So it’s no hidden secret that Kurt Vonnegut is one of my all time favorite authors. He’s brilliant. From the metafictional qualities to the gallows humor, it’s all so brilliantly done. While I haven’t necessarily read absolutely everything he had done (only 58% of his fictional novels at this point), what I have read has transfixed and transformed me. How many authors can you say have done that to you? So, while I’m attempting to spread out his work (why consume it all in one year? I plan on sipping it like a fine wine) I thought the way to get my fix was to read those works inspired by Vonnegut. I had no idea that this existed until a few months ago. It sat on my shelf for a while, but after the horrendous read of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, I needed a palate cleanser. This wasn’t just a cleanser, but a baptism. That might be going a little far. I didn’t think that Slaughterhouse-Five would lend itself to the graphic novel medium, but wow...boy, is this the exact medium for it.

It follows the plot faithfully as it’s literally an exact adaptation but in graphic form. I can’t explain it, and this review won’t be very long. I finished it in a day and it’s all a little blurry. I inhaled the entire thing as quickly as I could. The structure, which is faithful to the novel, gives the story a second life that I was not expecting. It adds layers and new meaning in a comic form that is hard to express. The metafictional qualities don't just pop, but explode on the page. The story takes on a whole new meaning. I can tell this review is going to be very abstract.

And so it goes.

As a reader, the characters in your head tend to morph constantly. They’re faces nearly unseeable, like a mist clouds their features. It was refreshing to have something concrete. The stylization as well as the rendering were above average for me. It wasn’t going for realistism, but then again, what about the story is trying? It’s a story about a WWII vet who’s become unstuck in time and meets aliens...so, you know. I could never quite picture the Tralfamadorians, but this made it quite clear and essentially more comical. I believe they made a film of Slaughterhouse-Five and it was a disaster. It was a while ago, so you can forgive it for being so old as to not have the technology to really represent what Vonnegut was going for, but a graphic novel? That is the perfect medium for this crazy story, which already has an abstract structure. It’s only enhanced. It’s wonderfully, beautifully enhanced.

It will say that the story is a little thin, but obviously that’s to be expected. To contain everything that Vonnegut contains in the novel, would be foolish. Instead, this takes the essential parts and puts all their other cards on the medium, and it works. Boy, does it work. It’s the perfect accompaniment to the novel, after having read it. You should definitely read the novel before digging into this. However, if you read this first, if your interest isn’t insanely piqued...then you need to go get checked out by Oliver Sacks.

In my mind I know this is separate from Vonnegut’s work. Intellectually, I know that. However, this will be inextricably tied to it due to how absolutely brilliant it is. I’m not sure now that I could read the novel without instantly having to read this as well. It’s extremely strong. It can’t contain absolutely everything the novel can, but it more than makes for it. This was exactly what I needed when I needed it. It washed a bad taste out of my mouth (from the previous book) and rejuvenated my desire to complete my book challenge for this year. Thank you, Mr. Vonnegut. Thank you, Mr. North.

And so it goes.