Oh, how I hated this book. An unpopular opinion, I know. Still, something indescribable about Kurt Vonnegut's writing turns my stomach. Were my initial expectations unrealistic when I picked up "Cat's Cradle"? Does satire slathered on too thick make me nauseous (read: "Animal Farm")? Do I loathe that bleating Harry Chapin tune "Cat's in the Cradle"? Was I put off as a child by the first five minutes of the movie version of "Slaughterhouse Five"?
Probably all of the above. Of course, none of those are fair or even valid reasons to dislike a "classic" novel...but, hey, there you are. ( )

Kurt Vonnegut is one of those authors I'd never read but felt like I ought to have. So when I opened a gift this morning to find his Cat's Cradle (1963) I decided to take full advantage of a snowy, quiet Sunday to read it. It's the sort of book that lent itself perfectly to a one-sitting extended read, and I laughed and pondered my way through in a couple short hours.

Vonnegut's created an interesting world here, including the bizarre banana republic of San Lorenzo, to which our narrator (the author of a book about the day the first atomic bomb was dropped) takes us along for a crazy mixed up tour of intertwined characters, invented religions and philosophies, and a dip into some wild new scientific ideas which turn out to be not-so-good for everybody.

Some memorable and strange characters and customs, and a brilliant satire on Cold War science (and scientists), political relations, religion, and human nature itself. Quite funny, and whimsical, but with a bit of a sharp bite as well.

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Plot Synopsis
The narrator, "Jonah", sets out to research the everyday lives of people on the day the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, but finds his life woven into a complex and absurd narrative.

My Thoughts
The two Vonnegut books I've read have both struck me as primarily anti-war texts and manifestos to man's stupidity. I approve wholeheartedly. I feel man's stupidity is most nicely bound up in the concept of granfalloon, a Bokononist concept where people believe they have a connection with others that does not in fact actually exist. Religion, Nationality, Race, Clubs and Organizations, these are all false connections. We choose to identify with particular people based on associations that are inherently meaningless, and sometimes we protect this absurd relationship in violent and stupid ways. The philosophy of Bokononism is sprinkled liberally throughout the text and is, for me, the force driving the story; without it, the story loses its essence.

Vonnegut's writing is so much like speech, his chapters so short, and his themes so intriguing that reading his books is an almost frantic activity for me. I move through them quickly but don't lose comprehension. I enjoy the quick movement, the short fast-paced sentence and chapter structure.

There is so much more to say about this book, but as always I believe that discovering the story on your own is the best bet.

Memorable Scene: Angela bundling up her two brothers and her father before they went out into the cold is a scene that affected me. Her father is useless as a parent and when her mother dies, Angela, only a teenager, has to take on responsibility for the family, giving up her life for them. This image of a young girl playing the role of mother in one of its most cliched forms - protection and caring before leaving the safety of the home - was especially poignant for me.

Memorable Quotes: Americans are forever searching for love in forms it never takes, in places it can never be.

What hope can there be for mankind...when there are such men...to give such playthings...to such short-sighted children as almost all men and women are? ( )

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Vonnegut explores the absurdities of the human creature through a plot in which the world is destroyed by our own folly. ( )