Wednesday, June 3, 2009

"Cat's Cradle" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Summary: John--or Jonah, as he tells us to call him-- relates his story of getting mixed up with the children of the father of the atomic bomb, visiting San Lorenzo (and becoming its president), learning about ice-nine, and becoming a Bokonist. But it's Vonnegut, so take it all with a satiric grain of salt.

Musings: This is my second Vonnegut novel after I rediscovered how great Slaughterhouse-Five was. Cat's Cradle was even more disjointed than Slaughterhouse, but it still had much of the same style that I enjoyed in the latter.

I love Vonnegut's tone, quirky side notes, and super short chapters. However, after reading the book, I'm not really sure what it's about. Or what the message is. I'm thinking it's that "life is pointless." Or "religion is pointless." Maybe "everything's a lie"? Each chapter felt incredibly deep and meaningful, yet I have no idea how it all comes together.

I've already started rereading it, so perhaps I'll be more articulate the second time around.

But I really liked it.

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