Review: Slaughterhouse-Five

At the age of 21, Billy Pilgrim was drafted into the Army where he was a front line soldier in Germany, 1944. It is here he becomes "unstuck in time," reliving and re-experiencing  certain moments of his life; the time he was prisoner of war in Dresden or when he was abducted and taken to live in Tralfamadore with a porn star named Montana Wildhack. Billy's personal calling in life is spreading the teachings of the Tralfamadorians (well, it seems to be that way anyway). 

I read this book on a whim, it's one of those cult classics you're a bit scared to pick up, just in case you don't like it very much. Or at all.
I've got to say I was pleasantly surprised, not that it was a brilliant read (and a brilliant read it was) but by how much I loved it. Towards the end of the book I started reading at a snail's pace, savouring every single word and quite frankly, not really wanting it to end.

I loved the protagonist Billy Pilgrim. I love him and I adore him.
He reminds me of a less cynical, grown up version of Holden Caulfield, (Salinger's Catcher in the Rye) he was so lovely and kind to every person he comes into contact with. Even when they weren't very nice to him, which is a regular occurrence in the book (I'm talking to you, Roland Weary!) It's the kind of love that makes every fiber of your being ache for their happiness, I really wanted everyone to believe him about Tralfamadore. 

Incidentally, I found the writing style of this book to be very similar to Catcher in the Rye, it's not the only reason I loved reading it but it did relax my nerves once I started to get into it.
I couldn't recommend this enough, it's beautifully written and an absolute joy to read. I hope I get the chance to read it again one day, because it's easily dropped into my favourite reads category!

Rating: ★★★★★

Review: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

The 27th of January is 67th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau; it was by complete coincidence that I started and finished this book today. I don’t need to remind anyone of the horrors of the Holocaust or indeed, of Auschwitz, but in case you ARE wondering, a google search will more than suffice. 

I wasn’t aware of the books existence, until the film surfaced in 2008 and with my natural insistence of reading the book before seeing the film it was instantly put on my list.

It is told by the ever inquisitive nine year old Bruno, who lives in five storey house in Berlin, until one day his whole life is uprooted to a much smaller house in the middle of nowhere. Away from his sliding banister, best friends for life and his grandmother, Bruno finds himself alone with no real answer to why he’s there.
He’s alone, with no one to play with until of course he meets Shmuel- a boy who lives on the other side of the fence. The boy wearing the striped pyjamas.

I honestly didn’t know what to expect from this book and I certainly didn’t think it would take me just a few hours to read. I decided against having a box of tissues nearby, (a decision I bitterly regret in hindsight). In short this is probably one of the more beautifully written books I have read in a long time.

I was physically unable to tear myself away and I instantaneously fell in love with Bruno. If not for his complete innocence, then his wonderful and frank ways of reasoning. ‘The (adequately named) Fury ... [had] a tiny moustache, so tiny in fact that Bruno wondered why he bothered with it at all or whether he had simply forgotten a piece when he was shaving.’ 

Of course, I fell in love with Shmuel all the same. The incredibly beautiful and ill fated boy who offers the bitter taste of realism to Bruno; facts that he often dismisses ‘Of course there were doors ... they were at the end.’ The faster they become friends, the more I wished wholeheartedly I could pluck them both from their worlds and keep them safe.

This is one of those books that keeps you rooted on the spot with the insatiable determination to read it until the very last page and I highly recommend it. After closing the back cover I spent a few minutes in complete silence, my heart and soul bleeding for those who lost their lives and those who gave up everything to try and save them. 

RATING: ★★★★★