"Cat’s Cradle" Book Review

When I first started reading this book, I found it challenging to understand because of its unique writing style. The author of Cat’s Cradle divided the book into 127 chapters, the title of each chapter is significant to each of the paragraphs that come within the chapter. This book was recommended to me by my sister, she knew I would like because its is a satire, science fiction and it is different than other books. It is about a man named Jonah (also known as John) who is writing a book about the day the atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima. In Jonah’s book he also decides to write about the person who created the atomic bomb. The book starts off with the narrator, introducing his beliefs as a Bokononist and how he used to be a christian when he was writing his book titled The day the World Ended.

The first couple of chapters of the book I found them to be very boring and extremely confusing because of the lack of events in the story and the frequent change of setting. When I got to chapter five events really started to pick up and it got more interesting. In chapter five Jonah wrote a letter to Newt Hoenikker, Felix’s youngest son. Felix Hoenikker is the scientist who created the atomic bomb. He wrote a letter to him to gain more information about the day the atomic bomb dropped and his relationship with his father. Newt replied to Jonah’s letter and mentioned that he does not remember a lot for that day because he was little but he claims that he did not have a good relationship with his father. Newt also mentions how his mother Emily had passed away when she was giving birth to him. Later on in the book we are introduced to another character named Asa Breed. Dr.Breed was Felix's supervisor at the Research Laboratory where Felix helped develop the atomic bomb. John interviewed him when he was researching for his book.

During the interview Dr. Breed mentioned something named ice nine to John. Ice- nine is one of Felix’s projects to create something that can freeze up all the water on earth. As a reader knowing this information about Ice-nine got me very hooked to the book because I really want to know what will happen next, at the same time knowing all of this, I had so many questions that came that to my mind such as, does Ice-nine really exist? And if so who has it? As of where I am in the story the book, it is fairly interesting despite the boring introduction to the plot and characters. My impression on the characters is that they are unique and different from any other book I have read, mainly because I do not relate to any of them. I am currently enjoying my book because the events are starting to get interesting. My prediction to what happens next is, Jonah will stop writing about the day the atomic bomb dropped but instead he do more research and will write about Ice-nine.

After reading half of the book I have realised that it is an extremely slow book. Events take forever to end and new events take long to begin, which surprises me because it is not a long book. I still find myself confused while reading, this is because there are an excessive amount of characters that are introduced throughout the book, some relevant and some not so much. In this book the setting is constantly changing which can get a little bit complicated, one chapter the main character is in a cemetery the next he is in a basement. I have found that every detail in this book matters, if you miss one little detail you would get confused, therefore it is important to pay very close attention to anything any of the characters say because it reveals more about each character and more about the plot. I expected this book to be a lot more interesting and to have a better storyline.

When the book was first recommended to be I was told that the book is about the day the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. I was expecting to learn more about the historical aspect of that day regardless if it was true or not. Instead the book turned out to be about the main character traveling the United States and a to a fictional island where practicing another fictional religion this is forbidden. The narrator travels around to get more information about the atomic bomb but none of the people he interviews mention anything about it, they either talk about Bokonon or being a Bokononist and or Ice-nine. Which I truly enjoy but I would have liked it more if I got more information about the day the atomic bomb dropped. The most significant event that is currently happening up to this point is the main character John meeting Frank Hoenikker’s children. So far, we have met Newt the youngest son and Angela the eldest and only daughter. The main character now knows that all three Hoenikker children have a part of Ice-nine the object that can potentially freeze up the world. John met the two of the Hoenikker children on a plane to San Lorenzo to meet the third child Frank and to interview Julian Castle because John was writing an article about him. I believe the story in the book is still not at the climax therefore, all the information that has been mentioned about San Lorenzo, Ice-nine and the three children is just a build up in the plot for the big conflict and the ending following it.

To be honest, I was left with a strong feeling of distaste and disappointment after having finished Cat's Cradle. First, the story doesn't really have an ending it is an open ended book, it is up to one’s imagination to determine the ending, which bothers me because I like a set ended written by the author. Right before the book ended I was very happy about where the plot was heading, it was finally getting interesting, but then that feeling was completely gone after I read the last page. I was unsatisfied, I was expecting more. Ice-nine infected San Lorenzo causing it to freeze. In the last two chapters John meets Bokonon and Bokonon tells him to become a statue on the tallest mountain in San Lorenzo. It is unknown if John commits suicide thenor continues his life, that part was left to the readers to decide. Kurt Vonnegut was a known atheist. Therefore throughout the entire book, he mocked the christian religion, which a lot of people believe in. Making me as a reader uncomfortable to read what he had to say about the fake religion he has created in Cat’s Cradle.

Kurt Vonnegut completely disregarded religion, beliefs and the study of science in his book, which displeased me while reading. A lot of the things of the book are just re-imaginings or fictional versions of things that actually exist. The heightening makes it easier to what those things really mean. Ice-9 is a stand-in for the atomic bomb and nuclear power. "Papa" Monzano is very similar to many real-life dictators of the time. San Lorenzo is similar to many poor Latin American countries, in many ways. The book's philosophy is mainly about nihilism and absurdism. In the end, Cat’s Cradle is a highly imaginative work of satire. It requires a lot of understanding of symbolism and good connection skills. To this day, I still do not understand the deep meaning and symbolism behind it. Personally, I read the book as an enjoyment and not to fully analyze it, but to briefly understand the meaning behind it. I came to the conclusion that Cat’s Cradle is about the rejection of truth. Vonnegut often connected science and religion in Cat's Cradle. He characterized science as a form of discovering truth, while he characterized religion as a form of creating lies. Thus, the truth that he created through science was at once a danger to humanity, referring back to Ice-nine because it killed everyone.