For my AP Lit class, we were assigned to do outside, classic literature reading and then do a big project on the book we chose. I read God Bless You Mr. Rosewater last time, and loved it. It was strange, yes, but surprisingly decent. So this time, I decided to move onto Vonnegut’s most popular book, Slaughterhouse V.
I’m about halfway through, and I have to say, I’m not really impressed. With Mr. Rosewater, I was putting sticky notes on nearly every other page because of all the funny “sound-bites” of words I found. The language was amazing, and made the entire reading experience incredibly rewarding.
I don’t feel the same way about this book. I haven’t put one sticky note down, haven’t chuckled, haven’t even thought about anything other than “PLEASE BE DONE”.
This doesn’t seem like a good reaction to have to a book, and it’s rare for me. Almost every book I read, I enjoy. Almost every book I read in class, I enjoy. I love reading, and language. But this book just hasn’t caught my attention. I actually dread picking it up, and have been procrastinating on finishing it with The Lost Symbol (which is excellent, as always) and buying Maureen Johnson books (which seem, on the surface, to be just like any other YA book, but are actually much, much more.)
Final thoughts: I’ll give you an update when I actually finish it, but for now, my rating of this book is a solid… 3 out of 10.
