The Distinguished Gentleman’s Literary Society is a newly-formed group of men who like to read and discuss great books. January’s pick is Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut.

Slaughterhouse-Five , an American classic, is one of the world’s great antiwar books. Centering on the infamous World War II firebombing of Dresden, the novel is the result of what Kurt Vonnegut described as a twenty-three-year struggle to write a book about what he had witnessed as an American prisoner of war. It combines historical fiction, science fiction, autobiography, and satire in an account of the life of Billy Pilgrim, a barber’s son turned draftee turned optometrist turned alien abductee. As Vonnegut had, Billy experiences the destruction of Dresden as a POW. Unlike Vonnegut, he experiences time travel, or coming “unstuck in time.”

It’s not too late to join the group’s first book discussion selection — this book is a quick read. Copies are available at the Keysville Library.

Please note that although the Keysville Branch Library is closed to the public on January 17h for MLK, Jr. weekend, this event will still take place.