Facts about Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five
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In several US school districts, Slaughterhouse-Five was banned or challenged for its language, sexual content, and anti-war themes during the 1970s.
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Slaughterhouse-Five was a commercial and critical success upon release, becoming one of the defining anti-war novels of twentieth-century American literature.
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Vonnegut's novel blends science fiction with autobiography, featuring the alien planet Tralfamadore and its inhabitants who perceive time non-linearly.
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The novel's recurring phrase 'So it goes' appears each time a death is mentioned, punctuating the narrative with dark resignation throughout the book.
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Published in 1969, Slaughterhouse-Five draws directly on Vonnegut's own experience surviving the firebombing of Dresden as an American POW in World War II.