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  • Slaughterhouse-Five

  • Written by: Kurt Vonnegut
  • Narrated by: James Franco
  • Length: 5 hrs and 13 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (528 ratings)

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Slaughterhouse-Five

Written by: Kurt Vonnegut
Narrated by: James Franco
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Publisher's Summary

Slaughterhouse-Five is the now famous parable of Billy Pilgrim, a World War II veteran and POW who has, in the later stage of his life, become "unstuck in time" and who experiences at will (or unwillingly) all known events of his chronology out of order and sometimes simultaneously.

Traumatized by the bombing of Dresden at the time he had been imprisoned, Pilgrim drifts through all events and history, sometimes deeply implicated, sometimes a witness. He is surrounded by Vonnegut's usual large cast of continuing characters (notably here the hack science fiction writer Kilgore Trout and the alien Tralfamadorians, who oversee his life and remind him constantly that there is no causation, no order, no motive to existence). The "unstuck" nature of Pilgrim's experience may constitute an early novelistic use of what we now call post-traumatic stress disorder; then again, Pilgrim's aliens may be as "real" as Dresden is real to him.

Struggling to find some purpose, order, or meaning to his existence and humanity's, Pilgrim meets the beauteous and mysterious Montana Wildhack (certainly the author's best character name), has a child with her, and drifts on some supernal plane, finally, in which Kilgore Trout, the Tralfamadorians, Montana Wildhack, and the ruins of Dresden do not merge but rather disperse through all planes of existence.

Slaughterhouse-Five was hugely successful, brought Vonnegut an enormous audience, was a finalist for the National Book Award and a best seller, and remains four decades later as timeless and shattering a war fiction as Catch-22, with which it stands as the two signal novels of their riotous and furious decade.

©1969 Kurt Vonnegut (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

What the critics say

"James Franco is an inspired choice as narrator for this anti-war classic. While still young, he still manages to sound world-weary.... Franco has fun with the offbeat characters and Vonnegut's quirky text but keeps the overall tone thoughtful.... Franco's reading gives the 1960s classic a freshness that will appeal to both new listeners and Vonnegut's many fans." ( AudioFile)

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What listeners say about Slaughterhouse-Five

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Weird But Enjoyable. Bad Narration

This book - following a Time-Traveling American soldier from his time as a German POW, witnessing the Fire-bombing of Dresden, surviving a Plane Crash post-war, and being kidnapped by Aliens - jumps into and out of timelines. Somehow, it's still pretty easy to follow and is an engrossing tale.
Vonnegut is a brilliant author with truly crazy characters. The plot is bizzarre and tbh, reminded me of 'Donnie Darko'. The prose is excellent, with a nice mixture of vivid mental images and brutally realistic dialogue.

James Franco is an indifferent narrator at best. He slowly plods his way through the text with a strikingly monotone delivery. I had to speed the Recording up to 1.25x.

I give this recording 7 out of 10 stars

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More like James BLANKo

I really enjoyed the story but James is such a monotone speaker that it took away from my enjoyment of the book.

3 people found this helpful

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Where’s the old version?

When I purchased this audiobook in 2013 it was read by Ethan Hawke and the narration was fantastic. I don’t know when Audible swapped it out for this recording by James Franco, but yikes, what a snooze. His “just woke up” vocal fry affect totally interferes with the narrative flow of the story. What a shame! Bring back Ethan!

2 people found this helpful

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great book bad narrator

I love this book, it is very well written, but James Franco falls flat as a narrator.

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is there any way to get my time back?

slowest book ever. drab narrating. I wish I hadn't given it as much of a chance as I had.

1 person found this helpful

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loved the story, not the performance

James Franco's German pronunciation is terrible and he sounds bored the whole time. Loved the story though!

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Boooooooring!

I have been working my way through classic sci-fi novels. I recently finished Neuromancer which was fantastic. Slaughterhouse Five is also considered a classic. Why? Probably because it was culturally relevant at the time, but in 2018, it simply sucks. This is one of those books that feels like it’s constantly in the introduction because it never goes anywhere. The main character is hollow and blank, he has no clear opponent or conflict and James Franco sounds like he recorded this at 3am. Finally, the author annoyingly inserts random pieces of information that The reader doesn’t give two shits about - like the profession of the previous owner of an apartment Billy was staying at and who the lady was that a boat was named after. I was not entertained, I was not moved and no new perspectives were gained.

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Excellent classic Vonnegut well read

Vonnegut is joy to read, and James Franco’s familiar tones were a welcome guide through his dark funny prose.

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My first Vonnegut

Interesting book! This was my first Vonnegut and I do plan to read more. I couldn’t figure out if it was science fi, fantasy or just dreamy historical fiction… it doesn’t matter, I liked it!

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meh

it was good enough I suppose, I would have thought being a classic it would have more substance, no real story just recalling events in a strange order, aliens were cool though

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  • Keith
  • 2015-11-20

Don't Quit Your Daytime Job, James

Vonnegut is one of a kind, and if you like that kind, Slaughterhouse Five is not to be missed. However, the same cannot be said about this audiobook. I usually like James Franco as an actor, but I was greatly disappointed with his narration of this book. There was nothing at all remarkable about his voice. He mumbled some of the time, and he sounded bored and listless all of the time. He seemed to be phoning it in.

111 people found this helpful

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  • Darwin8u
  • 2017-01-22

Everything is nothing, with a twist.

I've read Slaughterhouse-Five several times and I'm still not sure I know exactly how Vonnegut pulls it off. It is primarily a postmodern, anti-war novel. It is an absurd look at war, memory, time, and humanity, but it is also gentle. Its prose emotionally feels (go ahead, pet the emotion) like the tug of the tides, the heaviness of sleep, the seduction of alcohol, the dizziness of love. His prose is simple, but beautiful.

Obviously, part of the brilliance of this novel is born from the reality that Vonnegut is largely playing the notes of his own song (obviously, obscured by an unreliable narrator, time that is unstuck, and generous kidnapping aliens). It is the song of someone who has seen horrible, horrible things but still wants to dance and smile (so a Totentanz?).

Emperor, your sword won't help you out
Sceptre and crown are worthless here
I've taken you by the hand
For you must come to my dance

I had to work very much and very hard
The sweat was running down my skin
I'd like to escape death nonetheless
But here I won't have any luck

It is essentially art pulled out of the tension between despair and hope, grief and celebration, love and death. It is a classic not because it has a message about war, but because it has a message about life. Vonnegut aimed at war and hit everything.

103 people found this helpful

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  • Walter W. Quinn
  • 2018-07-05

Horrible narration.

One of my all-time favorites novels ruined by a narrator who just sounds bored. Real shame.

84 people found this helpful

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  • Rhiannon
  • 2018-04-20

Please God, no more James Franco.

Normally, no matter good or bad a book may be, I HAVE to finish it. I have to know how it ends. This book is the exception. It's not so much to do with the Author, but the Narrator. James Franco's narration of the book makes this story virtually unbearable. Honestly, I couldn't even get past the first hour. I'll have to see if there's another narrator for the book.

83 people found this helpful

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  • JL
  • 2015-12-01

Good book, meh narrator

Although I liked the book, I wasn't a fan of James Franco's reading of it. His mumbling and flat affect made the book made the book feel a bit tedious.

78 people found this helpful

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  • illnist
  • 2017-03-03

Don't bother

I loved this book until James Franco butchered it. I suggest having a listen to the preview first. Wish I did.

64 people found this helpful

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  • Anonymous User
  • 2018-05-20

Never let James Franco narrate

I knew little about this book other than it was apparently a must read. The story itself is unique if not confusing until you get the hang of it. Not as satisfying a tale as I would have liked but the flow and form of the story was enjoyable.

James Franco though... you'd think you'd get a decent voice performance out of a film actor. It was like having a high school junior drama student read it to me: apathetic tone, crappy fake accents, limited emotional range. There was barely an audible difference between characters and he sounded SO BORED the whole time. All in all, a real turd of a reading.

I'd recommend the book, just do yourself a favor and find a different narrator.

63 people found this helpful

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  • Shane Fuder
  • 2017-03-11

Not well read

James Franco did a terrible job. Practically monotone. Audible could've gotten anybody to better than this.

60 people found this helpful

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  • Screech
  • 2016-11-16

Good story, poor audio & reading

Classic 1960's writing. Terrible 2010 voice. Male vocal fry. Also, levels should have been normalized. Too much gain adjustment required. Kept having to back up position and increase volume to hear what I'd missed. Then, few minutes later, pull out the earbuds to keep from being blasted out.

57 people found this helpful

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  • Steve
  • 2015-11-03

SO IT GOES

What did you love best about Slaughterhouse-Five?

If like me, you read this in school, all the memories will flood back about the unusual characters and situations. If this is new for you, I believe you will appreciate James Franco's soothing read. I'd been waiting a while for Mr Franco to record an audiobook. Audible had sent out a teaser by email a month early about this book, I was patient! As a fan, I particularly enjoyed his caedence and the nuances of his reading. To me it's like 'a work of art'! So it goes.

56 people found this helpful