I was curious to see how Kurt Vonnegut's classic novel would adapted, but this graphic novel adaptation was able to convey the shift in time perspective as well as cynical satire of Vonnegut's original.

This is one of my all-time favourite books, so when Netgalley posted the Graphic Novel version I LOST MY MIND! Then they approved my request and I lost it again. Then I started reading this beautiful copy and I am completely in pieces.

Thanks to Netgalley and Archaia for this ARC.

Thanks to Ryan North and Albert Monteys for this stunning, and creatively brilliant adaptation.

I'm pre-ordering my own physical copy right now.

A story about war and its effects.
A great work on adaptation really helps the reader who has not read the book, immerses him in the world and makes reading faster, the novel has a dynamic, concise and beautiful art.
Definitely a great read, a gem, this adaptation deserves to be in your booksellers without a doubt.

Look at this, a Graphic Novel of the classic science fiction novel. It is a very bold, and in my opinion, successful adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s. The GN doesn’t just simply repeat the story, it enhances it with its well-drawn graphics. Vonnegut’s weird witticism and dark humour are transferred well to the new format.

Definitely a gem among the GN.

To say that this is a book about war, and its effects is not saying enough about it.

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was in Dresden when it was firebombed. We hear about the atomic bombs, but forget, or were never taught about the fire bombs that wiped the city of Dresden off the map.

I read this book back when I was in High School, but still remember it, and was wondering how it would work as a graphic novel, and let me say it works amazingly well. The time shifts make sense, and are clearly visible, and the images of the fire bombed Dresden are truly horrific.

And so it goes.

Of course, I would still recommend reading the novel, but this an excellent way to get the gyst of this very powerful novel.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

I was lucky enough to get a copy of this from the publisher. It didn't affect my review.

I started to read the graphic novel adaptation of the Vonnegut classic when I realized that it had been too long since I read the original. I found myself second guessing myself trying to remember if something was familiar, or if I was only telling myself it was familiar, since memories are a lie. I put this version down and went back to the original and got the joy of reading it all over again, and seeing that time did not diminish the awesomeness of this story. Then I came back to read this new version.

What Ryan North did really well in adapting this to a new medium is letting the art speak when words weren't needed. It has to be hard to excise words from a classic when you are adapting it, but when you have the freedom to just let the (great) artist draw it, and worry about the dialog you should do it. And, over and over again North did so and it made for a true adaption into a new form, and not just words on top of pictures.

The choice to turn Kilgore Trout into a comic book writer, instead of a pulp sci-fi author in retrospect was an obvious one for graphic novel adaptation, but it's one that I would have never thought of. Most brilliant ideas are like that, they seem so obvious! It was a perfect way to create a description of Trout's stories while staying within Billy's story. I think it could have easily been done by just having Billy describe them, as he does in the book, but this is so much richer and keeps the flow of the story so effortlessly.

Oh, by the way, this graphic novel also showed what a poor reader I am. There's a few appearances of the Kurt Vonnegut in the original novel. One of them is subtly referenced, and in graphic novel it is explicitly mentioned. I read the name Kirk, and thought to myself "I don't remember this happening? Are they adding stuff in to be funny?" I went back to the original source to see if I really did miss something. Yup! An obvious clue! The choice to make it explicit was valid and helpful. If it had been worded as it was in the original it would have come across as clunky. This is just one (one that makes me look pretty dumb) example of this book's subtle changes from the source material. When things are described are moved around, or how they are done. All of the changes made sense and weren't just done to say "We are adapting it so we must be different!". They all worked and added to a new telling of the same story.

So, I should mention Albert Monteys' art. I've gone on and on about the writing, but this is a graphic novel, if it were JUST about the writing we wouldn't need this book. It's mostly pretty simple and straightforward pages. But, then there are full page renderings that are awesome and fill in the holes my imagination couldn't when I was trying to imagine the scene. The comic book pages of Trout's story were solidly drawn and felt like 1960s comic books. They style was distinct, but in line with the rest of the book.

This is solidly written, and solidly drawn. It's well worth taking a look at. (No offense, but I'd read the original first if you haven't already. This is great and all, but come on.)

This is an incredible graphic novel version of Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. My library has been adding titles that have been adapted from well known literary figures, and I will definitely be recommending this one for purchase.

It does justice to the original..The art is beautiful and energetic. The writing manages to capture the feeling of Vonnegut's writing in visual media. Quality stuff.

I have never read the original Slaughterhouse-Five, so I can’t comment on this book as far as adaptations go, but I’ve experienced Ryan North’s works before and, once again, he didn’t disappoint. His art is beautiful, and concise, and dynamic. As I said, I haven’t read the book, but the story seemed a little confusing, and North’s visuals definitely helped me see the bigger picture (though I admit I was quite lost for the majority of the second half). I had a really good time with this one.

I love graphic novels based on well know books.
Slaughterhouse-Five is actually on my list of books to re-read as I have not read it since highschool.
I worry that i wont be able to give the best review, as I don't remember much from the actual novel.
I remember the timeline confused me, but when you see it drawn out, it kind of makes sense.
I think when I do re-read Slaughterhouse-Five this book will come in handy. In fact I may re read THIS book after I read THAT book again.
The artwork was great, the framing was interesting.
An enjoyable read.

Easily the best graphic novel adaptation of a classic/modern classic that I have ever met. Definitely bias here because Slaughterhouse-Five is one of my favorite books, but I also objectively think this transformation was done extremely well. The art fits the vibe just right. The whole thing captured the same spirit as the novel, and the way it begins/features a 'Cast of Characters' and 'Timeline' help make it even more complete.

This was great in graphic novel form. I wish I'd read the original novel before this adaptation, but it was a fun read. The illustrations are lovely. Confusing at times but all around enjoyable considering I haven't yet read the original novel.

I’m enjoying the new trend of adapting classic literature into graphic novels. I have read some Vonnegut, but I hadn’t read Slaughterhouse Five. I enjoy science fiction and historical fiction especially novels based on WW2, so I knew I would enjoy the book. The art in the book was amazing and they did a great job turning it into a graphic novel. It was a fast moving, quick read but I found myself pausing so I could truly appreciate the artwork. This was a great adaptation of a well known classic novel.

Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time, again. Ryan North and Albert Monteys have adapted the Vonnegut classic to perfection. The text is abridged appropriately without removing any of the Vonnegut essence. It feels as if Slaughterhouse-Five was meant to be a graphic novel all along.

Now, generally I am not inclined to read classic novels simply because I find prose styles of these quite different from modern styles in that they aren't able to sufficiently engage me in the text. Which is why, seeing a graphic novel adaptation of Slaughterhouse-Five, I was interested, simply because sometimes medium matters. Now, the book is an anti-war themed story about a WWII veteran, Billy, who has the ability to time travel, which is why this book works on a non-linear timeline, with Billy slipping in and out of his present, going to the future or to the past, and it mainly centers around his time in the military, and the Dresden bombing. Billy is initially a part of a scout group, along with Roland and two others; the former two get captured and the other two get killed. He then lives as a prisoner of war, where the conditions are harsh and Roland dies from gangrene and entrusts his revenge to a fellow inmate, and then they are all moved into the camp where they are keeping British soldiers, and finally they are moved to Dresden to work.

Billy, being a not-ideal soldier candidate, with his leaner physique and disinterest in the glory, makes for a good PoV to see the war through. Especially in the prisoner camp with the British soldiers, it becomes apparent that most of the soldiers are disillusioned with the war, or have come to realize the absurd cost of it. Roland, who is living for the glory of being a veteran forms a counterpoint to Billy, who just wants to escape this war. Most apparent is the fact that during tense moments, he travels to another moment in his life, so it is questionable whether he is actually time-traveling, but there are hints where it feels true like him knowing about events beforehand, like the flight that goes down later on, or him knowing when he'll die. There are a lot of other things going on in the story, but the character of Billy himself remains unknown to us for the most part - I couldn't figure out his reasoning for his choices or what he thought of certain events in his life. Even his abduction by aliens and being given another abducted woman as a bride basically, we don't see what he truly feels in those scenarios - the only insight into him is his philosophy towards death and the impermanence of it for someone who can instead just see it as something that happens in this and every moment, at once.

Eventually, I don't really know what I think of how the story and its themes are presented - I feel it detaches us from the character while involving us in the narrative. The artwork, though, is quite effective in presenting the story - with its handy charts and introductions to characters in three panels, or the way the time slipping is presented. The character design is also pretty good, and with clean lines and an aesthetically matching palette, it makes for a good graphic novel.

Thank you to Netgalley & the Publisher for giving me a chance to review this!


I have never read Slaughterhouse-Five prior to this so I can not speak to how well it holds up as an adaptation, but I can say I enjoyed the story enough so that's at least a good point.

There is a lot to unpack here, and I just don't know how to describe what I just read? Like it was good, and I enjoyed my time with it, but I have no idea how to explain how I liked it.

But yeah I agree, war is bad.

Brilliant, wonderful translation to a different medium. My expectations for this were low but they captured the essence beautifully. So it goes.

This graphic novel of the classic "Slaughterhouse-Five' is a great visual representation of the original work.

I read Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut less than two weeks ago, so I am confident that this graphic novel tells the same story as the novel. All of the familiar scenes and phases are present. "So it goes."

I enjoyed viewing Billy's life story in this new format.

Billy is an American recruit in WWII, he saw many deaths during the war, so it goes, but was most impacted by the bombing of Dresden. During Billy's life, he is abducted by aliens that teach him a life lesson. Billy is also able to time travel.

At its core, Slaughterhouse-Five is an anti-war narrative. Its focus is on the bombing of Dresden because 25,000 people were killed there. Like many other cities destroyed during wars, it was simply a home for many people. There was not a military base there. Billy's other life experiences are also present in this story. Since Billy can time-travel, the timeline of the story is chaotic.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

My review is posted at: https://shelvesandpines.wordpress.com/2020/06/23/slaughterhouse-five-by-ryan-north-kert-vonnegut-and-albert-monteys/

Slaughterhouse-Five is a graphic novel based on Kurt Vonnegut's anti-war classic and adapted by Ryan North in this new media. The graphic novel follows Billy Pilgrim, a highly inept American soldier in WWII, as he is captured, returning home after the war, and his visits with an alien lifeforms known as the Tralfamadore.

The artwork in this graphic novel is done by Albert Monteys. The artwork is enthralling and helps enhance the reading experience.

I enjoyed the WWII setting and watching the protagonist experience the bombing of Dresden haunting and impactful. I also really enjoyed the fusion of science-fiction elements to the story with the addition of the Tralfamadore. Unfortunately, due to the non-linear storytelling and unreliable narrator it made it hard to follow the story.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Having never read Slaughterhouse-Five, I feel like I didn't completely understand this comic. I quite liked the art, the drawing, the way the story was told. It all felt very well done to me. However, I had the constant feeling that I was missing something, because the story didn't make much sense. I can only assume people who have read the novel will get much more out of this than me.

The other option is that you don't need to read the novel before reading this comic and what this makes you feel the same way the novel does, in which case the problem is I don't understand the novel.

Whatever the case, I am interested in reading more from these authors.