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Cat's Cradle (1963)

by Kurt Vonnegut

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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21,414287168 (4.1)396
Cat's Cradle is Vonnegut's satirical commentary on modern man and his madness. An apocalyptic tale of this planet's ultimate fate, it features a midget as the protagonist; a complete, original theology created by a calypso singer; and a vision of the future that is at once blackly fatalistic and hilariously funny.… (more)
Recently added byba2015, private library, MaunoV, astridnomical, kgsi, deathgrindfreak, Rose.b
Legacy LibrariesWalker Percy
1960s (5)
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» See also 396 mentions

English (275)  Spanish (3)  Catalan (2)  Italian (1)  French (1)  Swedish (1)  Hebrew (1)  All languages (284)
Showing 1-5 of 275 (next | show all)
I really liked Cat's Cradle. The book works well on two levels: as a book and as a message. The plot and story are interesting in its own right. But there is also a deep message behind it all. Balancing the two is a difficult task 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘕𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. It's a satire, but I don't think it's a "haha" satire. It mostly uses irony to convey the message. To be honest, on my first read through it, I felt that there was a very deep message that I simply wasn't getting. I used Spark Notes to get the main idea. Spark notes takes the view that this book is mostly a satire of science. Personally, I think it is more a satire of human intention, i.e. of virtue ethics. The book follows John, a writer investigating the personal lives of important people on the day Hiroshima was bombed. In this investigation we see the callousness of people towards the bombing, despite innocence and even good intentions. ( )
  vincenttran | May 14, 2023 |
One of the formative novels of my teen yars. ( )
  Rostie | May 14, 2023 |
I read this as a teenager and had dim but enthusiastic memories of it -- mostly of ice-nine and environmental catastrophe. So I added this to the family story time shelf and ended up reading it out loud to the whole family -- which this book gave me a few moments to regret/question that decision as my youngest was eleven at the time. (Said moments having to do with some characterizations that did not age well, as well as sexualization that I had forgotten about.)

It was fine, though, and no riots occurred, so probably no great damage was done. They enjoyed it to some extent. I think my oldest picked up on some of the colonialism stuff, but I suspect it mostly went over my youngest's head. ( )
  greeniezona | May 12, 2023 |
A writer named Jonah (or possibly John) looks back on his adventures, and his conversion to a religion known as Bokononism, while conducting research for a book about the late Frank Hoenikker, one of the fathers of the atomic bomb. The first leg of our hero’s journey takes him to Hoenikker’s hometown of Ilium, NY where he meets two of Hoenikker’s three adult children. There, Jonah learns that each of the children possesses a piece of Ice-Nine, a dangerous substance their father developed for the military.

He later learns that Hoenikker’s oldest son is a high-ranking official on the Caribbean Island of San Lorenzo, home to one of the poorest populations in the world. As it happens, Jonah accepts an assignment that takes him to the island and finds himself on the same plane as Hoenikker’s other two children.

Shortly after his arrival on San Lorenzo, Jonah finds himself in an unimaginable position just before all hell—and a lethal quantity of Ice-Nine—breaks loose.

With Cat’s Cradle, Vonnegut delivers a satirical tale of religion, destiny, futility, and the end of days. It’s a delightful and quick read with most chapters no longer than a page. ( )
  pgiunta | May 9, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 275 (next | show all)
"Cat's Cradle" is an irreverent and often highly entertaining fantasy concerning the playful irresponsibility of nuclear scientists. Like the best of contemporary satire, it is work of a far more engaging and meaningful order than the melodramatic tripe which most critics seem to consider "serious."
 

» Add other authors (21 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Vonnegut, Kurtprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Curtoni, VittorioTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
House, JulianCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kapari, MarjattaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Koeppl, LíviaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kunkel, BenjaminIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pelham, DavidCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Roberts, TonyNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vezzoli, DelfinaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Nothing in this book is true.
'Live by the foma* that make you brave and
kind and healthy and happy.'

The Books of Bokonon. I : 5

*Harmless untruths
Dedication
For Kenneth Littauer, a man of
gallantry and taste
First words
Call me Jonah.
Quotations
"No wonder kids grow up crazy. A cat's cradle is nothing but a bunch of X's between somebody's hands, and little kids look and look and look at all those X's..."
"And?"
"No damn cat, and no damn cradle."
'Aamons, Mona', the index said, 'adopted by
Monzano in order to boost Monzano's
popularity, 194-199, 216n; childhood in com
pound of House of Hope and Mercy, 63-81;
childhood romance with P. Castle, 72f; death of father, 89ff; death of mother, 92f; embarrassed
by role as national erotic symbol, 80, 95, 166n.,
209, 247n., 400-406, 566n., 678; engaged to P.
Castle, 193; essential naivete, 67-71, 80, 95f,
116n., 209, 274n., 400-406, 566n., 678; lives with
Bokonon, 92-98, 196-197; poems about, 2n., 26,
114, 119, 311, 316, 477n., 501, 507, 555n., 689,
718ff, 799ff, 800n., 841, 846ff, 908n., 971, 974;
poems by, 89, 92, 193; returns to Monzano, 199?
returns to Bokonon, 197; runs away from
Bokonon, 199; runs away from Monzano, 197;
tries to make self ugly in order to stop being
erotic symbol to islanders, 80, 95f, 116n., 209,
247n., 400-406, 566n., 678; tutored by Bokonon,
63-80; writes letter to United Nations, 200;
xylophone virtuoso, 71'.
I showed this index entry to
She hated people who thought too much. At that moment she struck me as an appropriate representative for almost all mankind.
,"...I was very upset about how Americans couldn't imagine what it was like to be something else, to be something else and proud of it."
"The highest possible form of treason," said Minton, "is to say that Americans aren't loved wherever they go, whatever they do. Claire tried to make the point that American foreign policy should recognise hate rather than imagine love."
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Publisher's editors
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References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

Cat's Cradle is Vonnegut's satirical commentary on modern man and his madness. An apocalyptic tale of this planet's ultimate fate, it features a midget as the protagonist; a complete, original theology created by a calypso singer; and a vision of the future that is at once blackly fatalistic and hilariously funny.

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Book description
In Vonnegut's satirical commentary on modern man and his madness. An apocalyptic tale of this planet's ultimate fate, it features a midget as the protagonist; a complete, original theology created by a calypso singer; and a vision of the future that is at once blackly fatalistic and hilariously funny. A book that left an indelible mark on an entire generation of readers, Cat's Cradle is one of this century's most important works...and Vonnegut at his very best.
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Penguin Australia

3 editions of this book were published by Penguin Australia.

Editions: 0141189347, 0141045442, 0241951607

 

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