I really enjoy Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s books.  I love Slaughter House 5, it's about World War II.
How many of his other novels have you read?
Many... Cat's Cradle, Galapagos, Palm Sunday... I've forgotten some.  Have you read anything from him? 
Just Slaughter House 5,  I found it quite dark. Do you have any particular interest in World War II? I know he was a veteran.
It was darker than most of his stuff.  It's about his experience as a POW in WW II.  It really happened to him.  Do you ever read about WW II?
Not very often. It must have been an incredibly difficult thing to live through. The fire-bombing that he describes is very intense too
Yeah.  I am something of an amatuer WW II historian.  In this case Dresden was fire bombed although many German cities were razed, not just Berlin. 
Yes, not to mention the Blitz in the UK.
Yeah, there were many cities there too.  I was surprised even Scotland and Ireland were bombed.  
Yes, it happened to big cities that had manufacturing capabilities. The blackouts must have made these busy cities look completely different at night.