For the first few visits to our public library, I had been visiting the kids’ section only, occasionally perusing the young-adult section as well while my own kids went looking for Minecraft How-to manuals. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t even aware that there was a section of graphic novels for adults! I now feel far less self-conscious about reading and reviewing these as a 38yo with a penchant for reading widely.

I first read Kurt Vonnegut‘s Slaughterhouse Five as a university student—for fun, not an assignment. This may have been the first Vonnegut I ever read, but I recall that it hadn’t been my favorite. The plot was wildly confusing to me at the time (half its literary appeal, I guess), and the setting wasn’t one I had any deep interest in either.

Still, it got me curious about his unique style of writing, and I read a number more of his books in the ensuing years, including Player Piano, Mother Night, and Breakfast of Champions. Perhaps my favorite (or at least, the one I recall most fondly) was Hocus Pocus (apparently I’ve never reviewed it—perhaps it’s worth a re-read!).

Kurt Vonnegut was not a Christian, though perhaps that’s needless to say. In fact he was President of the American Humanist Association and continued the legacy of his Freethinking grandfather, Clemens Vonnegut.

That this grandson could fit so much of his philosophy into such wild, alternate-universe fiction as he did speaks to his strengths as an artist and thinker. Why more Christian thinkers don’t write better, more literary fiction like this remains a mystery to me. Why Christian fiction has to be so melodramatic and preachy—well, that’s another discussion for another day.

Vonnegut and Christianity

Vonnegut does touch on Christianity at three different points in this book, and while that’s certainly not the point of the book, I thought them worth mentioning on my “mostly Christian book reviews” blog. One instance comes from protagonist Billy’s own childhood memories, and two come from sci-fi comics written by Kilgore Trout.

First, Billy recalls his non-religious mother who played the organ for different churches around town and had, at one, picked up a Crucifix. The image of that icon stuck with him. “Billy had an extremely gruesome crucifix in his bedroom. Billy’s Christ was pitiful. Billy’s Christ had died horribly. So it goes.” The mocking, blasphemous nature of this perspective makes sense coming from a humanist. Of course, Jesus did die horribly and yes, the means by which He was tortured and murdered left Him pitiful and alone. That’s reality. The question Vonnegut failed to consider was “Why?”

Second, Billy comes across a comic book by fictional author Kilgore Trout (definitely Vonnegut’s own alter-ego). In The Gospel from Outer Space, an alien comes to Earth to witness how so-called “Christian nations” really behave (with the Americans and European nations of WWII specifically in mind): “Christians still kill each other—and strangers too!” the alien realizes. Unstated in this recognition is this question, “What good was the Gospel of Jesus if this is how his followers turn out?” Once again, Vonnegut takes a reasonable thought and turns it blasphemous by having his alien go and rewrite the Gospel as The Bible II. What Vonnegut failed to consider in this instance was the fact that “Christian” is just a name that anyone can claim, and many there be that claim it falsely. The question for Vonnegut or anyone tempted to think the same ought not be “What do ‘Christians’ do?” but “What do Christ followers do?” Joining a church, calling Jesus one’s Savior, or living in a “Christian nation” doesn’t mean a blessed thing in reality, but boy does it mess up everyone’s perception of Christianity when fakers abuse it this way.

Third, Billy visits a porn shop and is more interested in a Kilgore Trout comic book, Time Travel to Jesus, than he is in any of the films or magazines available there. In this comic book, Trout sends a scientist back in time to see if Jesus really did die on the cross, and sure enough, he shows that He did. I don’t recall the purpose of this conclusion, other than to show that Joseph and Jesus long before had naively designed the cross for Rome, excited to have a job and to make some money. It’s a ludicrous proposition and a throwaway comment that basically says that Jesus essentially killed Himself, for not only was He pitiful, miserable, insufficient, and wrong—He was also naïve and gullible, if not outright stupid.

Obviously each of the above concepts of Jesus are blasphemous points, but ones that at least can start a conversation. Were Jesus just a man, then many of these accusations would actually make sense. C.S. Lewis‘ proposition that Jesus was either the Lord (Who He said He was, both God and Man, the Savior of the world) or He was a liar. The only other alternative was that He was a lunatic, and I think that’s what Vonnegut believed.

Occasionally crass or vulgar in places, this graphic novel adaptation does well to keep the sexual scenes mostly hidden and the language somewhat toned down (minus an F-bomb or two). The artwork is playful, and the portrayal of Billy is fitting, at all ages. The Tralfamadorians are an interesting alien species, and the flashbacks and flashforwards finally made sense to me. If you’ve ever had a hard time understanding Slaughterhouse Five, this might be a good visual refresher for you.

I sort of enjoyed reading this book, but I can’t really recommend it as healthy reading for the reasons stated above. I know that some people might want to harp on me for disliking a classic (as has happened before), but my purpose in reviewing books, after all, is to help view the books I read through the lens of a biblical worldview.

So, no apologies, just opinions. Happy reading!

©2021 E.T.

Read More from Kurt Vonnegut:

• Player Piano (1952)
• Mother Night (1961)
• Cat’s Cradle (1963)
• Breakfast of Champions (1973)
• Slaughterhouse-Five (2020, with Ryan North and Albert Monteys)