Cat’s Cradle discussion

I had a lot of trouble with this book. I couldn't connect to the characters or the plot (or rather the lack of plot). I really had to force myself to finish reading it. That is unusual for me because there is usually one thing in a book that will hold my attention but this book didn't have that. I know that this is a much loved book so I wondering if there was anyone else who had as much trouble with it as I did?

As someone from a scientific background, I found Vonnegut's satire to be incredibly on-point to what most people will encounter in scientific research. Case in point: just because we can create nuclear bombs doesn't mean we should (the comparison to ice-nine being pretty clear).

That being said, the book lends itself to those who have experienced what it's trying to say. If there's no connection to the reader, perhaps its because the reader isn't familiar with the base topic (I'm not saying you're not familiar with it, just throwing out a hypothesis here :D).

I unfortunately knew the synopsis before I read the book. I feel like it would have been sooo much better if you went into it without knowing what was going to happen. All the foreshadowing in the bokononism. Then BOOM the end of the world happens. It would have been a pretty epic twist.

I myself admire books which have ideas powerful enough that plot can take a lesser role, such as is found in this (and several other) Vonnegut titles. Give me an author with something important to say, and I'll probably dig it. I've read --and been entertained by---many enough 'just stories' at this point.

I find what Vonnegut depicts pretty faithful-to-life from what I see in in my career. In fact there's stuff I encounter which is just as bad--if not worse--than what aggravates/riles him. We need more writers like Vonnegut. All of the most popular authors today are (to my eyes) giving us the opposite of what Vonnegut provided.

That being said, naturally enough his style is not for every reader. No shame there. I myself don't harbor much adoration for things like 'DeadEye Dick', 'Galapagos', 'Slapstick', other late-career works etc etc etc

The first Vonnegut book I read was Galapagos. I loved it. That being said, I didn't like Cat's Cradle as much, although I did enjoy it.

It wasn't the lack of plot, which I think is what kills a lot of readers. Vonnegut, in my opinion, is able to ace the no-plot story. He's really good at it, and it's like stream-of-consciousness without the boredom aspect that I get from stuff like The Handmaid's Tale (which, don't get me wrong, was good; it was just boring and kind of droned on). That's not why I disliked it, but it may be part of why you do.

The level of satire, too, isn't lacking. As I read the book, I could definitely see what Vonnegut was poking fun at, and why. But I think part of why I didn't like Cat's Cradle as much as Galapagos was because it wasn't as funny. I didn't laugh at all. Nothing made me smile, nothing made me laugh out loud, whereas Galapagos did. But that being said, the satire was good. He commented on the world around him, and he did it well.

Actually, as I reflect on it, I think what might have killed Cat's Cradle for me was the level of world building. I don't know why it seemed less natural than in other works, but I guess it did. I didn't like Bokononism. It was good satire, but it didn't connect to the atom bomb the way I wish it did. It was good for mocking religion. But as a major aspect of the book, it didn't intertwine with the other major aspects. Neither did some of the characters. Sure, part of it is commentary about how the world doesn't make sense, how you're thrown together with people for reasons you don't fully know (basically, the idea of karass as the plot), but the book didn't flow. The ideas didn't flow together, which I think is what made it feel disjointed more than the writing style.

I didn't like it as much. Maybe these reasons are why, maybe there's something subconscious that I'm not picking up on. And even though I liked the book, I think I was pretty close to disliking it. Maybe I do dislike it. Either way, it didn't lessen my love of Vonnegut. I think it could have been better, and I understand why someone wouldn't like it at all.

I wasn't crazy about it, found it rather meh. Some cute parts though.

The first time I read this book it was in the middle of reading all the Vonnegut my school library had. I hated every one. Don't ask me why I read them all anyway. I hated Vonnegut. Years later, I decided that maybe it was time to give him another try, and Cat's Cradle was the first one I re-read. I LOVE IT! Oh what a difference several decades made.