This Day in History: 10 November 2020
10 November 1973
47 years ago, today, newspaper reports were published detailing the burning of 36 copies of 'Slaughterhouse-Five' by Kurt Vonnegut in North Dakota. This book was a combination of real events and was also science fiction. The hero, Billy Pilgrim, was a World War II soldier who had witnessed the firebombing of Dresden, which Vonnegut himself had seen. Pilgrim becomes 'unstuck in time' and lives a double existence. One of his lives is based on an alien planet where a resigned acceptance of doom expresses itself. In his other life on Earth, Pilgrim preaches the same philosophy. Many found the book's pessimistic outlook and bleak humour unsuitable for school children.
In 1992, Vonnegut was born in Indiana. During World War II, he was captured by Germans and held in Dresden, where he was forced to dig out dead and charred bodies in the aftermath of the city's bombing. After the war, he studied anthropology at the University of Chicago and later wrote journalism and public relations material. His other novels include 'Cat's Cradle', 'Breakfast of Champions', 'Galapagos' and others, but did not generate as much controversy as 'Slaughterhouse-Five'. His experimental writing style, combining the real, the absurd and the satiric, attracted attention and made his books popular. He died in 2007.
Want to find out more about the controversy surrounding 'Slaughterhouse-Five'? Click here for more information, or here for more about Kurt Vonnegut.
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