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Cat's Cradle

by Kurt Vonnegut

4.16 · rating details · 67,137 ratings · 2,784 reviews

Cat's Cradle, one of Vonnegut's most entertaining novels, is filled with scientists and G-men and even ordinary folks caught up in the game. These assorted characters chase each other around in search of the world's most important and dangerous substance, a new form of ice that freezes at room temperature. At one time, this novel could probably be found on the bookshe...more

Paperback, 287 pages

Published November 4th 2009 by Dell Publishing (first published 1963)

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Feb 13, 2010

Lorenzo rated it

Shelves: 2007-readings, american

There are two voices inside my head. Let's call them Lore and Enzo. At the moment L & E are quarreling on Cat's Cradle.

(...)
L) Oh come on! This book is wonderful. Perhaps it's the best novel Vonnegut has ever written.
E) Are you kidding me? Have you read the whole of it?
L) Of course I've read it from its first word to the very last one.
E) And haven't you noticed anything strange?
L) What are you talking about?
E) I mean, you know, it's a discontinuou...more

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Mar 03, 2009

Manny rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, strongly-recommended

Most people have read Cat's Cradle, so I won't bother to try and hide spoilers. Did you say you hadn't read it? Well, what are you waiting for? This isn't Ulysses, you know, it's short and funny! So, now that it's just us people who know the book, I want to say why I disagree with the criticism you often see, that it's too fragmentary. On the contrary, I think it's very focused, and makes its point with near-perfect economy and wit. There are two obvious themes. One is how the irresponsible use ...more

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Oct 18, 2008

Mike rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: please, everyone read this

Shelves: 50-books-2008, can-t-stop-recommending

This, along with The Joke and The Trial (and maybe some others I've forgotten), is one of the few books I've read the most--4 or 5 times (again, maybe I've forgotten now and the number is higher).

Slaughterhouse Five may be a haunting, beautifully constructed, masterpiece of literature (and it is), but Cat's Cradle is, I think, a true work of genius. I don't believe that it is possible to so perfectly articulate care for, disappointment in, laughter at, anger towards, and care again f...moreThis, along with The Joke and The Trial (and maybe some others I've forgotten), is one of the few books I've read the most--4 or 5 times (again, maybe I've forgotten now and the number is higher).

Slaughterhouse Five may be a haunting, beautifully constructed, masterpiece of literature (and it is), but Cat's Cradle is, I think, a true work of genius. I don't believe that it is possible to so perfectly articulate care for, disappointment in, laughter at, anger towards, and care again for humanity and the divine comedy of human existence, in anything other than a true piece of genius. Kurt Vonnegut utterly does that in the deceptively simple, dauntingly apocalyptic, and heartbreakingly humorous Cat's Cradle (which is summed up perfectly by one of its inhabitants: "No damn cat. No damn cradle."). It is a book which runs on a complete internal logic which is beautifully human. If nothing else I hope that the world is still one in which a discussion like this is relevant:

"...When a man becomes a writer, I think he takes on a sacred obligation to produce beauty and enlightenment and comfort at top speed."
"I just can't help thinking what a real shaking up it would give people if, all of a sudden, there were no new books, no new plays, new histories, new poems..."
"And how proud would you be when people started dying like flies?" I demanded.
"They'd die more like mad dogs, I think--snarling and snapping at each other and biting their own tails."
I turned to Castle the elder. "Sir, how does a man die when he's deprived of the consolations of literature?"
"In one of two ways," he said, "petrescence of the heart or atrophy of the nervous system."
"Neither one very pleasant, I expect," I suggested.

Zoe mentioned in a comment she left me that everything about humanity can be found in Don Quixote. I agree with her. But it is also all here in the Cat's Cradle. The only thing is that there's no damn cat, and no damn cradle. Vonnegut weaves a sort of fatalistic humanism which loves humanity but loathes the terrible things it does.

Finally, in the words of Horlick Minton, Ambassador to the Republic of San Lorenzo: "Think of what a paradise this world would be if men were kind and wise." (less)

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Sep 09, 2008

Elze rated it

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It's been a long time since I enjoyed a book so much. It's strange to say that, because overall I didn't find its conclusion satisfying. However, it's written so well I enjoyed every sentence. Every paragraph, every little episode had something that spoke to me, whether I agreed with it or not. It's a rare experience.

It's too bad I read Kurt Vonnegut for the first time at the age of 12-13. I'm not sure if I read Cat's Cradle or some other books, but they seemed just plain weird and b...moreIt's been a long time since I enjoyed a book so much. It's strange to say that, because overall I didn't find its conclusion satisfying. However, it's written so well I enjoyed every sentence. Every paragraph, every little episode had something that spoke to me, whether I agreed with it or not. It's a rare experience.

It's too bad I read Kurt Vonnegut for the first time at the age of 12-13. I'm not sure if I read Cat's Cradle or some other books, but they seemed just plain weird and boring to me. I really wasn't old enough to appreciate them, and had no desire to pick up Vonnegut again until we decided to read this book for the Science and Religion in Fiction book club.

The Bokononian religion that plays such a large part in the book, is fascinating. I was very intrigued by the concepts of carass and grandfalloon. I'm totally with Vonnegut on the notion of grandfaloon; I never believed that political and other "formal" associations are entities through which the world works. Same for nations -- I never believed that all individuals of one nation are bound for a common destiny, so I agree with the Cat's Cradle protagonist that nations are false organizations. This makes the concept of carass even more tantalizing. It is tempting to fantasize that each of us belongs to a special group of people all of who, unbeknownst to each other, are working for some kind of purpose for which we are destined. I don't believe that, but that makes it even more fascinating to explore this concept in a book, as if it were real.

The real purpose of the Cat's Cradle protagonist's carass turns out be very depressing and defeatist. But at least, unlike most religions, Bokononism does not offer illusions that our existence on Earth serves higher purpose. If I had to choose a religion at a gunpoint, this would be the one I chose. :-)

What I found dissatisfying about this book is that it very depressingly barrels towards a predictable conclusion. (I guess if I can't accept that, I'm not ready for Bokononism yet. :-)) All the characters in Cat's Cradle are rather passive. They watch what's happening without doing much to stop it. Still, the thickening sense of dread, of impending doom is fascinating. And the characters the protagonist encounters along the way are very real, complex and interesting. All of them are sympathetic, even Felix, the creator of atomic bomb and Ice-9. As scary and inhuman as he seems at first, he has redeeming features, such as dedication to truth.

This book is a fast read, written in a very clear and engaging style. Despite its heavy philosophical ideas, it never slows down. All in all it's a wonderful story.(less)

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Apr 14, 2008

Chris rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

Nothing in this review is true.

As much as I enjoy reading Vonnegut, one of the nagging little doubts I always have is that I'm missing something. That there's a hidden message in there that I'm not picking up on. Or, on the other hand, that I am picking up messages that just aren't there.

Which is, perhaps, the point of the whole book.

The world is full of lies. Good lies, bad lies and indifferent lies, but lies nonetheless, and we pick and choose the lies th...more

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Nov 15, 2009

Aerin rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: sciencefiction, apocalyptic, favorites

Every once in awhile, you discover a book that seems like it was written just for you, and just for the particular moment in your life that you happen to come across it. You think, if I had any talent or inclination, this is exactly the kind of book I would try to write. You get this uncanny feeling that someone has gone through your brain, found all the topics you're interested in, the kinds of plotlines you're drawn to, the writing style that appeals to you, the types of characters you prefe...moreEvery once in awhile, you discover a book that seems like it was written just for you, and just for the particular moment in your life that you happen to come across it. You think, if I had any talent or inclination, this is exactly the kind of book I would try to write. You get this uncanny feeling that someone has gone through your brain, found all the topics you're interested in, the kinds of plotlines you're drawn to, the writing style that appeals to you, the types of characters you prefer to read about, and then wrapped all of it up in an incredibly brilliant novel and delivered it to you when you were most in need of a pick-me-up.

For me, that book was Cat's Cradle.

I'm tired of nuclear war. Global warming is a worn-out cliché. Plagues have been done, and redone, and then done yet again. Comets have collided with the earth, natural resources have dried up, terrorism has crippled us, the Biblical Apocalypse has come and gone, robot uprisings have enslaved us, alien invasions have enslaved us again, and goddammit, would the zombies quit rising from the dead and attacking us, already?

There are only so many ways for the world to end, and I've become bored with all of them.

But then there's Kurt Vonnegut, who says, what if a scientist altered the structure of ice, so that water froze at very warm temperatures? And then what if he created some shards of this "ice-nine", which, if they ever came in contact with the water supply, would act as seed crystals and transform the entire earth into a frozen wasteland in a matter of seconds? And then what if he gave these shards to his bitter and maladjusted children before he died?

Throw in an oddball religious guru, a crazy island potentate, a Ukrainian dancing midget, a cat-killing nihilist, a lovestruck writer, and a whole new way to play footsie, and you've got Cat's Cradle. Definitely one for the "favorites" shelf.

P.S. I wonder how many people fill in "Bokononist" as their religion on official forms? I'm thinking of adopting this practice.(less)

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Dec 15, 2007

Laura rated it

· review of another edition

To begin with, did I like the book? I certainly did, as it was entertaining, delightfully light-hearted and irreverent, with an interestingly outlandish plot and equally absurd characters.

How about the quality of the writing? Call me a purist, but the use of fabricated dialects and invented vocabulary left a bad taste in my mouth. On the up-side, Vonnegut’s use of poetry as comic relief was novel and amusing, and his self-mocking aphorisms are definitely quotable. I took pause ...moreTo begin with, did I like the book? I certainly did, as it was entertaining, delightfully light-hearted and irreverent, with an interestingly outlandish plot and equally absurd characters.

How about the quality of the writing? Call me a purist, but the use of fabricated dialects and invented vocabulary left a bad taste in my mouth. On the up-side, Vonnegut’s use of poetry as comic relief was novel and amusing, and his self-mocking aphorisms are definitely quotable. I took pause to think of how fun it would be make up a religion in a work of fiction, and liked the idea immensely. In the midst of this novel, I also asked if there were too many things going on, and if there weren’t enough ideas for multiple books. I wondered why I was bothered here and not when reading Palahniuk, whose writing is similar but with more repetition and rhetorical tricks to tie a story together. I particularly began to worry around chapter 105, at which point I feared that Vonnegut was on the verge of losing me. I generally preferred the stories surrounding the main characters to the science-fiction elements surrounding ice-nine, a scientific doomsday device threatening human existence. I would much rather hear more about the creator of the atomic bomb and how much he loved to play with toys, or about the midget love affair that ended with a Russian spy fleeing the country.

What else is there to consider when judging Cat’s Cradle? Did I think this novel was a politically, socially, intellectually or in any other way a significant work, thus rendering Vonnegut a significant author? No, I don’t believe so. Nothing revolutionary here. Similarly, I didn’t feel the sting of his social commentary and feel compelled to denounce the sins of the world as he outlined them. Perhaps I am not the target audience, a young reader in the 21st century rather than the masses of the late 1960’s.

My verdict? More research is required. Inconclusive. But it was an enjoyable read.
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Jul 11, 2008

Katie rated it

This classic contains a perennially useful reminder (excerpted below) in Chapter 45, which is entitled, "Why Americans are Hated":

Clare Minton's letter to the Times was published during the worst era of Senator McCarthy, and her husband was fired twelve hours after the letter was printed.
"What was so awful about the letter?" I asked.
"The highest possible form of treason," said Minton, "is to say that Americans aren't loved where...more

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Nov 27, 2008

Jude rated it

· review of another edition

the stars are because this was the beginning of it all. a vocabulary shaper. a code for those who knew. permission to think and name and laugh and cry without tears. the grateful dead's publishing company took its name from this book.

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Dec 28, 2011

Harold rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: revisited, vonnegut, favorites

Sometime in the mid 1960s I was in a small bookshop on St. Mark's Place in NYC. I saw a paperback by an author previously unknown to me. The book was Sirens Of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut. I read it and became a Kurt Vonnegut fan. Cat's Cradle was the second book by KV that I read and I decided to read everything I could by him.

A while back I started to revisit Vonnegut and began with "Sirens of Titan" and now "Cat's Cradle," I enjoyed them as much on the second go ar...more

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Aug 22, 2008

Inder rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books, science, 20th-century, fiction, read-2008

I keep coming back to the clarinet solo ... the one transcendent moment in a dark, dark novel. As the week wears on and the existential pain fades, what's left is the near-poetic brilliance.

Dangit: five stars.
___________________________________________

Five stars for near-poetic brilliance, great one-liners, and the skillful crushing (in less than 200 pages!) of my last remaining hopes in God and humanity, minus one star for completely ruining my week.

(Ne...more

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Oct 01, 2011

Lithium rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, sci-fi, favourites

I love it when a book leaves me unsure about how to classify it. This book meshes history, religion, politics, and a dash of science fiction. No damn cat, and no damn cradle!

I think that the sense of absurdism is exactly what makes this novel so good (and deeply profound in its own way). If Vonnegut had gone about this book in a way that favoured the serious, heavy approach over the witty, seemingly effortless and light, satirical approach, we would have had another boring old story...moreI love it when a book leaves me unsure about how to classify it. This book meshes history, religion, politics, and a dash of science fiction. No damn cat, and no damn cradle!

I think that the sense of absurdism is exactly what makes this novel so good (and deeply profound in its own way). If Vonnegut had gone about this book in a way that favoured the serious, heavy approach over the witty, seemingly effortless and light, satirical approach, we would have had another boring old story full of rights and wrongs and and nothing new to offer. It is, instead, irreverent and with liberal helpings of irony and stony, low-key humour. I think that's the greatest thing about Vonnegut: he never takes himself too seriously. And he trusts his readers enough to read into his story without spelling everything out for them.

Of course, I would be a doing this book a disservice by not mentioning Bokononism. It certainly struck me as interesting. I enjoyed the Calypsos, in particular: 'Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly; Man got to sit and wonder, ‘Why, why, why?’ Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land; Man got to tell himself he understand.' Regarding the philosophy of Bokononism itself, I thought the concept of Fomas - harmless untruths - was a brilliant touch.

In terms of plot, I think the book forgets itself at times and takes liberties on the narrative front. This is partly what makes it much more effective, in my opinion, because that way you're in for several surprises throughout the book. There are things you absolutely do not see coming. We start off with Jonah, and when I first started reading the book I expected it to be about him. But what I found was that the book was more about everything and everyone else - the Hoennikkers and the Castles and Monzanas and Crosbys and Mintons, San Lorenzo, religion, the End of the World - than about Jonah himself. I realised I don't know Jonah at all, except that he loved Mona. And that he was a writer.

The most interesting moments are in the second half of the book, in particular those relating to McCabe and Lionel Boyd Johnson, 'Papa' Monzano's religion (and that of everybody else in San Lorenzo), and of course, the worms-and-tornadoes-bit - which I absolutely did NOT see coming. At the oubliette part, I was mystified for a moment...Wait, how did we get to this from that?

The End of the World is a topic interesting enough on its own; and, depending on how its handled, a laughably bad or an immensely brilliant basis of the story. This book falls in the latter category: the wonderful thing about Cat's Cradle is that, though the book starts off with the writer documenting the End of the World, it is towards the end that you see the real End coming. And even then, it's not what you would expect.

If you can get over the initial sense of slight incredulity, this book will truly stand out as the brilliant read it is. If you don't take this book too seriously, you will at once get more out of it, and what's more, you will find it profound too. Its deceptively light, not-too-serious tone underlies its real depth and meaning.(less)

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Feb 12, 2011

James rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, postmodernism, humor, favorites

Listen:
Although I've only yet read three of his novels, I would be surprised if Cat's Cradle isn't Kurt Vonnegut's greatest masterpiece. It can be very difficult to rate Vonnegut's work, as his books are so easily enjoyable and his flippant sarcasm, through which he makes light of such matters as Armageddon, could give the impression that he shouldn't be taken seriously as an artist (he certainly isn't taking himself seriously). However, this meditation on science's role in man's eventual d...moreListen:
Although I've only yet read three of his novels, I would be surprised if Cat's Cradle isn't Kurt Vonnegut's greatest masterpiece. It can be very difficult to rate Vonnegut's work, as his books are so easily enjoyable and his flippant sarcasm, through which he makes light of such matters as Armageddon, could give the impression that he shouldn't be taken seriously as an artist (he certainly isn't taking himself seriously). However, this meditation on science's role in man's eventual destruction, and the inherent paradoxes of religious beliefs is undeniably a significant literary accomplishment.

To start with, the storyline in Cat's Cradle is a fuller one than in Breakfast of Champions or even Slaughterhouse-Five. The book is essentially a collection of short vignettes. It begins as the narrator, Jonah, attempts to write a biography of the mysterious Dr.Felix Hoenikker, "the father of the atom bomb." His quest for information about this bizarre man, comparable in a way to Charles Foster Kane, leads him to an island in the Caribbean, which he soon becomes president of (think Woody Allen in Bananas). The plot then descends into an end of the world scenario that would make any pulp sci-fi author worth his salt jealous. Even faced with the end of mankind, Vonnegut can only laugh, and, it goes without saying, make the reader laugh along with him.

Indeed, this is Vonnegut at his most wickedly satirical; there's nary a flat line or a philosophical observation that doesn't ring true. And if Vonnegut is writing his best punchlines, then it should follow that this novel contains his best prose writing, given that stinging punchlines are the center of his writing. In the past, I breezed through his novels in less than a day, but here, for the first time, I slowed down and savored his writing; there's so much to enjoy here that, though the book is short, a reader should really take the time to admire how finely crafted this book really is.

Finally, there is Bokononism: the self-refuting religion Vonnegut created for Cat's Cradle. This brilliant concept is what makes the novel truly great. Although he wrings a great many laughs from Bokononism, it is far from just a jokey concept. Indeed, the fact that it is a joke shouldn't keep the reader from taking it seriously. Here Vonnegut has created a true mythology, which ranks with the best of any "serious" sci-fi author.

I regard the novels of Kurt Vonnegut as treats; they go down smoothly and keep you coming back for more. But he also has the brilliance to use humor to take some very high-minded concepts down to Earth(for example: has any contemporary writer of fiction written more candidly about the existence or non-existence of a God?). I would think that, if nothing else, a writer who can make us laugh in the face of the absurd tragedy of mankind is more than worth reading, and Cat's Cradle is this "moral mad scientist" at his very best.(less)

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Jun 27, 2010

Kaion rated it

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Shelves: sci-fi

Oh, isn’t it quaint reading literature from when we thought ~~Ruskies~~Commies~~IraniansSaddamKennedy~~ were going to blow us all mushroom-cloud style a mile high? (Political commentary doesn’t necessarily age well, does it?)

Cat’s Cradle is my introduction to Kurt Vonnegut, and I definitely have an inkling as to why he has such a devoted following. The novel hooked me in immediately into its yarn about… umm… a writer seeking the human story behind the creation of the atom bomb? And there’s s...more

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Sep 17, 2008

Michael rated it

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Recommends it for: Those who need a shaking up.

I'm undecided between whether to give this book four or five stars and I hope that, by the end of this review, that I shall be decided.

I have only read a couple of Vonnegut works before this, and I must say, although it is definitely sarcastic and satirical like his other works I've enjoyed, it is not as biting as I am used to. He is certainly still able to make his points about humanity, society, and the spirit of the individual, but is more subtle than I have grown used to, less o...moreI'm undecided between whether to give this book four or five stars and I hope that, by the end of this review, that I shall be decided.

I have only read a couple of Vonnegut works before this, and I must say, although it is definitely sarcastic and satirical like his other works I've enjoyed, it is not as biting as I am used to. He is certainly still able to make his points about humanity, society, and the spirit of the individual, but is more subtle than I have grown used to, less obvious mocking.

There is a way that this is good: as long as his point is still there and the reader can dig to it, then it fulfills its purpose, along with showing the writer's skills. However, a bad point: it is less entertaining. The unflinching humour used against us is what made me love Kurt, so it can hurt that he did not use it as such this time around.

Do not take this to mean me saying the book is not funny - it is absolutely hilarious, just as the narrator said he wanted it to be to his 'Mom.' Kurt makes me think of a written South Park; it makes everything look absurd to the point that you wonder why you fight about any of this.

One of this is what he calls a granfalloon. It is a group that thinks they ultimately have some intimate connection with one another, but it is all contrived, all so very contrived. I must say, to a great extent I agree that he is right that it is foolish for people to cling so much to a title that is very much our of our control. At the same time, though, I feel myself to be a fairly patriotic Canadian, but I did not control the fact that I was born in Canada and I have not really had much chance to move away, so my still being here is out of my control, too, so why should I love this country and teh fact that I am part of it?

I am not going to pretend that Vonnegut would endorse this thought at all, but I am going to present it: there is nothing wrong with being proud of a granfalloon, but there is something wrong with thinking that your granfalloon has any kind of superiority over any other distinct granfalloon. That is all I have to say there.

I am also very troubled by his ideas regarding foma (awfully close to soma, eh?). i am of the idea that the search for truth is the only worthwhile pursuit out there, so how could I possibly endorse the idea that believing in falsehoods is the right thing to do if it helps you live? I am not sure if even Vonnegut is doing this, however, for if we look at Felix Hoenikker, he was probably the most content man in the whole tale and yet his whole life was centred around trying to find truth in creative ways! I do think that Vonnegut is mocking how scienctists were in those days, saying that they seemed to be merely trying to explain things and tell people what to do rather than find truth. Maybe he was telling us that truth is the ultimate goal. I think Vonnegut is saying that what is truth and whether it should be searched for depends entirely on the individual.

All of the Hoenikker children end up suffering terribly for their choices to live a falsehood. Angela ends up living with an abusive husband just so that she can think, or at leats make other people think, that she was able to land such an attractive and successful man. Frank gets himself to become the heir to a very high position of authority, forever leaving behind the woman he loves, when he just wants to work in an engineering manner! Finally, Newt allows himself to suffer heartbreak and a major humiliation just so he can spend some time with a woman whom he thinks loves him, but is actually a spy for Soviet Russa - or, at the leats, betrays him to them.

The children seem to represent man's foolish attempts to fool themselves into thinking that everything is alright if it looks alright, but that doesn't change how one feels inside. Some need truth. Some need foma. Making it the same for everyone is just ...foolish.

I'll be giving this books a five. Whether I agree with what it appears to be saying or is actually saying is irrelevant. It makes me think and question myself, which we all should do sometimes, and it helps me remember just how foolish we all are.(less)

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Jun 14, 2008

Jeff Scott rated it

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Shelves: sony-reader, 1001books, science-fiction, fiction, classics

This is a strange book. The main character (Jonah), sets off to write a book called The Day the World Ended. It was to be about the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It wasn't to be about the bomb or the background to it, but about what everyone was doing that day when the bomb was dropped. It was also about the main who invented the bomb. A Felix Honniker. During this exploration he is severly sidetracked by people who knew felix. It leads him to a third world country where honneker's c...moreThis is a strange book. The main character (Jonah), sets off to write a book called The Day the World Ended. It was to be about the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It wasn't to be about the bomb or the background to it, but about what everyone was doing that day when the bomb was dropped. It was also about the main who invented the bomb. A Felix Honniker. During this exploration he is severly sidetracked by people who knew felix. It leads him to a third world country where honneker's children live like kings and queens thanks to honneker's invention, ice-nine. Ice nine can make all liquid freeze at extremely warm temperatures. Its purpose was to prevent the army from marching in the mud. It would freeze the mud. The honnerker's have another weapon on their third world country island of San Lorenzo, Bokonism. Bokonism is a religion of nothingness. Vnnegut uses this religion as a commentary on the human condition. The need to have an extreme good and an extreme evil to bring balance into the word. It rings of stories like 1984 with the concept of the forever war and fighting the eternal enemy. The government is always searching for Bokonin, and never finds him. The story is laced with referrals to this faith. In the end the book is never finished and becomes the book you are reading, although the title of the book comes true.

Great passages:

"If I were a younger man. I would write a history of human stupididty, and I would climbe to the top of Mount McCabe and lie down on my back with my history for a pillow, and I would take from the ground some of the blue white poison that makes statues of men, and I would make a statue of myself, lying on my back, grinning horribly and thumbing my nose at You Know Who."

"We are gathered here friends, he said, to honor ok goonyerachamactorz rut zemocratys (Day of the One Hundred Martrys to Democracy), children dead, all dead, all murdreed in war. It is customeary on days like this to call such lost children men. I am unable to call them that for one simple reason, that in the same war in which ok goon moratoozrz tut zamoo crazya died, my own son died. My soul insists that I mourn not a man, but a child"

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Sep 09, 2007

Tracey rated it

Recommends it for: anyone willing to be open-minded about their beliefs and appreciative of dark humour

As part of my plan to read at least one "classic" a month (and also a desire to read/re-read Kurt Vonnegut's body of work), I picked up Cat's Cradle. I remember writing an essay on this novel for my AP English class; unfortunately, I have no idea what happened to the essay itself, as it would be interesting to see my younger self's impressions.

The narrator, John, is a writer who is collecting information on Dr. Felix Hoenikker, one of the fathers of the atom bomb. He contac...more

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Nov 23, 2008

Dennis Burke rated it

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One of Vonnegut's masterpieces. This book was so brilliantly written that I cant wait to forget it, so I can experience it for the first time once more.

With its short chapters and easy to follow storyline, I would rate this book THE gateway book for beginning readers. If you're a connoisseur of sorts, this should be the best short read you will ever experience.

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Jun 10, 2011

Kassi rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, read-in-2011, required-reading

After all is said and done, how can one write a fresh review of Cat's Cradle? It's impossible. Re-read this as an adult and got (instead of a funny, quirky read with a pseudo-intellectualized attitude crammed with cynicism) The Butter Battle Book for adults. A chilling look at what happens when applying existentialist ideation to man's search for meaning in science and religion. A literal telling of the cold war. An offensive masterpiece of writing so stunning that one doesn't know whether to gi...more

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Dec 20, 2008

JuliAnna rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 20th-c-lit

Cat's Cradle is not nearly as good as Slaghterhouse Five. I even prefer the less well-known Galapagos. Perhaps I am just getting old, but there seemed to be too much cleverness to no effect and little substance. Still, there is enough there an well enough written to make it worth the read.

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Sep 12, 2009

Erik Graff rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: everyone

Recommended to Erik by: Betsy Erickson, Rachel Nelson

Shelves: sf

Everyone in high school seemed to be reading Vonnegut, so I wouldn't--wouldn't until my best friend's sister and her best friend pressed Cat's Cradle upon me one afternoon at the home of the siblings. The reading of it didn't take long. Vonnegut reads easily. I wasn't terribly impressed. It seemed a silly book and I was a serious fellow. However, it was fun enough that when Martin, years later, recommended I try more of him, I did and have tried to read everything by Vonnegut since that tim...more

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Sep 06, 2011

Bassaimer rated it

· review of another edition

La prima affermazione nei Libri di Bokonon è la seguente: "Tutte le verità che sto per dirvi sono spudorate menzogne".
Il mio monito bokononista è il seguente:
Chiunque non sia in grado di capire che una religione utile può essere fondata sulle menzogne non capirà neppure questo libro.
E così sia.

----

Una grassona sfiatata, dall'aria sconfitta, con una tuta sporca, che arrancava al nostro fianco, sentì quello che stava dicendo Miss Pefko. Si girò a esaminare il dottor Breed, lanciandogli u...more

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Aug 06, 2011

Jack Wang added it

Shelves: classics

A Vonnegut novel with loose parodies of various absurdities of the twentieth century; among them, the prospect of nuclear destruction, the zealous edification of science as a pure goal, the humanism through which so many have critiqued these previous absurdities. However, everything seems so loosely put together, with countless problems of internal inconsistency, it felt like Vonnegut never made up his mind of what he was trying to say, and just decided to piece together small literary anecdotes...more

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Jan 29, 2008

Phil rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: people who read for fun

Recommended to Phil by: wild-eyed hippies

This book used to be my religion. When I lived as a wandering, hitchiking hippie I was just acting on the Bokononist tenet, "Always take weird travel suggestions". I used to try to determine whether people in my life were in my karass. I laughed at granfuloons. Its a fun read. Vonnegut is just a great companion when you're laying out in the sun and you want to read something for pure pleasure. So, if you're in my karass this review might change the direction of your fate if not I dont ...more

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Dec 23, 2011

Lisa James rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books-list

This was a MUCH better story than the first book I read by the author, & I'm glad I took the chance on reading it. Without giving too much away, a journalist decides to write a book on a man who worked on the atom bomb. Through a strange series of events, he finds himself on the tiny island of San Lorenzo with an odd cast of characters. Bokonon is the "mad priest", who invented his own religion, & represents good. "Papa" is the island's king, emperor, dictator, ultimate r...more

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Nov 24, 2011

Raelyn rated it

· review of another edition

Cat’s Cradle is Kurt Vonnegut’s novel that got him awarded a master’s degree in anthropology. It follows the story of John, or Jonah, as he writes a book about the day the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He begins by collaborating with the three children of Felix Hoenikker, father of the atomic bomb, and tries to discover what kind of man he really was. Along the way the narrator gives references to Bokonon, a religion founded on “fomas”, or harmless untruths. During John’s rese...more

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Nov 19, 2011

Mowey rated it

· review of another edition

this novel is supposed to delve in the life of one of the propellers of the Manhattan Project Felix Hoenikker, the father of the Atom bomb & a man considered as one of the strangest & most misunderstood personalities of his time. but i still can’t see the point why this novel is categorized as a sci-fi book, prolly the words ‘atomic bomb’ & ‘ice-09’ being the reasons why this novel is disguised as one. Cat’s Cradle opens with John, the once-Christian now a Bokonon idealist as he tried to work on...more

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Nov 15, 2011

Lila rated it

· review of another edition

In this acclaimed novel, Vonnegut creates the religion of "Bokononism," which is based on "foma" or "harmless untruths." The main tenet of Bokononism is "Live by the foma that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy."Any religion, including Bokononism, would be considered a foma. The religion is explored in more detail by the main character, John, as he interviews the children of the man who invented the atomic bomb. His research takes him to the isl...more

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Nov 15, 2011

Eli Didier rated it

· review of another edition

Kurt Vonnegut always has a flair for the fantastic in his storytelling. Cat's Cradle proves no exception as it is populated with bizarre characters and science-fiction themes. However, even though Vonnegut's satire deliberately reaches for the ridiculous, the characters of Cat's Cradle are completely relatable and entirely human. Vonnegut's strongest point is crafting fictional people who readers care about. We become invested in them because they go through the same struggles we might, even...more

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Oct 28, 2011

Kris rated it

· review of another edition

In the future, I'll be wary of books praised for their "dark humor". It seems like a buzzword for lazy social commentary.

I remember reading Slaughterhouse Five in high school and thinking nothing much of it, but thinking maybe that was the point, with the lovely "so it goes" mantra. This book was awful. There's no plot, the main character is just a vehicle for endless "Oh, really"s and "Is that so?"s, all the other characters are idiots (even t...more

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About Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut, Junior was an American novelist, satirist, and most recently, graphic artist. He was recognized as New York State Author for 2001-2003.

He was born in Indianapolis, later the setting for many of his novels. He attended Cornell University from 1941 to 1943, where he wrote a column for the student newspaper, the Cornell Daily Sun. Vonnegut trained as a chemist and worked a...more

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The Sirens of Titan (SF Masterworks, #18)

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Trivia About Cat's Cradle

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Quotes from Cat's Cradle

“Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly;
Man got to sit and wonder 'why, why, why?'
Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land;
Man got to tell himself he understand.” — 327 people liked it

“In the beginning, God created the earth, and he looked upon it in his cosmic loneliness.

And God said, "Let Us make living creatures out of mud, so the mud can see what We have done." And God created every living creature that now moveth, and one was man. Mud as man alone could speak. God leaned close to mud as man sat, looked around, and spoke. "What is the purpose of all this?" he asked politely.

"Everything must have a purpose?" asked God.

"Certainly," said man.

"Then I leave it to you to think of one for all this," said God.

And He went away.” — 211 people liked it

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