Vonnegut’s War

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The Making of Slaughterhouse-Five

Inbunden, Engelska, 2026

379 kr

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Banned, burned, and censored, Kurt Vonnegut’s 1969 novel Slaughterhouse-Five is widely regarded as one of the greatest (and most controversial) novels of the twentieth century. Fusing vivid biography with popular history and close textual analysis, Vonnegut's War tells the fascinating story of the making of a modern classic and the writer that created it.New archival discoveries and recently released oral histories give us the fullest account yet published of Vonnegut's real-life prisoner-of-war experiences at Stalag IV-B and Dresden, which heavily influenced Slaughterhouse-Five. A recently discovered trove of letters introduces us to his first wife, Jane Cox Vonnegut, and her influence on his writing. Along the way, we also encounter UFOs and aliens, grapple with the shadow cast by the Vietnam war, and unearth the stranger-than-fiction tale of David Irving’s The Destruction of Dresden, the historical reference behind Vonnegut's writing about the Dresden firebombing. This book sheds light on one of America’s most beloved writers and explores how cultural forces helped to shape a modern masterpiece of storytelling.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2026-08-20
Mått138 x 216 x 25 mm
Vikt454 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor280
FörlagBloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN9781350580008

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AcknowledgementsPrologue1. Indiana, 19222. Leaving Indy3. War4. Dresden5. Going Home6. Trying on Roles—Chicago and Schenectady7. Becoming a Writer—Cape Cod and Iowa8. The Strange Case of David Irving9. Morality of the Bombing10. Shaping the Story11. Alien Abduction12. The Vietnam Era13. Success at Last14. Censorship15. The Novel’s InfluenceEpilogue: Flowers on Joe Crone’s Grave

When Kurt Vonnegut was my teacher, and the first reader of my first novel, he was writing Slaughterhouse-Five. Susan Farrell perceptively illuminates Kurt’s arduous rewriting of his POW experience as fiction; she also brings to light the enduring effect of this courageous novel on Vonnegut’s literary reputation and the rest of his life. First my mentor, later my dear friend, Kurt’s life and fiction were forever affected by the Allied bombing of Dresden, which Susan Farrell has admirably and comprehensively depicted.