Reviews

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

audreychiao's review against another edition

4.0

A quick and smooth read for a very strange story. The story was absurd, and I never knew what direction it would take to unfold, but the brevity of each chapter made the story a lot easier to follow. I laughed quite a bit at the absurdity of the story and by my own confusion. The humor makes the point of the story — science, although seemingly amoral and pursued by intellects with no evil agenda, can devastate the world — easy to understand. Things go downhill pretty quickly for no reason, and this reality was easier to swallow thanks to the humor.

I haven’t finished thinking about Vonnegut’s view of religion. Is he saying it’s just as disastrous as science? Is he saying it’s a warm comfort to our helplessness in facing our impending doom? Is it both a critique and a praise for religious beliefs?

The writing was so smooth and enjoyable. I’m looking forward to reading Slaughterhouse Five.

mrsmobarak's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

sanctionization's review against another edition

2.0

Odd little story 

jazjaz's review

challenging dark hopeful sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.25

klamstrakvr's review against another edition

challenging funny reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Great, consistent and readable satire that aged pretty badly. And aging well is what I expect from classics and aspiring classics.

theekah's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.25

ronjan's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

frostap's review against another edition

3.0

I really didn't get "Slaughterhouse Five" when I first finished it, but I couldn't stop thinking about it for the next two weeks. I'm four days out from finishing "Cat's Cradle" and still no epiphany. I do like Vonnegut's style; I just feel like I missed something.

randi108's review against another edition

funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“See the cat. See the cradle.”

It took me a little while to get into Cat's Cradle, but once I was in, I was really in. The satire is sharp, compelling, and often silly. While there are some dated elements in the novel, I found that overall, it still holds up remarkably well after over 60 years. 

The novel uses satirical humor to ask profound questions about the role of religion and the meaning we ascribe to existence. With the creation of the world-ending ice-nine, Vonnegut warns about the reckless pursuit of science divorced from ethics. Through his heavily satirical depiction of the invented religion Bokononism, he lays bare humanity's tendency to embrace contradictory beliefs and "harmless untruths" to find meaning and community in an absurd world. Yet he also cautions against the dangers of blindly following such irrational belief systems that can be perverted by corrupt leaders. 

Cat's Cradle captures existentialist ideas reminiscent of Camus - that life is essentially meaningless and absurd. Written during the Cold War era by a veteran who witnessed the atrocities of WWII and the dropping of the atomic bombs, Vonnegut's bleak yet satirical perspective must have spoken profoundly to the moods and anxieties of the mid-20th century while cementing itself as a classic that still feels sharply relevant decades later.
I enjoyed this novel far more than I expected, particularly how it humorously engaged themes in a readable and thought-provoking way. This was my first Vonnegut novel, and I look forward to reading more. 

gu4n's review

2.0

Enjoyable, but ultimately not my thing.