"Cat's Cradle"

"A free-wheeling vehicle...an
unforgettable ride." –NYT

Kurt Vonnegut's "Cat's Cradle" is hard to classify. Is it an absurdist Cold War parable? A treatise on human foolishness? Theology?! It's probably some of each, and definitely a wild ride.

Minor plot details below.

"Cat's Cradle" is narrated by John, a writer collecting material for a book about the atomic bomb. In this world, the bomb was invented primarily by one man, the late Felix Hoenikker. John interviews Hoenikker's family and acquaintances and learns that he should visit the tiny banana republic of San Lorenzo to learn more. He decides to travel there, meets a number of colorful characters, and accidentally causes...well, you'll see.

Somehow, the plot isn't really what the book is about. In the very first chapter, John says it's really about his conversion to Bokononism, San Lorenzo's made-up religion whose primary commandment seems to be that its followers not take themselves too seriously. But that's not quite right either. In fact, book's very first sentence is "Nothing in this book is true."

Even so, excerpts from the Books of Bokonon, quoted liberally throughout the novel, certainly ring true. For instance:

Tiger got to hunt,
Bird got to fly;
Man got to sit and wonder, "Why, why, why?"
Tiger got to sleep,
Bird got to land;
Man got to tell himself he understand.
(Ch. 81)

Or even this:

Hazel's obsession with Hoosiers around the world was a textbook example of a false karass, of a seeming team that was meaningless in terms of the ways God gets things done, a textbook example of what Bokonon calls a granfalloon. Other examples of granfalloons are the Communist party, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the General Electric Company, the International Order of Odd Fellows—and any nation, anytime, anywhere.
(Ch. 42)

In other words, be wary of the tendency to self-sort into arbitrary associations, which might keep us apart from those we really ought to know. It's a good lesson.

Verdict: "Cat's Cradle" is an unpredictable, thought-provoking, and above all joyful exploration of life and Kurt Vonnegut's philosophy. Highly recommended.