Perfect adaptation of a classic novel.
The story lends itself to the flexibility of the graphic novel format which permits digression and timeline bending in ways Kurt could have only dreamed of.
Excellent writing and perfect illustrations.

“Slaughterhouse-Five, or the Children’s Crusade“ adapted by Ryan North with illustrations by Albert Monteys is a graphic novel adaptation of the book by Kurt Vonnegut.

Billy Pilgrim survives the bombing of Dresden, travels to the planet Tralfamador, and has met Kurt Vonnegut, but necessarily in that order. His life has become unstuck in time. We see the events of Billy Pilgrim‘s life out of order just as he is experiencing them. Along the way we meet some interesting and outlandish characters too

This is a pretty brilliant adaptation. The art is top notch, and the adaptation does some interesting things using the graphic novel format/ I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Billy Pilgrim is a husband, father, optometrist, veteran of World War II, survivor of the fire bombing of Dresden, and an exhibit in a zoo on the planet Tralfamadore. He is also unstuck in time: one minute, he might be eating lunch at the Lion’s Club, and the next, he’s back in a prisoner of war camp, or talking with author Kilgore Trout, or watching his mother slipping away in a nursing home. Billy Pilgrim is ambivalent about life, he comes to see that free will is an illusion, and he knows how and when he’ll die. So it goes.

This story is perhaps uniquely suited to adaptation as a graphic novel. Albert Monteys’ art cleverly captures changes in tone and setting, whether Billy Pilgrim is experiencing the drudgeries of war or the images in an unreadable book on another planet. Ryan North skillfully adapts this novel, which has long been beloved for Vonnegut’s way of meditating on war’s absurdity and cost, celebrating moments frozen in amber, and exploring the strangeness of existence itself.

An interesting graphic novel adaptation that I think makes the book more accessible to some than its prose version.

I had never read Slaughter-Five and this graphic novel was great! I really enjoyed it. Thinking about picking up the actual book next!

Thank you to the publisher for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Slaughterhouse-Five is a weird book. In prepping to review this adaptation I saw several mentions of it being practically unadaptable to any other format. However, I think this graphic novel version does a pretty darn good job.

I had not read slaughterhouse 5 in over twenty years and I thought it was really cool to read it again in this form. It was gorgeous, and funny, and thrilling, and sad. I love Kurt Vonnegut. Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy, which I found difficult to read on the app. I will be purchasing this when I can

This story starts out in World War II with a scrawny soldier, Billy Pilgrim, and three others, sneaking through Germany and trying to evade detection. There are some odd things about Billy, besides the fact that he's in the Army and has no muscle - Billy doesn't live his life entirely chronologically. He's become unstuck in time, and he periodically visits future points in his life, like after he's opened a successful optometry practice, or that one time he cheats on his wife, or when aliens from the planet Tralfamadore scoop him up in their flying saucer and place him in a zoo where they can view him like an exhibit. Billy learns much from his time amongst the aliens, like the saying "so it goes" after someone dies, or how they view time as if they are seeing a slice of the Rocky Mountains - kind of all at once. In between all of these moments, Billy is captured and center to a labor camp in Dresden - just before it is taken off the face of the map by the Allied Forces.

The essence of Slaughterhouse is an absolute distain for the concept of war, especially how we send such young folk off to die or participate in horrendous acts. North and Monteys, in this adaptation, skillfully capture all of the craziness of the time jumps Pilgrim lives through, as well as the horror of war. With North's comedic timing, he is able to handle Vonnegut's dark humor without it becoming too over-the-top or understated, as can sometimes happen with adaptations. There are several pages of story set-up in the beginning, including a timeline of what Billy looks like at different points in his life, so it's easy to follow the character throughout the story despite it being told in no sort of chronological order at all.

There are a few adult scenes, but there are no visible bits on the page. There is quite a bit of cussing, and drugs/alcohol are consumed throughout. This, like the original novel, would be best suited for older audiences.

Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 11-Adult

Making a classic enjoyable for a wider breadth of readers. Turning the tale into a graphic novel captures the reader’s attention through the timeless words but also pictures now.

One of the things I love about novels being turned into graphic novels is how the artist will interpret it. I loved the art and style, how it really added to the original story. I know the magic of books is imagining it yourself but seeing someone else's interpretation is also fascinating. Overall a very enjoyable way to experience or reexperience this classic!

Thanks to NetGalley and Archaia for access to this ARC! As a long-time fan of Vonnegut's works, I was excited and curious to see "Slaughterhouse-Five" translated into a "new" form. It is visually stunning and engaging, opening a whole world of possibilities to see classic books in this fresh perspective. Would also be a great display/table book.

I do not understand why this book is still listed for me I send my feedback three years ago. Sending this to remove,

I didn't review this book because it was too sophisticated for my middle grade readers. I had hoped that the graphic novel might work better for them than Vonnegut's original story. However, as an adult, I thought the graphic novel was great and highly recommend it for teens and adults.

This was good but didn’t necessarily grab me. I’m glad I read it and have a few library patrons in mind to recommend it to and will purchase the title for my library.

As a fan of Kurt Vonnegut, I found this graphic novel to be very much appropriated to the same book.
I've read the book and this graphic novel came as a surprise since it made me visualise and also remember the fantastic writing skills of the author
I tend to be slightly skeptical over book adaptations, but this one is a must from my perspective for author fans and not only, but the ones who appreciate graphic novels, this is such a delight.
Thank you @netgalley for this advanced copy

I love the original novel by Kurt Vonnegut, but this adaptation is great, the art gets the mood of the novel perfectly and the visual narrative helps to understand the story. A great work by Albert Monteys.

I had never read Slaughterhouse-five. Reading the original at the same time as this version was a great way to compare the two.

The graphic novel adaptation of Slaughterhouse-five is an improvement on the original. The format works well, and the illustrations are fantastic and easy to follow. I love the addition of a “supporting cast” list and a visual timeline of Billy Pilgrim’s life.

Kurt Vonnegut is explicitly identified as the narrator in this version, and the sections where he interviews Billy Pilgrim are clever and effective. I also really liked the “stories within a story” – the Kilgore Trout comic book and the storyboard of the movie that Billy watched in reverse.

This interpretation is faithful to the original Slaughterhouse-five, except that it excludes most of the sexism. His wife and daughter, for example, are not described as being “big as a house” or having “legs like an Edwardian grand piano.” And the drawing of the locket between Montana’s boobs is a lot more tasteful than the original.

I recommend the graphic novel of this one over the original.

I really enjoyed this one!

I was provided an advanced digital copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley for review purposes, all opinions are my own.

Vonnegut is wonderful, and as time passes, I hope that this adaptation becomes iconic as well. The work to present this classic visually is just masterful - perfect companion to the beauty of Vonnegut's prose.

*Received via NetGalley for review*

I've never read the original Slaughterhouse Five, which is a shocking lack considering my love of science fiction. This adaptation is beautiful, with clear and interesting visuals, and really gets the feeling of the original across (from what I can tell).