The Great Exchange

A few months ago, over dinner with Aaron at Qdoba, we came up with an idea for a book exchange. We laid out ground rules and agreed to the terms and conditions of the swap. The challenge was to read a book of the other's choosing by a certain date. The rules:

1. The book giver had to have already read the book.

2. The book getter cannot have read the book.

3. The book must not be part of a series.

4. The book was to be fiction.

5. The book had to be able to reasonably be read in a month.

6. On the night of the book exchange, the books were to be wrapped so as to keep the mystery as long as possible.

7. The books had to be read by a certain date.

We agreed upon the rules and set off to figure out which book to give the other. I will not share my book selection, as I hope Aaron will not only finish it, but also write a post of his own about it. The great book swap night arrived and I opened the wrapping to...

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. I had a suspicion this was the book I was getting...

After reading it over lunch for the past month, I finished it a week or two ago. Loved it! Although it feels exceedingly odd using love and exclamation points about Slaughterhouse-Five. As one review on the book said, it is a funny book you cannot laugh at, a sad book you dare not cry about. Broadly speaking, the book is an account of the bombing of Dresden in World War 2, but its layers go so much deeper than that. However, I hesitate to expound upon the themes and layers as it could cause some to shy from reading it. The book follows Billy Pilgrim, an American soldier in World War 2, as he is captured by the Germans and sent to work in Dresden until it is bombed by the Allies. The story also recounts Billy's childhood and adulthood through clever means. There are sad moments that I chuckled at because of the humor in them, and humorous moments that are not funny because of the misery of them. It is a juxtaposition that Vonnegut wields excellently from beginning to end.

I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did, and the first chapter had faint echoes of an author I have difficulties with. However, once I understood Vonnegut's approach to and structure of his writing, it was simple to follow. Thanks, Aaron, for selecting this book for me to read. And double thanks for helping me cross a goal off my 30 Before 30 list!