

Loading... Cat's Cradle (1963)by Kurt Vonnegut
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Best Dystopias (32) » 68 more 1960s (5) Five star books (125) Favourite Books (615) 20th Century Literature (363) A Novel Cure (150) SF Masterworks (24) Books Read in 2015 (673) Books Read in 2016 (2,374) Overdue Podcast (92) Read This Next (10) Books Read in 2018 (1,956) Books Read in 2019 (2,116) Read (42) Books Read in 2013 (932) KayStJ's to-read list (280) Books Read in 2002 (16) Animals in the Title (34) SF Masterworks (17) Books tagged favorites (287) Books Read in 2012 (100) Alphabetical Books (35) Speculative Fiction (16) My Favourite Books (12) Best Satire (20) Books Set on Islands (69) Unread books (980) No current Talk conversations about this book. I was told by someone who had already read this that it was "bonkers", and it really kind of is, but in a most entertaining way. It also gets right to the heart of people, and the stupidity that underlies the entire race. Perceptive, imaginative, and original. A man sets out to write a book about the end of the world, namely about the making of the atom bomb, but in the process of researching one of the late scientists who worked on the bomb, he stumbles across the man's dysfunctional family, get entangled in the machinations of a poor island dictatorship, converts to a religion that admits it's founded on lies, and possibly witnesses the actual end of the world. Wonderfully weird as only Vonnegut can do wonderfully weird. Dark, potentially apocalyptic comedy in the vane of Dr. Strangelove or [b:The Mouse That Roared|149153|The Mouse That Roared (The Mouse That Roared, #1)|Leonard Wibberley|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347739012s/149153.jpg|1305]. From very early on i was expecting to give this 4 stars. The only other Vonnegut i've read is [b:Slaughterhouse-Five|4981|Slaughterhouse-Five|Kurt Vonnegut Jr.|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1440319389s/4981.jpg|1683562] and this was much lighter and easier to read. I gobbled up the tiny chapters and was really enjoying myself. Not quite sure what went wrong. Perhaps my expectations were too high, or the heavy foreshadowing just robbed the denouement of some of its impact. Another case of anticipation being more enjoyable than gratification. Still its pretty fun and its not a terrible ending just not as good as i was hoping for. Been awhile since I'd read Vonnegut (Slaughterhouse 5 and TimeQuake), but he's got a distinctive voice that has a certain appeal. this story was not at all what I was expecting, but I still enjoyed it.
"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." Belongs to Publisher SeriesKeltainen kirjasto (124) — 5 more Is contained inThe sirens of Titan; Mother night; Cat's cradle; God bless you, Mr. Rosewater; Slaughterhouse-five by Kurt Vonnegut Novels & Stories, 1963-1973: Cat's Cradle / God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater / Slaughterhouse-Five / Breakfast of Champions / Stories by Kurt Vonnegut Slaughterhouse-Five ; The Sirens of Titan ; Player Piano ; Cat's Cradle ; Breakfast of Champions ; Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut Has as a commentary on the textHas as a student's study guide
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. No library descriptions found.
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![]() GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54 — Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:![]()
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Cats Cradle is an interesting book, with an easy structure of short chapters (mostly one or two pages) making reading easy if you need to take a break. The plot does seem to wander a bit, from the protagonist starting the story with a desire to contact the children of one of the fathers of the atomic bombing mb, through banana republic, being made president of said banana republic to Armageddon that is brought about by accident with the substance Ice Nine. This is a great name for the ultimate WMD. The story finishes, as opposed to ending really, leaving one wondering about the characters’ fates. Interesting neologisms. My favourite being granfalloon. (