Slaughterhouse-Five (1972): Film vs Book

About the film

A man who has become unstuck in time moves between his youth as a soldier, his later life and a strange visit to another planet.

How close is it to the book?

The film is unusually faithful in tone and structure, jumping between times just as the book does, though it cannot reproduce the narrator's dry asides.

Read or watch first?

The book is short, bitter and very funny, and its repeated refrain is part of the experience.

What the book gives you

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

A short, inventive, distinctive story that jumps through time with wit and warmth. It is one of the most original novels of its century and a quick, rewarding read.

Who will like it: Readers who love inventive, genre-bending stories with humor and heart.