Slaughterhouse 5

Originalidad y talento. Amo a Vonnegut y creí que nada superaría a Madre noche pero este me hace dudar.

El estilo, la intercalación de tiempos y anécdotas, los personajes, todo es genial, todo es original. Entre narraciones con un toque delirante, se palpa el dolor del propio autor y el absurdo de la guerra. Cuestionamientos casi existenciales surgen de conversaciones bizarras con alienígenas ¿imaginarios?

“Billy licked his lips, thought a while, inquired at last: ‘Why me?'‘That is a very Earthling question to ask, Mr. Pilgrim. Why you? Why us for that matter? Why anything? Because this moment simply is. Have you ever seen bugs trapped in amber?'‘Yes' (...)‘Well there you are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why.'”

“‘All the real soldiers are dead', she said. It was true. So it goes.”

“It is in fact a crime for an American to be poor, even though America is a nation of poor. Every other nation has folk traditions of men who were poor but extremely wise and virtuous, and therefore more estimable than anyone with power and gold. No such tales are told by the American poor. They mock themselves and glorify their betters. The meanest eating or drinking establishment, owned by a man who is himself poor, is very likely to have a sign on its wall asking this cruel question: ‘if you're so smart why ain't you rich?' (...)Their most destructive untruth is that it is very easy for any American to make money. They will not acknowledge how in fact hard money is to come by, and therefore, those who have no money blame and blame and blame themselves. This inward blame has been a treasure for the rich and powerful, who have had to do less for their poor, publicly and privately, than any other ruling class since, say, Napoleonic times.Many novelties have come from America. The most startling of these, a thing without precedent, is a mass of undignified poor. They do not love one another because they do not love themselves.”