Cat's Cradle

A fabulous insight about the dark side of human nature. Vonnegut does a wonderful job of weaving light hearted humor with heart wrenching truth. Vonnegut is a wizard with words and weaves an intriguing plot about a nobody author, together with a lonely midget, his miserable sister, and a motley crew of other assorted cast members. They are thrust into a plot device that could very well lead to...more

A fabulous insight about the dark side of human nature. Vonnegut does a wonderful job of weaving light hearted humor with heart wrenching truth. Vonnegut is a wizard with words and weaves an intriguing plot about a nobody author, together with a lonely midget, his miserable sister, and a motley crew of other assorted cast members. They are thrust into a plot device that could very well lead to Armageddon. Vonnegut baffles your mind with ideas and concepts of science and human morals that leave you wondering for hours. Nothing is safe from Vonnegut’s statistical humor as he also finds time to poke fun at religion, creating his own ideology, Bokononism, finds just about every way to make every religion and aspect of human nature seem futile and in some cases humorous. Cat’s cradle is a remarkable work of art that anyone who wants a wild ride that will warp and twist your ideals, challenge your morals, and have your mind spinning on its heels all the way until it’s over.   hide

Cat's Cradle is my unsurprising favorite, maybe the rare--or even one--time when Vonnegut's humor and despair were in perfect balance, sketching a portrait of a mad scientist and his dysfunctionally unhappy family, the birth of a cheerfully nihilistic religion, and the end of the world through crystallization (did this provide the germ for Ballard's hauntingly beautiful The Crystal...more

Cat's Cradle is my unsurprising favorite, maybe the rare--or even one--time when Vonnegut's humor and despair were in perfect balance, sketching a portrait of a mad scientist and his dysfunctionally unhappy family, the birth of a cheerfully nihilistic religion, and the end of the world through crystallization (did this provide the germ for Ballard's hauntingly beautiful The Crystal World--my favorite end-of-the-world scenario--published three years later?). Vonnegut seemed to have said it all with this one (unfortunately he wrote for several more decades ("See the cat? See the cradle?")). But for this and a for a few others of his early work, I'm grateful for him.   hide

This apocalyptic novel is an interesting view of what the end of the world may be like. The hero, John (Johah, as he calls himself), begins work on a book about the bombing of Hiroshima, and ends up getting mixed up in the lives of the A-bomb's principal inventor's children. Interestingly enough, the man who was most responsible for the atomic bomb is also largely to blame for the final...more

This apocalyptic novel is an interesting view of what the end of the world may be like. The hero, John (Johah, as he calls himself), begins work on a book about the bombing of Hiroshima, and ends up getting mixed up in the lives of the A-bomb's principal inventor's children. Interestingly enough, the man who was most responsible for the atomic bomb is also largely to blame for the final destruction of human life. Vonnegut may be a fatalist, and he certainly is a pessimist. His bleak view of mankind, of science, of religion (as exemplified by the outrageous theology he creates) is nothing short of a wake-up call. Vonnegut is immensely entertaining, Dark and enjoyable.   hide

For a third time in 15 years I return to this book for some "wisdom" and laughter from the nihilist poet Bokonon. Aside from being this great satire of religion, politics and everything (in the style of the Hitch hiker's guide to the Galaxy) from which I deliver a great deal of pleasure, I also cannot stop thinking of the fact that Vonnegut IS at times Bokonon and his books are the "religion" of...more

For a third time in 15 years I return to this book for some "wisdom" and laughter from the nihilist poet Bokonon. Aside from being this great satire of religion, politics and everything (in the style of the Hitch hiker's guide to the Galaxy) from which I deliver a great deal of pleasure, I also cannot stop thinking of the fact that Vonnegut IS at times Bokonon and his books are the "religion" of lies his character has created.

As Bokonon himself has justified that:

"I wanted all things to seem to make some sense,

so we could all be happy,

yes, instead of tense.

And I made up lies,

so they all fit nice,

and I made this sad world a paradise."   hide

I think I came into this book with the wrong ideas about it. I had heard of Vonnegut being this monolithic science fiction writer and since I've always liked science fiction I thought I would love this. In reality very little of this book seems like science fiction to me, it reads like a regular fiction novel in which the only thing science about this fiction is the invention of ice 9 a kind...more

I think I came into this book with the wrong ideas about it. I had heard of Vonnegut being this monolithic science fiction writer and since I've always liked science fiction I thought I would love this. In reality very little of this book seems like science fiction to me, it reads like a regular fiction novel in which the only thing science about this fiction is the invention of ice 9 a kind of ice that can freeze the entire planet. Cat's Cradle is meant to be a satire and I think that maybe that is why I don't care for it. All it does is hit you over and over again on the head with this sort of "if we don't stop acting like idiots this is what will happen" type message which gets rather repetitive. None of the characters were particularly interesting to me as it seemed that we don't really get to know the inner mind of any of the characters. Alright, but I don't think I'll bother with another Vonnegut book.   hide

Kurt Vonnegut has a weird, but witty, sense of humor. Cat’s Cradle is a perfect example of that. Vonnegut’s made-up religion, Bokonon, is based on lies - and yet, it makes a lot more sense than some of our “real” religions. It’s a clever commentary on organized religion, its followers, its martyrs, and its enemies. Vonnegut also provides commentary on other social...more

Kurt Vonnegut has a weird, but witty, sense of humor. Cat’s Cradle is a perfect example of that. Vonnegut’s made-up religion, Bokonon, is based on lies - and yet, it makes a lot more sense than some of our “real” religions. It’s a clever commentary on organized religion, its followers, its martyrs, and its enemies. Vonnegut also provides commentary on other social issues: women as sex symbols (the vapid Mona), science versus beliefs, and the role of the father, among others. Cat’s Cradle is cleverly written, well thought-out, and an all-around interesting read. Definitely one of my favorite novels.   hide

The narrator, Jonah, is writing a book about the first atomic bomb. A meeting with Newt Hoenikker (whose father created the atomic bomb) leads Jonah to the island republic of San Lorenzo. The religion on the island of San Lorenzo, founded by Bokonon, is based completely on "foma," or lies. Key aspects of Bokononism are "kara," a group of people you are linked to by...more

The narrator, Jonah, is writing a book about the first atomic bomb. A meeting with Newt Hoenikker (whose father created the atomic bomb) leads Jonah to the island republic of San Lorenzo. The religion on the island of San Lorenzo, founded by Bokonon, is based completely on "foma," or lies. Key aspects of Bokononism are "kara," a group of people you are linked to by fate, and "granfalloon," a group of people who only think they are linked, like by nationality or alumni status. Vonnegut's keen, satirical insights into religion, politics, and science will make you laugh through your tears as you stop and think about everything you believe to be utterly true. My favorite of Vonnegut's novels. A true masterpiece.   hide

I didn't ever want to put this book down, it was incredibly intriguing and interesting but the ending was rather curious. I absolutely loved the book until the last 5 pages then when I read the ending and closed the cover all I could think was well...hmmmm. I know it's how Vonnegut wanted it to end, it's a thought-provoking book. Not my favorite book, but very, very good none-the-less.

The only Vonnegut novel I bothered to read, for obvious reasons (HINT: I'm a cat). It was really great I thought. But didn't have as many cats as I thought it would. Still at least he mention them in the title, that's something I guess. I wish he had mentioned us in Slaughterhouse 5, because I really actually want to read that one. However my rampant egomania about being a cat prohibits me from...more

The only Vonnegut novel I bothered to read, for obvious reasons (HINT: I'm a cat). It was really great I thought. But didn't have as many cats as I thought it would. Still at least he mention them in the title, that's something I guess. I wish he had mentioned us in Slaughterhouse 5, because I really actually want to read that one. However my rampant egomania about being a cat prohibits me from reading anything that doesn't promise to mention cats at least once.   hide