"One of the main effects of war, after all, is that people are discouraged form being characters"

I've now finished the book (Slaughterhouse-Five). Strange one, I must admit. But in only two-hundred fifteen pages, I was able to see the most important occurrences in Billy Pilgrim's life. From when he was in his mother's womb, to when he was killed, to when he meet the Tralfamadorians, and to his experiences at war. It is much more than one can learn about a character in even three-hundred pages.

Vonnegut's narrative techniques are amazing in this novel. The end doesn't seem like the end at all. I dont meant it's one of those endings where the reader is left shocked at the sudden, unexpected ending. It's nothing like that actually. But this is not bad in any way. When I finished reading, I felt like this book could just keep on and on forever, with Billy time-traveling from one year to the other. This feeling simply strengthened Billy Pilgrim's and the Tralfamadorians' belief that time is circular. 

Kurt Vonnegut is brilliantly adapting a belief into a literary technique. He somehow makes the narrating of the book circular itself. With his narrative techniques, any part of the book could be the beginning or the ending. The story doesn't follow a series of events in a chronological order. It goes back and forth in time, supporting the idea that everything happens at the same time instead of chronologically. The order of events coud be altered and everything would remain clear and coherent. 

For some reason, Vonnegut decided to end Billy's story with Pilgrim being at the Tralfamadorian zoo with Montana Wildhack and their baby. It's strange how out of all the events in Billy's life, he decided to use this one as the final one. I believe he chose this one because it's the point in Billy's life where he's finally happy and fits in. Odd, isn't it? How the place where Billy fits in best, is a planet with beings completely different from him. But he's had a hard life. In war, nobody liked him very much because of how weak and weird he was. After the war ended he got married, but it was to a woman who he didn't even like. However, he seems completely happy with Montana and their newborn. There seems to be a sense of belonging that is not present in any other part of the novel. True, it might all be a made up story in Billy's head, but it's where he's happiest.