So it goes.

Bombs.
War.
Death.
and
Aliens.
.... so it goes.
Just a brief synopsis of Kurt Vonnegut's anti-war novel, Slaughterhouse Five. 
Now that I properly have your attention, let me dissect these previous statements for you.

• Bombs: This book centers ( I don't know if I can properly use that word because the plot is so jumbled, but bear with me) around the unnecessary, unheard of bombing of Dresden. What makes this especially poignant is that Kurt Vonnegut was actually there at this sight. He gives us a firsthand account told through the ironically unclear eyes of optometrist turned soldier Billy Pilgrim.
• I think I just caught a little of Vonnegut's irony. Billy Pilgrim is an optometrist, someone who corrects others visions, and he himself is the one that has visions. Some could call them impairments, he would describe them as gifts, but he sees things no one else does.
• I digress
• War: This novel is an anti war novel... I think. It's so difficult to understand Vonnegut's intentions throughout his simple prose and complex story line. However, I personally believe Vonnegut achieves an anti-war novel. Vonnegut satires the complete ridiculousness of war through Billy Pilgrim. He is the epitome of a joke. He represents the American war effort in a blue toga and Cinderella shoes, all wrapped up in a woman's vest. He physically mocks the American soldier and turns the stereotype inside out. Vonnegut continues to reverse our expectations throughout this novel, and I think he truly achieves the anti-war aspect. He paints the picture of WWII being the "Children's Crusade," which, when your main character's name is Billy, definitely is achieved.
• Death. So it goes. Every time someone, something, whether that be a man, woman, civilian, or lice, the motto "so it goes" is thrown in after. I think it's very poignant because it points out the triviality of death in the war, and the lack of differentiation between humans and animals. There is so much death that it is commonplace, and people don't even understand grief anymore. Death is just a part of daily life.So it goes. 
• Aliens? Did I say that right? Did you read that right? Yes, and yes. I always enjoy describing the plot to this book to others when they ask. "It's about World War II, the bombing of Dresden, and time travelling aliens." What was that last one? Talk about your cognitive shift! Yes, the Tralfamadorians are a big part in this novel. They teach Billy about time, and have several points that I just love. They refer to us as being stuck in the "amber of the moment," like trapped bugs. There is no why, there is no how, there is just now. They proceed with an interesting outlook on life, time, and Billy in general. But are they real...?
• That's the question.
• I first read this book in high school, and maybe I was naive, maybe I just wanted to believe the best in people, but I read this book with the mindset that Billy wasn't crazy, that he was just a victim of circumstance and everyone was working against him and not believing him. However, with a fresh (man) set of eyes on this book, it's pretty obvious. Billy's crazy. Psycho, nut job, wack-o, crazy. He's probably schizophrenic and probably something else. He takes crazy ideas from sci-fi novels and convinces himself that he is living them, so as to escape from his reality with which he is not content. He feels guilty for living when he really didn't want to, and his coping method is that his life is taken in control by someone or something else, and he has no free will to make his life any better. He is content living in the life handed to him by stronger characters in the book. So, maybe I've grown up, or maybe I'm just reading with a more critical eye, but yeah, the aliens probably aren't "real," but then again, was any of this real?

Po Tee Weet?