I read this for the first time about ten years ago and, I'll be honest, lost track of what was going on. With a lot more Vonnegut under my belt I can say this is both one of the saddest and most penetratingly insightful of his books. Some of his other works are strongly flavoured by the horror of humanity's actions in World War 2, but this book largely eschews the normal satirical Vonnegutian flippancy when dealing with such grave and outrageous issues, and instead pores over the devastating personal effects of war, politics, art, love, patriotism and the mutability of human values.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
My Goodreads Profile
As you suggest was the case for you, I might've benefited from this being one of the later Vonnegut books I read. I loved it immediately. Very powerful in conveying its message. If you haven't seen it, I recommend the movie version starring (surprisingly effective) Nick Nolte.