Kenny's Reviews > Cat's Cradle

Live by the harmless untruths that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy.
Cat's Cradle ~~ Kurt Vonnegut


Buddy read with Aesaan

I've told this story before, but it bears repeating. My junior year of college, I had a roommate, Don, his nickname was Har Don ~~ which he hated; Har Don loved Kurt Vonnegut ~~ no, he worshiped Kurt Vonnegut. It’s ironic since everything Har Don believed in was the antithesis of what Vonnegut stood for. Har Don insisted I read Vonnegut's SLAPSTICK. He told me it was the greatest novel ever written. I did, and it isn't. He insisted I was wrong. I wasn't. But, I was done with Vonnegut; there were authors I was craving to read and Vonnegut was not one of them.

Skip ahead to my joining Goodreads. Friends here, people whose opinions I truly respect, kept telling me I had to read Slaughterhouse-Five (my review) . So, I broke down, and picked up a copy, and I loved it.

I wanted to explore more of Vonnegut's universe, so, when my amazing friend, Aesaan, and I decided to do a buddy read we decided upon Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle so he could experience Vonnegut's universe too. We both loved it.



Once more I was dazzled by the world Vonnegut created. I have to admit I was wrong to turn my back on Vonnegut so long ago.

When reading Vonnegut I wonder if he believes there is any hope for humanity. All we do as a race of people is so self-destructive. I can only imagine what Vonnegut would write with all the fodder he’d have to work with today.

Science and religion are the two main targets of satire in Cat’s Cradle. While Vonnegut satirizes science and religion, he offers no alternative to these belief systems. I truly believe Vonnegut views humanity as hopeless in his humorously, nihilistic view; yes, Vonnegut believes human existence is meaningless. Vonnegut is the ultimate pessimist who has no answers to the mess humans have made of things, and, thankfully, doesn’t pretend to have any answers.

I don't think Vonnegut would appreciate the serious tone of this review, Kenneth. Lighten up.



Our narrator in Cat’s Cradle is Jonah ~~ as in Jonah and the whale. Or is he John ~~ as in The Gospel of John. I do know for certain, the only God in any of the atheist Vonnegut’s novels is Vonnegut himself.

Our narrator, Jonah/John is investigating the life of the Father of the atomic bomb to write a book on him and remembrances of the day the A bomb was dropped. While researching his subject, Jonah/John embarks on a journey of discovery towards the next man-made destructive event in the form of ice-nine. To tell you more of ice-nine would only spoil the fun the great god Vonnegut has instore for you dear reader.

Does it seem weird to compare Vonnegut, a life-long atheist, to god? Somehow, it seems fitting.



Every chapter ~~ the longest of which is three pages long ~~ in Cat’s Cradle ends with a unexpected shock, followed by a brilliant punch line to wrap up the topic of interest in the chapter and hurling the reader into the next. Cat’s Cradle is a book that begins with the writing of a book about the end of the world and itself becomes a book about the end of the world. The plot slowly squeezes out of the chaos of memories as the lives of the characters all converge on one location ~~ the plotting here is brilliant. The god Vonnegut has gathered them together to perform the task of ending the world. The author Vonnegut has gathered them together to create this tale.

In the end, Cat’s Cradle is a series of fables about science, weaponry, war, fate, and religion. The moral is up to the reader to decipher ~~ if there even is a moral. Vonnegut knew he wasn’t changing the world with his writing, but what he did do was to entertain and bring smiles to his readers.

However, the god Vonnegut did impart one very important lesson in Cat’s Cradle ~~ Science is magic that works.