I am a relatively new reader of Kurt Vonnegut. I didn't know anything about any of his books until a few years ago, when a hipster roommate got all huffy upon learning this about me and shoved Slaughterhouse-Five into my hands. "Read this now," he growled at me. He has become one of my favorite authors since, and I have recently cleared my local library of all the Vonnegut they have. Cat's Cradle is an excellent example of Vonnegut's ability to write a story that is overwhelmingly cynical. I have yet to read a book of his with one of those dreaded happy endings. I love an author that doesn't use the "Happily Ever After" formula. I was not surprised to learn that this book has been challenged/banned. I was surprised to learn that the reason for being banned was not the strong anti-religious overtone. This book has a powerful sense of futility to it, with God and religion right at the center of that black hole. It also includes a community which has banned a religion for the purpose of getting everyone to follow it. People who bond spiritually by pressing their feet together. And the end of the world, by accident, set off by a dead dictator. This has been described as a great example of Vonnegut's contempt for war. I can see how that would have been evident at the time it was published (1963). It's funny how the perceived meaning of art changes as society changes. I never really picked up on that theme in this novel, unless it is illustrated by the character of Felix Hoenikker - "father" of the atomic bomb. My favorite thing about Kurt Vonnegut is that the description of the plot is never proper preparation for the book. The plot is largely immaterial in [what I've read of] his books, because he is so excellent at getting his point across between the lines. One kind of forgets about the plot in favor of the larger message, which in this case is that it's best to lie, life is meaningless, and both religion and science are great big meaningless packs of lies.
I am a relatively new reader of Kurt Vonnegut. I didn't know anything about any of his books until a few years ago, when a hipster roommate got all huffy upon learning this about me and shoved Slaughterhouse-Five into my hands. "Read this now," he growled at me.
He has become one of my favorite authors since, and I have recently cleared my local library of all the Vonnegut they have.
Cat's Cradle is an excellent example of Vonnegut's ability to write a story that is overwhelmingly cynical. I have yet to read a book of his with one of those dreaded happy endings. I love an author that doesn't use the "Happily Ever After" formula.
I was not surprised to learn that this book has been challenged/banned. I was surprised to learn that the reason for being banned was not the strong anti-religious overtone. This book has a powerful sense of futility to it, with God and religion right at the center of that black hole.
It also includes a community which has banned a religion for the purpose of getting everyone to follow it.
People who bond spiritually by pressing their feet together.
And the end of the world, by accident, set off by a dead dictator.
This has been described as a great example of Vonnegut's contempt for war. I can see how that would have been evident at the time it was published (1963). It's funny how the perceived meaning of art changes as society changes. I never really picked up on that theme in this novel, unless it is illustrated by the character of Felix Hoenikker - "father" of the atomic bomb.
My favorite thing about Kurt Vonnegut is that the description of the plot is never proper preparation for the book. The plot is largely immaterial in [what I've read of] his books, because he is so excellent at getting his point across between the lines. One kind of forgets about the plot in favor of the larger message, which in this case is that it's best to lie, life is meaningless, and both religion and science are great big meaningless packs of lies.