Reading Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut, I find myself alternately gasping and writhing with laughter. The book is composed of equal parts horror, satire, and subtle humor, all while refusing to bend to the conventions of the science-fiction genre. The plot of the story is actually deceptively simple, it's what Vonnegut chooses to focus on that makes this story unique. Basically, the narrator is writing a story about 'The father of the atom bomb', Felix Hoenikker. In his search of data for his story, he meets some of Hoenniker's children, and discovers the existence of ice-nine, a substance capable of instantaneously turning any liquid into a solid. He casually realizes that this substance has the potential of ending all life as we know it. In most 'apocalypse' books, this would be the point where the narrator encounters some convenient deus ex machina that motivates him into trying to save the world. Not this narrator. He basically says "eh", and goes on with his life. Two years later, he actually comes into contact with a sample of ice-nine, along with Hoenniker's children, and the story progresses in dramatic fashion from there, but Vonnegut chooses to focus less on the potential lethality inherent in his story, and more on the characters and ideologies present in the world he's created.
Cat's Cradle is actually a pretty short read- only 191 pages- so I normally would have finished the book within a week. However, the time not spent reading the book was spent puzzling over the ideas that Vonnegut introduced through his characters. I've finished the book by now but some of the events within it have stayed with me. For instance, Vonnegut fabricated a religion solely for the purpose of his book, called Bokononism (named after a man named Bokonon). There are too many intricacies of the religion to go into, but one of the most shocking scenes in the book occurs towards the end, when thousands of people-almost the entire population of an island -kill themselves via ice-nine, simply because Bokonon tells them to. As disturbing as this event is, it is made more so by the fact that Vonnegut is clearly satirizing existing religions. People throughout the ages have acted blindly, simply because 'God', or a religious leader, has told them to. I know no instances where thousands have committed suicide simply of the advice of one man, but similarly ridiculous things have happened. Cat's Cradle, being a satire, may have hyperbolized the extent to which people will go for religion, but not by much.
There's so much I want to say about this book that I simply haven't got the time to say. I'd rate Cat's Cradle an eight out of ten. Its great writing hilarious moments, creative premise, and (literally) chilling ending warrant the '8'. However, and this is somewhat petty on my part, I'm denying the book a full '10' because I wanted it to be longer. Part of the power of this book is its brevity, in that it gets so many events and ideas across in such a short amount of time without it seeming rushed. However, I really would have liked to have some closure for many of the events that happened, or to have had some of the deaths elaborated on.
Ah, well. I enjoyed the book, overall. However,it has left me with the overwhelming urge to go play with string.
Nice last line. What will you read next?
ReplyDeleteI read Cat's Cradle and loved it, I think your analysis here is spot on. It really is strange to read Vonnegut because of how unconventionally he writes, and your statement about him choosing to focus on the characters and ideologies rather than the inherent gravity of a potentially apocalyptic isotope of water helped my own understanding of the novel. I couldn't have phrased his style better. Vonnegut is one of the best religious and political satirists, isn't he? Bokononism is so fascinating, especially the fact that it's a religion founded on the principle of all religions being lies.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think about the juxtaposition of Bokonon and the political leader on the island (so many names are escaping me)? One of the most interesting questions I've been asked is which one was more virtuous than the other, or were they both equally sinful? Do you think they saved the people? Do you think they did it in the right way? The whole situation, both of them pretending to be mortal enemies in order to introduce some order into the lives of the islanders, is just goddamn ridiculous...or is it? Christ that book's controversial for me.
Okay so a couple of shameless book recommendations: First of all, Sirens of Titan by Vonnegut if you haven't already. He takes the idea of mass suicide to the NEXT LEVEL.
Second would be anything by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. He is one of the only political or religious satirist I've ready who rivals Vonnegut. His work is weird, and difficult to understand, but worth it in the end. If you speak Spanish well enough to read the originals, I'd recommend it, but the translations are very well done as well. Chronicle of a Death Foretold or any of his short stories would be a great place to start (unless you're already familiar.)
Anyway, you seem like a guy with good taste. If you've got anything that your mind's begging you to recommend to someone, I'd love to hear it.
Crap! I forgot one thing: I got the same feeling as you about the ending, the lack of closure really bothered me for a while. However, I think that's part of his style that I really admire and respect; he knows that the reader will want more, but he doesn't care. Vonnegut really seems to me to be the type of author who writes entirely for himself, and I respect that immensely. He really just seems not to give a shit.
ReplyDelete