Slaughterhouse Five portrays the horrors of war against an indifferent, even amused set of "powers that be." In Cat's Cradle, we see the potential for man's destruction after Hiroshima fictionalized as "Ice-Nine", a crystal of water organized so that it converts all water on the planet to a permanent, diamond-like solid.

The fun parts of Cat's Cradle include a Rastafarian-like religion on the island of San Lorenzo, founded by Bokanon and his goddess-like daughter Mona, who enchants her followers while playing her xylophone. Bokanonism introduces us to the concept of the "karas", a group of people you are inextricable linked to by fate, and a "granfalloon" , which is a group of people linked by no true commonality, like the Shriners or a golf club. (My dad once remarked in passing that he used to play bridge in Indianapolis with some guy named Vonnegut, thus illustrating perfectly the concept of the granfalloon.) Bokononism (better known as the Church of God The Utterly Indifferent) is a religion parody, but somehow contains some truths. The concepts of the karas, dupras (karas of only two people, sometimes married who usually die within minutes of each other) and the granfalloon are amazing comments on human society.

The threat of Ice-Nine is a brilliant parody of the Cold War and nuclear proliferation. This is one of Vonnegut's best and should be on your must-read list.


Amazing   July 21, 2002
 33 out of 36 found this review helpful

I don't like sci-fi, but I loved this. This is the first Vonnegut I've read (I took a chance after reading so much praise for it) and it definitely won't be the last. It's one of those rare and wonderful books in the same vein as Animal Farm: simple prose, easy to read, yet with ironic tinges and thought-provoking depths; a novel that can be read and enjoyed at many different levels.

Cat's Cradle is narrated through Jonah, an author who aims to write a book on the single day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. On investigating the atomic bomb's main founding father (and his three children) he is told about a *non-existant* substance with the capacity to provide all water on earth with a different molecular structure, turning it into Ice 9 (ie, a substance that could bring about the end of the world) A different assignment takes Jonah to the small island of San Lorenzo where he encounters Felix Hoenikker's three children and a society where the religion of choice (a religion that everyone knows is based on lies, yet still has utter faith in) is punishable by death, for the simple fact that it adds excitement to the dull lives of the inhabitants. I won't go any further...

The thing that delighted me most about this book was the way in which it was written. A lot of great and influential books are ones that (on the whole) you enjoy, but take a while to get into, and at times you feel like giving up on: you know the book in question is good literature, but the style and plot make finishing it seem a chore.
Similarly, a lot of fast-paced books hold little impact, don't challenge the mind and are forgotten the instant you read them.
Kurt Vonnegut has managed to write a powerful and memorable novel in a short, snappy style: this book has everything that makes a compelling, challenging read. Vonnegut lets you get a feel for the characters without going into lengthy descriptions, he manages to make sharp, subtle criticisms of religion, human nature and society without rambling or whining, his plot is exciting yet not unrealistic, he creates a hellish world that plays on everyone's fear of obliteration in precious few words. I thought the ending was too abrupt, but it fitted well with the rest of the story (and it would have been even more disappointing if he'd created a satisfying, everything-tied-up-nicely ending)

I found this impossible to put down, and highly recommend it to any fan of literature.


Apotheosis and Apocalypse to a Calypso beat   January 7, 2006
 26 out of 26 found this review helpful

Dr. Asa Breed, scientist from the research laboratory of the General Forge and Foundation Company, had this statement to say about Dr. Felix Hoenicker, one of the founding fathers of the atomic bomb as well as the creator of "Ice Nine:"

"I told you all this in order to give you some insight into the extraordinary novelty of the ways which Felix was likely to approach an old problem."

The statement could easily become non-fiction if the word "Felix" was replaced with "Kurt Vonnegut." Vonnegut is a master of spinning a crazy web of seemingly random events that poignantly, clearly spell out a very clear and crystallized point.

Vonnegut is a crafty-sneaky writer. Two skills, which many writers have individually, but few have in tandem, set him apart from other writers. First, he has the ability to present his story as an unrelated series of random events. The "hero" seems to be victim of merciless random forces that confront him with strange events and experiences. However, the story remains tight and coherent and Vonnegut's points are amazingly clear.

Second, in the true science fiction tradition, Vonnegut makes bizarre, incredible and completely fictitious creations seems completely plausible. Taken together, he seems to repetitively beat the reader over the head with rather salient life observations hidden behind bizarrely incredulous premises. With the exception of "Slaughter-House Five," Cat's Cradle may be Vonnegut's best demonstration of these two most characteristic skills.

He starts the story with the narrator giving a brief explanation as to why is called Jonah (which he is never referred to as for the remainder of the story):

"...somebody or something has compelled me to be certain places at certain times, without fail. Conveyances and motives, both conventional and bizarre, have been provided. And according to plan, at each appointed second, at each appointed place this Jonah was there."

Similar to other Vonnegut Heroes (Billy Pilgrim, Rabo Karabekian are two), Jonah passively and seemingly haphazardly drifts among nonsensical events. For Jonah, the terminal destination is President of the island republic of San Lorenzo. During his journey, he meets a motley cast of characters seemingly unrelated. For sneaky Vonnegut, they are related, many of even them belong to his own karass.

Secondly, Vonnegut is the master science fiction writer. Two science fictional concepts that Vonnegut creates in Cat's Cradle are the scientific invention of "Ice Nine" and the religion of "Bokononism." Both Bokononism and Ice Nine are the centerpieces of the novel, so they had to suspend the reader's disbelief, or the story would die. With Ice Nine, Vonnegut needed to create a scientific discovery that was capable of destroying the earth. He did it, and explained in a simple and believable manner. Very clever. The religion of Bokononism includes its own philosophy, last rites and vocabulary (karass, granfalloons, pool-pah, foma, wampeter, etc). Similarly, he defines religion as "better and better lies" intended as an "instrument of hope." On San Lorenzo, everyone is a Bokononist, and Jonah becomes one over the course of the story. Most of the Bokonon philosophy is presented as short statements, often only in short, Confucius-like statements and often provided to a calypso beat. My favorite Bokonon saying is: "Maturity is the bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists, unless laughter can be said to remedy something."

The story provides some insight into the extraordinary novelty of the ways which Vonnegut is likely to approach an old problem. Cat's Cradle asks the tough question of what is morality in an existential world. The ultimate answer, unfortunately, is self-destruction.



Vonnegut   February 23, 2001
 19 out of 25 found this review helpful

Cat's Cradle is by far the best Vonnegut novel that I have yet read. Blending his patented wry humor with acute social insight presented in an absurd fantasy world, Vonnegut has written an exceptional novel of love, lies, and the self destruction of mankind. The story centers around the narrator, Jonah, who is called by name once in the entire book. We are told in the beginning that he is writing a book on the events of the day the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japan. His research leads him to a correspondence with Newt Hoenikker, the midget son of Doctor Felix Hoenikker, father of the atomic bomb. After meeting with Newt, destiny leads our protagonist to the impoverished island republic of San Lorenzo, where among other adventures, he finds religion, falls in love, and becomes president. All of this by itself would make for a very entertaining book, but it is not in the story line that Vonnegut's genius lies. Cat's Cradle is rife with painfully accurate insights into the institutions that our society holds so dear, such as, religion, politics, and science. Vonnegut invents for the inhabitants of San Lorenzo a brand new religion based completely and admittedly on "foma", or lies. This wouldn't be so shocking, except for the fact that this "bokonism" seems to make perfect sense. Other Vonnegut ironies pervade the book and are too elaborate to go into. Kurt Vonnegut is my favorite author of all time. Cat's Cradle is one of his funniest, most absurd, and frightening novels. This book truly causes one to stop and think about the things that one holds as unquestionably true. All of the incredible people, places, things, and ideas in Cat's Cradle are intricately woven into a perfect tapestry that sums up and spells out many of mankind's self-created problems in 191 pages. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.