Slaughterhouse-Five, Two Ways

There’s no questioning the tremendous impact that Kurt Vonnegut has had on writing. The inimitable author penned dozens of novels, short stories, essays and more over his life, and none is better known than Slaughterhouse-Five, the rare beloved school-assigned novel once described to Jess as “World War II, but with aliens”. At 51 years old, Slaughterhouse-Five is still as relevant, biting and comical as ever, but to deepen its legend, a graphic novel adaptation was released in September 2020. The source material is clearly handled with kid gloves by Ryan North and Albert Monteys, who do their best to bring Dresden, time travel, and Tralfamadorians to life. In this episode, we discuss our varied relationships with Slaughterhouse-Five, the story and world that Vonnegut builds, and that time Ryan North got stuck in a skate pit with his dog.