Cat's Cradle: A Novel
by Kurt Vonnegut
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Book Reviews of Cat's Cradle: A Novel
Book Review: Karasses, duprasses and granfalloons
Summary: 5 Stars
"Call me Jonah," CAT'S CRADLE begins, referencing the unfortunate soul who got stuck in a whale. This Jonah is a journalist who has decided to write a book about the architect of the bomb that "resolved" World War II. It is not a spoiler to say that he learns after tracking the deceased scientist's post-war life and work that on the day the bomb was dropped, Dr. Newton Hoenikker was playing with a piece of string and as one of his now adult children observes of the children's game of the book's title, there was no cat, there was no cradle. Much of the book becomes a chase down to a Caribbean island republic with a colorful bunch of characters, some accidentally and others not quite so accidentally caught up with the scientist's next big thing after the bomb.
Vonnegut uses this absurd comic tale to comment seriously about the problem of unchecked power, whether it is scientific or political. He gets in some views on religion, too, and invents an entire new one out of whole cloth, "Bokononism," which is rife with its founder's sayings. Rereading this 1963 book again in 2007 after thirty odd years, I am astounded at the number of prophetic passages that suggest things that later became a part of our cultural language, including napalm, nuclear winter, Jonestown, Katrina, and politicians who don't "get it" about how America is regarded by the outside world.
There is a warm, sad smile in Vonnegut's voice that makes his stuff compelling. His is an inventive vision that melds the comic and fantastic with a shrewd, philosophical look below the surface of human dealings. I especially like the passage in which he puts in his two cents on the value of writers, that they compare to firefighters and emergency personnel, and even college professors, because they all perform essential services to humanity.
Book Review: Where's the Cat? Where's the Cradle?
Summary: 4 Stars
"Cats Cradle" tells of the story of a man simply setting out to write a book about the atomic bomb. From this simple objective, our hero finds himself thrown into a world of dwarfs, banana republics, Hoosiers, scientists, and one secret formula called Ice-9. The plot is a wild one, but the theme remains constant as Vonnegut pits science against religion in a no holds cage match. In the end, our hero barely survives both as Vonnegut seemingly thumbs his nose at the rest of the world.
"Cats Cradle" reminds me of Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye", both books speak in powerful ways to youthful angst and both tend to grow and develop with their audience. There's no protagonist like Holden Caulfield here (a youthful soul most readers related to strongly) but there are a number of characters that represent the worst society has to offer, characters we see each night on the news. The book starts with "Cradle's" protagonist, Jonah, coming up against a guarded and cynical scientist who in turn leads him to the three children of Doctor Felix Hoenikker, inventor of the nuclear bomb. Each of Hoenikker's kids, now grown, have some of their father's last experiment Ice-9, a chemical, which freezes all fluids on contact. A small amount could freeze the planet we learn, this while the Hoenikker siblings are running around the globe, each with their tiny thermos of Ice-9, the very future of the world in their incapable hands. The trail of the sibling's flows to San Lorenzo, a small island, that is responsible for the creation of Bokonism...a religion based on lies. It is here where Ice-9 and Bokonism go head to head and the results are devastating.
Of course Vonnegut's true villain in all this is man and his incredible talent of making wondrous things, be it through God or test tubes, that are very good at destroying us.
Book Review: Cat's Cradle
Summary: 4 Stars
Cat's Cradle is a science fiction novel that tells the story of one man's journey to save the ultimate fate of the planet. A dangerous substance called ice nine that can turn anything that's water into solid, or in other words bring about the end of the world.
I am a sophomore in high school and I have read some of Vonnegut's other books and in my opinion this one is one of his best. Vonnegut brings about the irony of today's society with the original theology of Bokonism. What I liked about this novel was that the author presents a debate between religion and science. These are only two of the topics presented in this novel that have debates among them. He presents religion as a way of hiding the truth so that life is easier for man to deal with, and science is a way of discovering the truth. These two topics are the exact opposite of each other, and yet, the way Vonnegut presents this is insightful. What I didn't like about it was that the author saw the downfall of the world in 1963 during the Cold War when this book was written, therefore making it more relevant for the readers back then. I would recommend this book to people who like any science fiction books, and any Kurt Vonnegut books. Anyone who enjoys reading about how society is presented today in literature and a modern opinion about topics of science and religion would enjoy reading this book. I would not recommend this book to people who do not like reading about how society is portrayed as today, and debates between hot topics such as science and religion.
The twisted and humorous novel was a fun read due to the events that go on throughout the story. Overall, I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Vonnegut's literature, and I am satisfied with the outcome of this novel and you won't want to put it down.
Book Review: Take it at face value
Summary: 4 Stars
Did I read the same book as other reviewers who thought this was narrated by 'a scientist', that John was in a world-wide search of ice-nine? That think his name was Jonah? It's like these people reviewed this book and didn't even notice the basic facts yet felt the need to comment on the satire, ironies, etc. I sometimes wonder if these people read half the books they review. By the way, his name was *almost* Jonah because unlike the bible character who defied God's will and was punished for it he decided to embrace God's will for his life and 'go with the flow' of wherever 'coincidences' took him.
This was written during a time when you didn't have to dig deep into a book to look for a possible hidden message - tv has caused us all to look at everything through 'LOST' eyeglasses. You don't have to look for clues or hidden meanings - they are clearly stated. This is a simple satiric view at religion, politics, relationships and the good old USA. I also think it was a tad prophetic in dealing with Bokonoism - the total acceptance of a religion whose own creator admitted it was a made-up religion based on lies smacks of today's Scientology movement.
Characters not too deep but this is typical of Vonnegaut - their reactions are more important than their depth. I thought it was a good story and I laughed at obvious satires his characters missed. I wanted to see how it ended.
This reminds me of the movie 'Back to School' where Rodney Dangerfield paid Kurt Vonnegaut to write his book report on Kurt Vonnegaut's work: the teacher gave the paper an 'F' and said, "Whoever wrote this paper doesn't have the slightest clue about Kurt Vonnegaut". Ha! Ha! he's just one of those authors we'll probably never really ever get.
Book Review: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Ice-9
Summary: 4 Stars
I've just finished Cat's Cradle and I have walked away with a sense of low self-esteem. I, however, will not allow this feeling to pain me that much. Intuitively, I know this is a natural reaction many have had after reading Vonnegut for the first time. You see, after you have had your first experience with the man you gain an important insight. The insight is simply this: Vonnegut is more intelligent than you are and he revels in it; this, I am convinced, is what makes his writing outstanding. The reasons for this correlation are easy to find for they lie, laughing up at you, strewn across the pages of this book. On the surface, Cat's Cradle is a chronicle of the last days of humankind. Its nameless protagonist, a writer, relates the tale of how he set the events that eventually led to our demise in motion. His recounting makes our departure from this planet seem like an event in the best interests of everyone involved with the planet Earth. For support, Cat's Cradle happens to rail against every absurdity present in modern day, western civilization. All the things that make us suck as a collective are satirized brilliantly here folks: blindly ignorant nationalism, blindly conformist religion, and of course, politics. In Cat's Cradle, Vonnegut has authored a book that has its finger on the pulse of the western human condition and I relate to and like it immensely. For the first time, exemplified in this little novel, I can see all of the attributes that have made Vonnegut a champion to high school and college students for over forty years. I am no longer a college student but I am more of a cynic now than ever before. For those of us who can not turn a deaf ear to the discord around us, Vonnegut's writing will always be there, saying "It's okay. I understand".