Slapstick

The book explores one of Vonnegut's favorite recurring themes, which is his belief in our need to belong extended families and how they would be an adequate, larger and more useful substitute for biological ones. The most endearing section of the novel, in my opinion, lies in its introduction, where Vonnegut candidly describes his beloved sister's death, which took place shortly after she had learnt of a train accident where her husband and children had been killed. As for the novel's plot, it follows the relationship of a boy and his sister who grow up together in isolation from the outside…