusses "little-known books".

[@KelsaRavenlock]

Considered one of the most important American writers and voted the 4th most important American book by an international committee. This book is listed as one of the best novels of the century on almost every list out there. Vonnegut is one of the best known writers you could ever find and this book so well known that the author was put in a 1 second throw away cameo in the movie "Back to School" and it was just expected that everyone knew who he was. Few authors are as well known and few books so famous. This is exactly the polar opposite of a little known book.

[@owbu]

I feel like we are fixing the glacier problem pretty efficiently.

[@alexalexander1772]

I read this in late 80’s earlier 90’s. Grade 7 or so. Now I’m an ex-soldier in my 40’s. I never realized the PTSD aspect but after dealing with something for almost 20 years I can’t unsee it. The concept of it wasn’t part of my world back then. I’m totally blown away now thinking about the book.

[@KellyCalKelsey]

Certified [MADE IN HEAVEN] moment.

[@pavarottiaardvark3431]

I'm really going to have enjoyed watching this video when it gets uploaded.

[@s.phillips881]

The first of his novels I read was 'abreakfast of Campions' and have been hooked ever since

[@olibirkett331]

I sustained head trauma once which lead to my recall being terrible. I'd forgotten I'd read this book, and it brings up no emotional response so it must not have struck anything in me.

[@onioncontrol]

Your channel isn't very good, but it's good to see you introducing my favorite author to the younger generation. What a spectacular book. Kurt's books are so enjoyable they made me read a fair bit of post modern fiction, but most of it isn't very good other than Kurt and Bert Ellis.

[@eshep71]

I just mentioned this book in a video I saw about Dresden this morning..maybe 2 hours ago. Lol My favorite book by my favorite author.

[@VarmilMorr]

Please cover "I have no mouth, and I have to scream". I first heard about it from gaming magazines but when I read the novella/short story i was blown away

[@lemmingrad]

They already did, for their Extra Sci-Fi series back in 2019.

[@christopheraliaga-kelly6254]

Er... that was by Harlan Ellison and not Kurt Vonnegut, who had a gift for powerful titles, such as "The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World!" And was a superb writer in his own right!

[@MarianneKat]

First book you've reviewed that I haven't read and am now intrigued to do so.

[@irighterotica]

I fricken love this book. And all things Vonnegut, tbh.

[@truefairytale164]

Please make a video about Rani lakshmi bai the Queen of Jhansi and Rajiya Sultan the Queen of Delhi the warrior queens of India, their stories will inspire lots of people

[@raynitaylor1912]

I own a copy and have tried to start reading it but always put it down after the introduction without picking it back up for a while. One of these days.

[@KelsaRavenlock]

Perhaps try his other novel "Cat's Cradle" first. It is a straight narrative and a bit more comic even though it starts with the end of the world. Also the character of Bokon and his religion will give you a good basis to understand his humor and style.

[@Casperski1312]

That song at the end by Tiffany Roman is a bop, I love it.

[@grahamturner1290]

I recommend "The War I Survived" by Hawkwind. 😊

[@jayfrank1913]

I saw Vonnegut speak around 1985 at The University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA. I had read most of his novels and stories as a teenager. He was, not surprisingly, very funny, dark and a little crazy. Also, he chained smoked through his lecture.

[@Dan_Ben_Michael]

I’m a huge Kurt Vonnegut fan. I have been for years. I’m ecstatic Extra Credits did a video on Slaughterhouse Five.

[@blaster915]

I now get so many sci-fi parodies with humans in alien zoos

[@Ryu_D]

Thank you for the video.

[@TalasDD]

just one question. where did you get the picture for the slaughterhouse at 1:45? i Live in Dresden and have been trying to figure out wich of the 2 possible locations is the right one. the picture in 1:45 would suggest the location at convention island.

[@KuhaCola]

I would like to plead for an episode on Ender’s Game. The ideas are so rich! Granted, this episode has quite a few parallels to it, so I guess you could say you have already said your part. Despite it all, I am a simp for redundancy.

[@doifhg]

I thought Griffin was a fun nod at how someone handles all time all the time, also everything everywhere all at once

[@zofia.-.8700]

totally sending this to my best friend so that she can finally read it

[@skiwithy7351]

My favorite book

[@ecurewitz]

Thank you, it's a great book

[@Carlos-mp8pi]

This book felt a lot like some kind of fever dream, it was honestly one of the most (strangely) unique and interesting literary experiences I've ever had.

[@radicaladz]

I literally recommended this to a colleague yesterday afternoon.

[@based_prophet]

I read it and knew yall hsd a great summary by searching the book..as it goes

[@Kaiyanwang82]

OH YES Also, people will now look at Arrival and at Watchmen's Dr. Manhattan in a different way.

[@kalebproductions9316]

One of the best books I've read.

[@havocmaverick]

One of my favorites

[@GSPfan2112]

My Uncle Kimber died in the same battle Kurt Vonnegut was captured in. Small world.

[@maxwilkinson6729]

Sorry if y’all get lots of recommendations but I would love to see a So you haven’t read Catch-22.

[@jlworrad]

Thank you

[@joesomenumbers]

I should point out Vonnegut said that Billy Pilgrim's time travel had nothing to do with being abducted by aliens

[@GaldirEonai]

...okay, for _this_ regeneration, the fish fingers and custard actually make a bit of sense :P.

[@525Lines]

WW2 vets writing fictionalized accounts of their experiences is its own genre of personal narratives. Naked and the Dead is another good example.

[@tv257tv]

Loved it

[@theangryfinger5795]

So it goes. With or without your understanding with or without you. It goes.

[@AirForceNut]

A bunch of my coworkers passed around a copy of Slaughterhouse Five years ago... I read it and found some of it interesting, but I did find the suddenly jumping between various times structure very hard to follow. Despite my difficulty I did finish the book. My coworkers seemed to love the book though, but just didn't connect with me the same. It certainly has some interesting ideas at it's core, but I did get a similar sense of it being his way of retelling and processing his trauma... jumping to something different whenever he needed a break from the Dresden memories. I haven't read anything else of his, and I wonder if Slaughterhouse Five might not have been my best introduction to him. And if it might be worth giving one of his other books a try.

[@Boundless.Scholar.]

Wilbow's Internet Novela uses several of these concepts in several unique character focuses

[@sharonhorn7412]

I read this in the hospital with a kidney infection during the 3 days I was there

[@sigmascrub]

Oh boy! The first So You Haven't Read that I actually have read!

[@apex2000]

Been on my to do list for a while.

[@Emperor_Oshron]

perhaps coincidentally, i just recently acquired a copy of this from the library i work at. i don't plan on reading it just yet, though--i'm in the middle of a reread of the whole _Harry Potter_ series, and i think i think i'll be prioritizing _Treasure Island_ after that

[@wackypacky6917]

Fun fact, what are the banks in my town (Brighton, NY) was built on the spot of Billy Pilgrim’s real life counterpart, Edward Crone. Also, my high school was the same one Shirley Jackson went to, and I walked by her house every day on the way back from school.

[@gottro_]

The book specifically states tbat his stay on tralfamadore isn't what gave billy pilgrim his way of perceiving time. It started before that (of course its hard to say soecifically how long beforei in a way that doesnt suggest time is linear but it was definitely before)

[@gottro_]

Love this video though, it was the only thing that gave me comfort after hearing of my dad's death and the thing that introduced me to Vonnegut, who is now one of my favorite authors

[@kayleigh0711]

Its still on my tbr list 😅

[@mathieuleader8601]

Radio 4 did a great audio drama of this

[@Kjyler]

I am currently reading this for a class.

[@ericthomas10395]

This is such a coincidence! I'm writing a book report on Slaughterhouse Five for school! This really helped me with that. Thank you.

[@nizm0man]

off topic, but I was reminded of slaughterhouse nine, from online novel parahumans. Not for the faint hearted but I highly recommend it.

[@WithScienceAsMySheperd]

Philip K F1ck had a weird event, with the "cosmic teapot", a pottery made by a lady, that brought me insight in other realities :P Vonnegut and K D1ck are 2 legends :D

[@Luffingtoncloak]

Hello extra credits I like that you’re back

[@klemklemius5091]

I would love to see the dystopian novel "We"

[@brockmckelvey7327]

Never got the chance to read this one in high school because Marching Band stole too much of my time/attention. I did, however (on my own time), read Player Piano, which is my FAVORITE Vonnegut novel. EC has already done a video covering some of it, but I STRONGLY recommend you read it so you can get the full story. My least favorite Vonnegut novel is Hocus Pocus, which probably deserves a read anyway, but if I were adapting it to a TV show, I would focus on everyone BUT the protagonist/narrator of the novel. Hocus Pocus also does a non-linear thing like Slaughterhouse, but without any clear message.

[@lukepavitt4603]

I read the graphic novel and was very confused. I'll have to try again.

[@captainoftheneverdie21]

So it goes indeed

[@enlisu524]

@exracredits you should cover the three body problem series! It's a really well written piece on science fiction.

[@rukeyazu8669]

This is the first book they’ve talked about that I have written.

[@bubbles581]

I should get extra credit because it seems like I watch most of these on Nebula and then again in a couple days on KZbin :-P

[@michaelr3583]

i went to your EC playlist and realized you dont have a So You Haven't Read list. Can you please make one?