Vonnegut's novel takes the reader into the myriad faces of human emotions--from disenchantment to awe, skepticism to empathy, from horror and madness to succor and redemption. This dryly humorous and unforgivingly scathing story of the seemingly inevitable tendency of humans to think up of ways to destroy themselves, or, simply, to make complete wretches of their lives, is at times too incredulous to be taken seriously, and yet the author has managed to slip in some amazingly straightforward insights people nowadays would probably hardly acknowledge readily, too preoccupied we are with the superfluous things in life.

I certainly enjoyed Cat's Cradle with its memorable zany characters, unashamed views on tolerance, hypocrisy, and even religion. It takes a jab at the senselessness of war, the farcical stage that is politics, and ponders the possibility that life can be lived so simply but it seems that that idea for us nowadays is too complex to grasp.

Makes the reader sit back and think while still helplessly embroiled in the world of "Bokononism" and the twists and turns of fate the narrator was dealt with. A veritable tour de force.

This is a great introductory book for those who want to try science fiction but don't want to get too deeply into robots and alien visitations. It's just a great yarn, like any classic novel: a story that will hold your interest because it's more fun than your life.

A free-lance journalist, researching material for his book: The Day the World Ended, tracks down the family of the father of the atom bomb. His quest takes him to a banana republic where he meets the love of his life and magically becomes El Presidente. But he gets more than he asked for when he comes face-to-face with Ice-Nine.

Vonnegut, who witnessed the horror of the Dresden fire-bombing, takes us on a light-hearted romp through the madness of mankind. He challenges us with wry humor, zany characters and a half-baked religion. Do we really know or do we only think we know?

Cat's Cradle has become ever more relevant over the years.

This is a great book that everyone should read. One thing I especially loved about this book is that it's addicting and a very easy read. The chapters are very short, but it works nicely, and this makes it a fast and easy read that makes you want to go on to the next chapter.

The cat's cradle is an extraordinary tale about the extent of human limitations when incompatibilities exist between the goals of science and humanity. Vonnegut created another masterpiece that describes the dangers of human science when mixed with their desires and lewdness.

John, the narrator, is writing a book about the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, and in the process of his research discovers the life of Felix Hoenikker, the Nobel prize-winning physicist and one of the creators of the atomic bomb.

Similar to walking through a hilarious human maze, we are taken to San Lorenzo; a town were Hoenikker's two sons and daughter live and ignorantly use their father's last invention causing another world wide human disaster.
Vonnegut brilliantly shows human limitations and foolishness with his description of an imaginary religion called Bokononism, which originated and blossomed in San Lorenzo.

Vonnegut, who survived the cruelty of war and faced life's emptiness, is one of the few writers who can laugh at the human inability to reconcile the inherent conflict of science's power and capabilities with the needs and limitations of humanity.

I love Vonnegut, he's one of my favorite authors, but I had never read this book. I could NOT put it down. I don't have a lot of time to read, but I managed to finish this in 3 days. Definitely one of my new favorite books...

Enough zaniness and dark humor permeate Cat's Cradle to keep a reader entertained, but there's still a point to Vonnegut's odd comedy--the destruction and danger of nuclear-type weapons, the criticism of society and their motives, and the general stupidity of mankind. To say Vonnegut takes a pessimistic viewpoint might be an understatement, but at least he can have fun doing it. In many respects, I actually found Cat's Cradle to be a little more enjoyable than Slaughter House Five, which seemed to be a little darker in nature.

The story begins with Jonah studying and researching the late Felix Hoenikker, a renown scientist responsible for producing the atom bomb and a dangerous liquid substance called ice-nine. To do this, he interviews various people and colleagues of the late doctor, finding out, while Hoenikker had innocent intentions, he was careless with both his family and his inventions. In his quest, Jonah comes to identify Dr. Hoenikker's three children--Newt, Angela and Frank--a very odd group of kids. Angela is very tall and lanky and has to play the role of parent because of her father's neglect. Newt is a midget, who comes to find love with a midget Russian performer. And Frank leaves the family, disappears, and later emerges in San Lorenzo, being the supposed architect of San Lorenzo's "master plan." Eventually Jonah and a group (including Angela and Newt) embark on a trip to San Lorenzo to see the island of San Lorenzo, it's population "all fiercely dedicated to the ideals of the Free World" (Jonah learns from the pamphlet on the plane). The irony of much of what is discovered on this island is that the people's religion--Bokonon--is mostly based on lies (as it says in its introduction). From here, Jonah becomes adjusted to the people and their customs, meets the island's dictator, "Papa", hears more rumors about the mysterious Bokonon, falls in love with a goddess-like woman Mona, and becomes president of San Lorenzo (he learns from Frank that this is his ultimate destiny, or his "zah-mah-ki-bo"). Eventually, there is a major event that Jonah must deal with, and this happens at the book's conclusion. Wacky as it is, the plot seems to be just a vehicle to get across much of Vonnegut's satirical points about human existence.

Much of the fun of this book is the exceptional comic voice by Vonnegut. He can seemingly take the most serious issues, like religion, politics, nuclear threats, and turn them upside down. One bizarre part is when Julian Castle looks at Newt's "Cat's Cradle" painting (which Newt professes should hold a message for everyone), regards it as "garbage" and throws it out into the waterfall. A moment prior to this Jonah had been musing over the painting's meaning, and this act by Castle seems to fit right into the nonsensical mentality of the island. There is also the "last rites" scene with "Papa" and Jonah, where "Papa" leans over and whispers to Jonah to tell Bokonon that he is sorry he didn't kill him and his philosophy of lies.

If you can take all of the author's jabs in a light way then this will be an enjoyable read; if not, then you might want to pass, or at least sample the book before purchasing. I wished I would have read this one before reading Slaughter House Five (as Cat's Cradle works better for an introduction to the author).

The 60's paranoia doesn't get more sharp, more funny and more smart than Kurt Vonnegut's "Cat's Cradle". But, unfortunately, this portray is still somehow up to date than ever. Published early in that decade, this novel concerns on the fear of a chemical war and the end of the world. One of the characters is a scientist who fathered the Atomic Bomb and also developed something called `ice-nice' that is able to freeze all the water in the world. When the novel was published the world was living the edge of Cold War - hence the interesting metaphor. This is also a cautionary (and very funny) tale about too much power and too much desire of ending the workd. Vonnegut's tone transits between the regular science- fiction and black humor that add more layers to the book. If for one side the characters are plain, on the other, what remains, the fear of a nuclear war or something like it, is very relevant and contemporary.

Well, what is there to say but that this book is quite highly overrated. An attempt at wry cynicism that was telegraphed all the way. No part of this story was exceptional either in thought or execution. About the best I can say for it is that it was an easy read. I am at somewhat of a loss as to why it has so many positive reviews because it has been my experience that while I do not always like or enjoy books with mostly positive reviews it is usually more a matter of taste but in this case there is a definite lack of quality in style and substance than can be overcome by whatever it is that others see in this story.

After hearing so much praise about this book I had to check it out myself and discover the awesome writing of Vonnegut. I was sorely disappointed. Sure, he incorporated a great deal of satire about religion, politics, and just mankind in general, but it was all very boring for me. The stories of each character in the book seemed to be ridiculous just for the sake of getting a cheap laugh, leaving no lasting value...except the stories didn't make me laugh either.

Much like another reviewer, I really wanted to like this book. I forced myself to read the first 100 pages or so, hoping that it would become more interesting. Of course it turns out it didn't, so I had to stop. It's apparent that I'm in the minority here, considering the 100's of positive reviews or perhaps many are just hopping on the bandwagon. Regardless, this book is not for everyone. Anyone who has not read CC is forewarned that you may be quite disappointed.

I just hope Slaughterhouse-Five is better because I was looking forward to reading that as well.

This book is full of whimsical humor. It's one of the few books that made me laugh out loud. Ironically, it's also incredibly pessimistic. Humanity is doomed by its own depraved nature to a farcical apocalypse. The main culprits are scientists who show no concern for the destructive applications of their inventions. Their scientific method is the only road to knowledge but (more pessimism) cannot yield moral knowledge or wisdom. Nothing can, including religion, which is 'all lies'.

This book is a strange prayer for peace. Written in 1963, at the height of a country in the throes of nuclear paranoia, Russian Fear, Kennedy's assassination and increasing American interest in the land of Vietnam, it is easy to see why Vonnegut felt compelled to write this book.

He writes, " Perhaps when we remember wars, we should take off our clothes and paint ourselves blue and go on all fours all day long and grunt like pigs. That would surely be more appropriate than noble oratory and shows of flags and well oiled guns."

This book is anti-war, anti-religion and anti- science, for it too, in the form of nuclear bombs and "Ice-9" will destroy the world as we know it.

From the books of Bokonon, a satirical send-up of Religious writings treated as the all-knowing word of god:
" Man blinked. 'What is the purpose of all this?'
'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."

I would recommend this to anyone who loved Slaughterhouse-Five, for this is how the author arrived at that great story. An evolution of sorts, dealing with the same subject matter.

(Sidenote: Ice-Nine is the name The Grateful Dead chose as it's lyrical publishing company name. Obviously this was a book on the shelves of many far-out kids throughout the 1960's. Just thought I'd mention it.)

This book isn't for everyone, that's for sure. The central theme is a fictional religion based around the principal that everything is a lie. The first line makes that clear. Characters include a midget, an introverted modelmaker who forced bugs to fight one another in his younger years, a man who is forced to make bicycles for blind people in Afghanistan, an insane elevator operator, a maniacal dictator, a sex symbol from a fictional island, the man who helped invent the atomic bomb (and has an odd fascination with turtles), a particularly destructive nihilist, and a doctor named "Breed", believed to have an affair. Some of the most memorable scenes involve all possible meanings of the term "Mayonnaise", fun with indexing, and a twenty-foot phallus used as a gravestone. Oh, and there are 127 chapters, each of them a page long on average.
If all that just strikes you as weird, then Vonnegut really isn't the guy for you. The fact that this is normal in comparison to my favorite Vonnegut book, Breakfast of Champions, should say a lot about him. After all, this guy has one of the strangest senses of humor in literary history. His work really is inaccessible.
I think he's great, though. He's got the same absurdist sense of humor as I do, and he's a social critic to rival the best of them. Especially here, where he mocks both science and religion, two very different fields. It's a hilarious book, but there's more to it than just the humor. There's also the underlying social and political implications, which is really what makes it fly.
This isn't a good book in the traditional, "descriptive setting, fleshed-out characters" sense. I don't think it was meant to be. Instead, it's a wild, fast-paced ride, which moves from one biting indictment of society (he takes on everything from patriotism to nihilism). It's hilarious, it's enlightening, it's distinctive... it's pure Vonnegut.

The relative lack of solid character development alone might scare off the type of reader who feels compelled to know the protagonist's favorite kind of vegetable spread as much as the underlying premise of the story itself, but in what is easily Vonnegut's most concise verbal bitchslap of organized religion and the perils of modern technology, don't expect a warm fuzzy feeling upon completion.

Now, I wasn't even a twinkle in my old man's eye when this book was written, but the apocalyptic, (most likely) Cold War-inspired storyline upon first glance seems similar in tone to some other pieces from that general time period. In "Cat's Cradle", Vonnegut is quite successful in a short period of time (this is a quick read) to churn many of the constant fears in the modern world and turn them into an intelligent, cogent storyline that is in fact rather direct in its delivery. Many writers and many stories have touched on these topics but often delve (usually unintentionally) into sounding "preachy" and "overzealous". Vonnegut's wit and humor allows an otherwise mad genius to spin a tale as if Kurt himself is your friend, and not a fanatical know-it-all professor.

Again; the concept of scientific progress causing the slow but apparent evaporation of the very humanistic element we pride ourselves on as a species is far from groundbreaking. However, to do so and wrap it around such biting political and social satire (to create and explain "bokonism" seemingly on such a whim is simply...awesome) is another thing entirely.

The story itself is both humorous and rather appropriate for the times. Futhermore, as I hint in the above title, this is one of the darkest books I've ever read, but it should be.

Cat's Cradle was an intriguing and thought-provoking book, but it was rather dark. Throughout this book, author Kurt Vonnegut shows his morbid view of the world, including a dystopia and a ninth ring of hell. The story is about how the narrator, an author who is writing a book about the atomic bomb, meets the children of one of the scientists who helped build the atomic bomb. Little does the author know that the scientist had created something much more dangerous than the atomic bomb. His fate becomes entwined with the children, a midget, an introspective genius model builder, and a clarinet prodigy, and he witnesses the end of the world as the powerful weapon, ice nine, freezes all the water in the world.
Vonnegut comes up with brilliant ideas as well as sneaking in his own advice on living through the holy man Bokonon, whose self titled religion has poems, songs, and scriptures throughout the book. The author vividly shows his prediction of the future in this book, and through his eyes, there is no hope for mankind. As a warning, this book might disturb more sensitive readers and is most definitely not a children's book. Also, Vonnegut has the bad habit of going off on a tangent that is not always necessary. Vonnegut uses the narrator/author named John as a representative for himself, such as both of them went to Cornell College and were members of the Delta Upsilon fraternity.
Kurt Vonnegut was a soldier and prisoner of war in World War 2, and was one of the survivors of the Dresden bombing, which was the theme for his other book, Slaughterhouse-Five. His mother also committed suicide on mother's day when he was 22, which might have helped give his writing the macabre twang it has.

This book is simply another notable chunk of evidence that Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was clearly the biggest genius who ever lived.

The most dangerous substance in the world: ice-9. What a great idea for a book. And most folks who read this come away saying something like, "You know, I thought of that exact same thing a long time ago!" Unfortunately for themselves, they didn't develop the idea and send it to a publisher. Ha!

Hard to pass this one by -- pure entertainment.

This was as brilliantly written, wryly satirical, poignant, ironic, fun and captivating as Vonnegut has ever been. That being said, I did have a few problems with this - one of the core lessons that it teaches is one of pointlessness, and that gets applied somewhat to aspects within the plot line; certain events take place that could be seen as deus ex machinas, but at times some of them are pointed out, how they are unexplained, and their explanations dismissed as unnecessary. It can come off as either smart, funny and very honest, or as somewhat lazy. I didn't feel like I gained as much from this as I did Slaughterhouse-Five, but that's not to say that I didn't gain anything at all - on the contrary, I found it to be very enriching, in the most ironic way possible. For social commentary and philosophical irony blended with fantastic storytelling and captivating, rich narrative, look no further than Vonnegut.

There are some books I feel every teen should read. Especially in light of recent current events. Today's children & teens sometimes have no real concept of how lucky they are to live in a free society.
This in such a book to remind them that things could be so different!

At the opening of the book, the narrator describes a time when he was planning to write a book about what important Americans did on the day Hiroshima was bombed. While researching this topic, the narrator becomes involved with the children of Felix Hoenikker, a fictional Nobel laureate physicist who helped develop the atomic bomb.

Vonnegut uses his wit and humor to demonstrate the absurdities of religion and makes many other useful social commentaries on the human race. The narrator describes his search for a mysterious substance called ice-9 that has mystical properties, and may have incredible benefit(or harm) to civilization, depending on how it used. It is hard to fully describe this book, as one isn't sure what it really is until the last page, but it is a book worth reading for fans of Vonnegut in any event.

Relic113

Slaughterhouse Five is one of my five favorite books ever. I keep trying to find something else from Vonnegut that exudes the same energy and necessity of that book. Cat's Cradle didn't do it for me. At the end of the day, the novel felt naked and didactic, like an excuse to shout a world-view. It felt self-indulgent to me.

There are a few areas in which a novel can excel in order to spark interest: plot, character, setting, and language/style. The Greatest Novel of All Time probably excels at all of those -- but I don't think that novel's been written yet. If a writer can nail two or three, it's probably worth reading. Heck, if you completely kill on one of those four, the novel will probably do well. For me, Cat's Cradle doesn't excel at any of the above.

The plot is thin -- and given that it's intended as comedy, that's to be expected. Still, there's no point at which the main character faces a Problem, battles with Complications, and then either succeeds or fails. Instead, the book's tension is based on withholding a mystery from the reader -- what's the deal with the ice and why does the author keep hinting at how important it is? It's not a very gripping source of tension and, from the standpoint of plot alone, there's no reason not to turn to the last ten pages of the book and see how it turns out. I don't feel like I would've missed out on key plot points by doing so.

Characters in this novel are thin and two-dimensional (if that). Again, this is meant to be a comedy, or a parable maybe, so stock characters may be called for. But by not having any actual depth or texture in the characters, character does not provide a reason to care about the novel. The characters come off as so subservient to the Message and are so devoid of reality, that their idiosyncrasies feel arbitrary and manipulative rather than interesting.

I'm guessing Cat's Cradle defenders would argue this point with me, but I found that the novel's setting was practically non-existent. At least, I didn't come away from the book feeling like I Was There. The eventual San Lorenzo is sparsely described and, as with the characters, seems entirely subservient to the Message. I don't feel like I get the sense of another actual place -- it felt like it was all happening on a sound stage. To a certain extent, the same could probably be said for Slaughterhouse Five -- except that with Slaughterhouse Five, well, first off there was, in fact, more attention to setting details, but also SH5 builds a landscape out of the minds of its author and protagonist. In Cat's Cradle, we get so little from the narrator in terms of his way of thinking, this doesn't happen. Maybe it should have.

Finally the writing and style of the novel -- well, it's the trademark Kurt Vonnegut style, except that he did it better elsewhere. There are no coy self-references like occurred in SH5, no cunning self-deprecation, no fierceness of joy in the absurdity of language and the novel format. It's just sort of jaunty and tossed-off and having read SH5 previously, the writing in CC felt like a weak and unremarkable shadow of what Vonnegut eventually accomplished.

As a result, I come away from Cat's Cradle feeling like I'd just read a thinly masked agenda story. And unless you already cling (heh) *religiously* to its message, there's not much fun to be had. In terms of communicative efficiency, it would've been more profound for Vonnegut to have simply written the sentence "People believe in and do stupid things, which is especially problematic when they have access to nuclear arsenals." I didn't find anything in the novel that conveyed any other idea of any significance. And frankly, that message itself seems pretty dull in the modern world, especially without a fresher lens through which to view it.

All that said, while I didn't enjoy the book overall, I appreciated its brevity (that's not meant entirely back-handedly -- short novels rarely overstay their welcomes). Also, it's a very easy read, and there's a lot to be said for a writing style that allows for that. Unfortunately, I didn't find enough else in this one to make me care.

(PS, I've read some of the negative reviews of the book that knock it for being cynical and pessimistic. Er -- it's *Kurt Vonnegut*, it's *supposed* to be cynical and pessimistic. Cynicism in a novel can be done very well and its presence doesn't degrade the work any more than optimism necessarily would.)

I really wanted to like this book. I loved "Breakfast of Champions."
But in "Cradle," I didn't connect with any of the characters or the story, and though I usually enjoy parodies of religion and apocalyptic themes, I thought the whole Bokononism thing was dumb and unoriginal. Too many ideas and concepts were forced into this book, none having a meaningful impact.
I only got through the first 100 pages, and I'm the type who ALWAYS finishes books. No more. Life's too short.

"What can a thoughtful man hope for mankind on Earth, given the experience of the past million years? Nothing."

Having just finished reading and loving Slaughterhouse-Five, I wanted to move on to other Vonnegut works. I picked up Cat's Cradle a couple days later, and couldn't put it down. I was hooked from the beginning. I didn't find this book nearly as witty as Slaughterhouse Five, but I wasn't expecting it to be. It's an engaging look at the ultimate futility of mankind to make the right choices at the right times. The story is also filled with themes and morals for the reader to discover (e.g. ice-nine was created to put an end to mud, and the Bokononist cosmogony says God created man from mud).

I'm not sure which I liked better, this or Slaughterhouse Five; the only thing that I know for sure is that I will be getting another Vonnegut book as soon as possible.

I read Cat's Cradle back in the mid-'80s when I was in high school, and I liked it. On a whim, I dug it out to see what I'd think of it now that I have a few decades of pessimism under my belt. The verdict: it held up quite well, and I remembered why I went on a Vonnegut spree 20 years ago.

This is not a book for everyone, especially those who prefer "feel good" fluff. This is a dark comedy, and such things are an acquired taste. Likewise, this is not a book that you read for the plot so much as for its character studies and (especially) its social commentary.

Some of the impact of this book will quite likely be lost on younger readers who are not hip to the social circumstances of when it was written. Much in the same way as new viewers of Citizen Kane or readers of On The Road often go "what's the big deal?", Cat's Cradle is best enjoyed if you take into account what was available (and "acceptable") by comparrison in its contemporary setting. Certainly, America has its share of sardonic authors blasting the complascency bubble (Twain and Bierce, for instance) but Vonnegut shrewdly skewered the copascetic bubble of the early '60s in a way that was either shocking or refreshing, depending on your mind-set. Such things have increasingly become the norm, but Vonnegut was at the vanguard, and I think many authors delving into dark comedy and social parody take their cues from him.

Vonnegut's prose is a pleasure to read, full of wit, wry descriptions, and a "voice" that just flows off the page. This is also a quick read that quite likely will lull you in and make you want to go just one more chapter before stopping for the night.

Highly recommended.

Cat's Cradle falls way short of expectations. Vonnegut has been said by others to be a satirical genius, but all his humor is lost on me. The story chronicles a man named Jonah, who attempts to make a novel regarding August 6, 1945, the day the first atomic bomb was dropped. He then decides to write to Newt Hoenikker, the midget son of Dr. Felix Hoenikker, one of the creators of the atomic bomb, to ask him what happened in his house on the day that the atomic bomb dropped. Jonah then on his way to do another story passes through Illium, New York, the place where Dr. Felix Hoenikker conducted the majority of his research on the atomic bomb and ice-nine, a form of ice that has a melting point of one hundred fourteen point four degrees Fahrenheit. While in Illium, he interviews many who knew Dr. Felix Hoenikker, including his former boss, about what the man who created the atomic bomb was really like. Another story then takes Jonah to the Republic of San Lorenzo, where another one of the sons of Dr. Felix Hoenikker, Major General Franklin Hoenikker is prominent in government. When the president, Miguel "Papa" Monzano falls ill and dies the logical choice to succeed him is Major General Franklin Hoenikker. Major General Franklin Hoenikker then strikes a deal with Jonah for Jonah to become president in exchange for Jonah marrying Mona Aamons Monzano, the most beautiful woman in San Lorenzo. At San Lorenzo, Jonah also finds a new religion, Bokononism, which admits to containing only lies. Despite this all the poor inhabitants of this dreadful island are devout Bokononists. The vast majority of Vonnegut's characters are utterly implausible, ranging from Zinka, a Ukrainian midget, Newt falls in love with, to Philip Castle, the homosexual one time fiancé of Mona Aamons Monzano, to Bokonon, a man who created a religion consisting of only lies and turned himself into a saint and the President of San Lorenzo into a villain. While the entirety of Cat's Cradle is a parody against religion, technology, government and society in general it is not comical at all.

This is a great book and story about mankind in general. Told in such an amazing way by Kurt Vonnegut that it is truly an amazing read. His satiric genius and great story telling leave you believing in the characters and feeling sorry for what mankind can do and has done.

Not as good as Sirens of Titan, but easily as good as Slaughterhouse. Definitely worth the short time it takes to get through one of these.

I've never read a Vonnegut book before, and now I know why. He died and so I saw him on the news and figured I should give him a shot. Cat's Cradle kind of sounded dumb and it turns out it doesn't mean anything, but I don't judge books by their covers because that can't tell you anything, so I decided to read it anyway.

After the first sentence I knew the book was stupid. "Call me Jonah?" I mean, why call him anything? What kind of crappy book starts like that? Is that some kind of in joke or something where all the Vonnegutians are laughing SO HARD because he is SO FUNNY again. It only took three words for me to know the book was dumb, but I kept reading it because I didn't want to give up and figured it may grow on me, but it didn't, unless you mean grow on you like athlete's foot does, by which I mean in a bad way, not like it grows on you a whole lot, because it doesn't except in a bad way.

I'm an avid Vonnegut reader. Though I have not read all of his novels, I've read many- I would say roughly half, give or take one or two.

As you may already know, the premise for the book is that the author is writing a book on the father of the atomic bomb, Dr. Felix Hoeniker. He ends up learning about a more devastating weapon (if you will call it), Ice-9. Ice-9 is by far more devastating because it freezes all water immediately upon touch, with the ability to freeze the world if ever exposed to great bodies of water.

The book's main focus is on the ugly side of science- Developing new things that create more harm than good, without realizing the consequences. Another focus of the book is on religion's role in society and in persons' lives and how it affects both.

Anyways, I do not wish to give too much away. To do so would 1) Spoil your read, and 2) Take up too much time.

The book is a good read, though not among my favorite Vonnegut books. However, I attribute this to personal preference, rather than Cat's Cradle being an inferior book. Indeed, any Vonnegut book is heads and shoulders above much of the rest. Many people may disagree, but I did not find the many characters to be fleshed out very well in comparison to some of his other works (Bluebeard comes to mind). Also, comparatively speaking and consistent with my previous statement, I felt that the main characters didn't grow as much as I would've liked (but this is not to say that they didn't grow). Again, these are my opinions and I'm sure that some, if not many, would disagree.

In conclusion, Cat's Cradle is a solid read with clever insight into religion and technology's affect on society, for both good and bad. If you're new to Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle isn't a bad start, though I would suggest Breakfast of Champions (arguably Vonnegut's most accessible book), Slaughter House Five (his most renowned), Welcome to the Monkey's House (not extra spectacular, but short stories are a good way to see if you like his style), or Sirens of Titan (his most underrated book and tied with another one of his as my favorite). If you're familiar with Vonnegut, then Cat's Cradle is a very reasonable book to pick up. Either way, there's a good chance there's something you'll keep with you when you finish Cat's Cradle.

It has been a while since I read this book, but its one of those that stick with you, making you think about it for years after. Vonnegut crafts his novel about a new compound discoered that could destroy the world. The cast of characters are regular folks entrusted with this dangerous substance. How everything goes down will leave you reading this whole book in one sitting.

This was my first time reading Vonnegut, and I bought this novel largely based on his reputation as an author and the reviews I read here. The premise of the novel also sounded interesting. The narrator, Jonah, is writing a book about the events that took place on the day the atomic bomb was dropped, and focuses on the "father" of the atomic bomb, Felix Hoenikker, and his children. He eventually finds himself on the fictional island of San Lorenzo amid the backdrop of political and religious instability.

I could tell right away that Vonnegut was an excellent author. That is clear from his writing, which is very elegant and well organized. The book is a short read at 300 pages, and with chapters at 1-2 pages long, most people will be through it in a few hours. The chapters all flow into each other and there is no "jumping around" between other characters, as Jonah narrates the story through the first person.

Those are the positives and the reason I gave Cat's Cradle three stars. I believe this is a good book and likely an intellectual commentary on society and the arms race, etc etc, however all of this must have gone completely over my head because I didn't see any of it. Maybe this book is "too" intellectual for me, since I am not used to having to think so much while reading. What's more, the satire also went over my head and I do not recall any humorous moments in the entire book, and kept looking for the plot.

I do not mean for this review to turn people off of Cat's Cradle, just to let them know what they are getting into. If your usual fare is Tom Clancy, Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, etc, and you are not used to writers like Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, Chuck Palahniuk (this book reminded me a LOT of Survivor: A Novel), you may find you are missing out on most of the actual book. I was not disappointed when I finished Cat's Cradle, but I certainly wasn't as satiated as I usually am when I finish a good novel. Caveat emptor.

Worth the read, particularly if you want to "try" Vonnegut. I did this for a book club and it worked quite well since there are infinite interpretations to pretty much every word of Vonnegut. It's hard to say what it's about other than it's a great outlook on apocalypse.

This was my first Vonnegut book, and I had really high expectations for this book. I was not disappointed, not in the least. The irony, the strangeness (especially in the dialogue), the characters, the suspense, the ending, and most importantly, the humor, were superb. I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions. Vonnegut's irreverent take on religion, government, sex, war, and every other topic he takes on in the novel is refreshing, and the history and principles of Bokonon (the fictitious religion featured in the book) he derives through the course of the story added a lot of comic relief as well as interesting perspective on common religious thinking. Tis a shame I never enjoyed the man's work while he was still with us. I certainly intend to read more of his work in the future.

Cats Cradle was a book I had to read over my summer break for my high school honors english class, and orgionaly, I was really reluctant to read it. But, after the first 100 pages, it started to grab my attention.



Cat' Cradle is a story of a man that wishes to write a book about the father of the Atom bomb(it's a fictonal person) and ends up finding out about some of his 'other' inventions(not some mutant freak). Like I said origonaly, the first half or so of the book loses me. I only got interested in it when the protagonist got on the plane midway through the book.



In some ways, people could find this novel contrivesal, because the main religon(Bokonon) mimics the eairly Christians death by the cross, and that man is going to far with science that is harful to us, but only if your trying to see that like I was. It's a fine book all in all, but it's somewhat boring at first, and his humor isent really that great, in fact, I only saw it once or twice. But then agian, I'm just a high school sophmore trying to disect it to find 'the inner meaning' so, in another 10 years I'll probably enjoy reading it.

Cats Cradle was a book I had to read over my summer break for my high school honors english class, and orgionaly, I was really reluctant to read it. But, after the first 100 pages, it started to grab my attention.

Cat' Cradle is a story of a man that wishes to write a book about the father of the Atom bomb(it's a fictonal person) and ends up finding out about some of his 'other' inventions(not some mutant freak). Like I said origonaly, the first half or so of the book loses me. I only got interested in it when the protagonist got on the plane midway through the book.

In some ways, people could find this novel contrivesal, because the main religon(Bokonon) mimics the eairly Christians death by the cross, and that man is going to far with science that is harful to us, but only if your trying to see that like I was. It's a fine book all in all, but it's somewhat boring at first, and his humor isent really that great, in fact, I only saw it once or twice. But then agian, I'm just a high school sophmore trying to disect it to find 'the inner meaning' so, in another 10 years I'll probably enjoy reading it.

This book is a total disappointment. One of the worst books I have ever read. His "humor" is on idiotic level and the book in general is schizophrenic. Only thing Vonnegut achieved is to annoy me; this is the first book in my life that I threw into the garbage.

An easy read that led to Vonnegut's Anthropology B.A. The story evokes questions regarding mankind's ignorance when faced with scientific achievement.

Eh. It was fun at times. And really boring at times. A mediocre read at best.

surprises galore. many strange characters fit together in unexpected ways. important concept as to how easily we can end the world.

I've read a few of Vonnegut's other books and I liked those a lot. I was reading this book at work and this idiot that I work with asked me why I was reading this book; he thought it was God awful. That said: that comment just reminds me of how much of an idiot that guy is. I really liked this book. (I'm not saying you're an idiot if you don't like this book, but that guy, hands down...) Anyway, this is one of those books that you read through and then have to go back and analyze. I know that I didn't get all of the jokes/anecdotes the first time, but I really recommend this book. It won't dissapoint. What if Ice 9 was real? That'd be a really...well you'll see.

I guess it's considered a modern classic by some, but it seemed kind of lazily written to me. Full of intriguing ideas and well-drawn characters, the book starts out strong enough. Once the action reaches San Lorenzo and begins to build toward its apocalyptic climax, however, it gradually becomes less and less coherent. While the story ends with the ultimate bang, it sort of whimpers its way there -- Maybe it's some sort of literary device that I just didn't get -- And is it just me, or does Vonnegut's slightly self-righteous cynicism, doubtless refreshing in the early 1960's when the book was published, now seem just a little tired? The Vonnegut true believers would probably call this so much "foma," but, in my opinion, if you're looking for one of the Great Man's books to read, stick with Slaughterhouse-Five

"Cat's Cradle" is Kurt Vonnegut's fourth novel and was perhaps his most autobiographical one when it was released. Published in 1963 it features the Hoenikker family, and specifically the three kids, an elder son, a tall middle daughter, and a younger son are similar to Vonnegut's family. This novel also helped turn Vonnegut into a popular author, when Graham Green said it was "one of the three best novels of the year." As with his other novels, Cat's Cradle is a satire, and while there is a science fiction element to it, that is not the strength of the work.

The narrator is a writer who is working on a book called "The Day the World Ended", which initially is about the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima, and in particular the father of the atomic bomb, the late Dr. Felix Hoenikker, and in particular his three unusual kids and what they remember about the day the bomb was dropped. However, like the title suggests, things are not always what they appear to be ("See the Cat? See the Cradle?").

Vonnegut changes the focus of perception throughout the book. The end of the world originally focused on the atomic bomb, changes to a new and different threat also created by Dr. Felix Hoenikker. Bokonoism goes from a spoof of a religion to a religion of its own. Perceptions also change with regards to San Lorenzo, the relationship between the government and religion, and the attitude of the narrator to writing. Even the perception of the titles of the chapters changes as the reader progresses through the story.

The science element of this story is actually rather weak, although there is an intriguing concept; there is also a key point which Vonnegut doesn't address at all. Nevertheless, the strength of the novel is in the insights, as well as the counter-culture elements, and the unusual style makes this an interesting read, to say the least. When Vonnegut is discussed, often this novel is left out when it comes to what was his best. However, his dark humor and social satire are well in evidence here, and this is not one to be missed.

"Cat's Cradle" is Kurt Vonnegut's fourth novel was perhaps his most autobiographical one yet. Published in 1963 it features the Hoenikker family, and specifically the three kids, an elder son, a tall middle daughter, and a younger son. This novel also helped turn Vonnegut into a popular author, when Graham Green said it was "one of the three best novels of the year." As with his other novels, Cat's Cradle is a satire, and while there is a science fiction element to it, that is not the strength of the work.

The narrator is a writer who is working on a book called "The Day the World Ended", which initially is about the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima, and in particular the father of the atomic bomb, the late Dr. Felix Hoenikker, and in particular his three unusual kids and what they remember about the day the bomb was dropped. However, like the title suggests, things are not always what they appear to be ("See the Cat? See the Cradle?").

Vonnegut changes the focus of perception throughout the book. The end of the world originally focused on the atomic bomb, changes to a new and different threat also created by Dr. Felix Hoenikker. Bokonoism goes from a spoof of a religion to a religion of its own. Perceptions also change with regards to San Lorenzo, the relationship between the government and religion, and the attitude of the narrator to writing. Even the perception of the titles of the chapters changes as the reader progresses through the story.

The science element of this story is actually rather weak, although there is an intriguing concept; there is also a key point which Vonnegut doesn't address at all. Nevertheless, the strength of the novel is in the insights, as well as the counter-culture elements, and the unusual style makes this an interesting read, to say the least. When Vonnegut is discussed, often this novel is left out when it comes to what was his best. However, his dark humor and social satire are well in evidence here, and this is not one to be missed.

cat's cradle, like all of vonnegut's books is a rather odd little piece of work. it's bitingly cynical, deeply depressing, and yet seems to convey a fragile sort of hope all at once.

this book was written as a critique of what mr. vonnegut referred to as unethical scientists, people so concerned with what they might possibly be able to do that they don't stop and think what the consequences of their actions might be. it's rather effective at this in my opinion, creating a scenario that is silly and terrifying all at once.

it's a harsh book, and some people will find that the almost fluffy humor grates with the dark premise and sometimes nasty characters. some people will love it deeply as it showcases vonnegut's ability to hate what humanity is and yet care what becomes of it at the same time.

even if it turns out to not be your thing it's probably worth the read.

I discovered Vonnegut in high school and fell madly in love. Besides being a wonderful writer, he's a perfect transition point for someone just beginning to tackle literary fiction, because while his style is accessible, his ideas are complex.

I've read all of his stuff, and CAT'S CRADLE was always one of my favorites, along with BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS and MOTHER NIGHT. But this is the one I've returned to most often, probably three or four times, so the day after he died, I picked it up again as a personal farewell. Like all of his stuff, it's deeply human, mingling a sincere love for our best with a wry acknowledgment of our ever-present worst. Summarizing this book takes the joy out of it, so I'll just say that it's about a new religion, a nuclear scientist, a midget, a failed writer, and the end of the world. If you've never read Vonnegut, you could do worse than to start here.

"Cat's cradle" is written in very Vonnegut style, in the midst of fiction and realism. The book starts describing the narrator's intention of writing a book about what important Americans did on the day Hiroshima was bombed with major attention on the "father of atomic bomb" fictional Nobel laureate physicist Felix Hoenikker. During his research the narrator gets acquainted with the scientist's childern though several letters, and finally ends up in the plane with them flying to an island where Frank Hoenikker suppose to become the next president.

Bokononism as a new religion defined by Vonnegut, created in the fictional island of San Lorenzo, one of the poorest countries in the world that was yield by each government to the next without any resistance during last several centuries. None of the islanders cares about anything except fishing, bokonizm and sex (defined as "boko-maru" in unpublished Bokonist books). All the intrigues are about a powerful material called Ice-9, the last discovery of great scientist, the only existing piece of which was shared among his children.

Narrator fells in love with beautiful Mona, who as well as all other native Bokonists make suiside by Bokonon's order. At the end he appears alone with four Americans on San Lorenzo as a "new Robinson family" and finally meets Bokonon, the creator of Boknist religion. The book leave reader guessing what will happen next and is absurd and fantastic.

Brilliant. Science face to face with sociology. The master of parody and cynicism provokes/demands thought.

Maybe.
After reading several Vonnegut novels and a book of essays, I think I can say with some degree of certainty that his life's philosophy was pretty much, "we would all be better off if we had never evolved from the primordial muck in the first place. Sure would have saved alot of pointless suffering in the long run." We have reason, creativity, morality and free will. We also have a beautiful planet that is perfectly capable of sustaining us. We could live in a utopian paradise but, instead, we slaughter each other and wreck the place. Cat's Cradle is Vonnegut's usual parade of freaks and losers who seem determined to torture & destroy themselves, each other and the world in which they live. Vonnegut talks about the arrogance, randomness, stupidity and cruelty of the powerful. He talks about the arrogance and immorality of those who use great gifts indifferently or maliciously. He talks about the stupidity of militarism and patriotism and the falseness of heroism. He talks about the silliness of social mores and the arbitrariness of religious convictions. Be forewarned, Vonnegut was one cynical dude and his stuff isn't for everyone.

It is an interesting book with a masterful writing style. My appreciation of this book was largely literary. But it is not personally touching or inspiring or meaningful. For that read Paulo Coelho. The story is not exactly as "thought-provoking" as people have been claiming. For that read philosophy.

Some parts are very funny, many parts are interesting, and it is a very easy read. The plot is purposely ridiculous, and tangibly depressing. It is worthwhile, if you know what to expect (satire, dry humor, captivating writing, but not anything deep, moving, inspiring, wise, etc.)

I wanted to read some more of Kurt Vonnegut. I was disappounted with this book and never finished it. The book did arrive in good shape and on time. It semed like a loose story with some of his comments about life, but witout much of a plot.

Kurt Vonnegut was the most brilliant mind alive at the turn of the century. It is an utter shame that he died recently, but so it goes. In my opinion, this is his finest work. He satorically questions religion, war and the nature of man all in one hillarious masterpeice. He is the Mark Twain of the 1900's. I recomend EVERYONE read this novel.