"There is no beginning, no middle, no end, no suspense, no moral, no causes, no effects. What we love in our books are the depths of many marvelous moments seen all at one time."
At this point in the novel, Billy is discussing how Tralfamadorians write their books, which is coincidentally (or not so) how Slaughterhouse Five itself is written. I think the form in which is written is vital to the jumpiness and sparatic memories experienced by Billy. Like the books on the alien planet, Slaughterhouse Five, as well as Billy, are just a jumble of scenes and thoughts and memories that have "no beginning, no middle, no end." Also, because Billy can "time travel" he knows exactly how his life will play out and shares his knowledge of the future with the readers, which in turn gives us "no suspense." Sometimes reading the book can be a struggle if you aren't paying attention or forget what was previously happening in the scene when Billy revists it. However, overall, I think the way it is written helps us to relate to Billy and see his jumpy life from inside his mind and through his eyes.
Do you think Vonegut wasn't satisfied with telling his story in chronological order? Did he create these aliens in the story for the sole purpose of planting the idea in Billy of jumping around in the past, present, and future, so that he could construct the novel differently to make it stand out against other novels?
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