2010, Book 6: Cat's Cradle

"See the Cat? See the cradle?" I didn't and I am pretty sure that was the point of Kurt Vonnegut's well written, clever, and funny satire about the human race, religion, and the end of the world. One of the main character makes his points by asking, "See the cat? See the cradle?" and by the end of the book, I realized that that was really the point. We as people, when it comes to politics, religion, and relationships frequently cannot see the cat or the cradle. We weave such tangled webs and much of it is illusory or leads to no real, visible end.

This was my first experience with Kurt Vonnegut's writing although I have always heard wonderful things about him and I always knew that some day out paths would cross. I am really happy that they finally have. Vonnegut writes the novel from the perspective of a character who remains unnamed throughout the entire novel. The character is a writer who initially embarks on a mission to write a non-fiction book about the day that the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. He asks for people associated with the creation of the bomb to share their memories of what happened on that day.

One of the "fathers" of the bomb was a man named Dr. Hoenikker. He is now deceased so the author writes to his youngest son to ask about his recollections of that day and of his father. During the course of his research, he winds up heavily intertwined with Dr. Hoenikker's family, one of his last and most dangerous inventions, and the religion and government of a small nation run by a dictator. He also sees himself and the new circle in which he is so heavily intertwined bring about the end of the world.

Vonnegut weaves a very elaborate story. He also creates a religion and he manages to gracefully intertwine historical facts with his fictional story. This serves to make the story extremely believeable and helps to make it feel true from beginning to end. The reader begins to want to learn more about this fictional country, fictional religion, and the fictional science that brings about the apocalypse. It's also unbelieveably easy to read for a story with such an elaborate plot and concept. The chapters are short and th language is simple. Kurt Vonnegut writes like a real person and he also manages to keep his characters very real. This book is a must read for any person who sees themself as a "reader." I truly believe that every well rounded reader should pick of this work of art.