kb_icarus3's review
4.0
bokonon. kinda funny, kinda lowkey philisophical. it was an awesome/easy read. yah
shahrun's review against another edition
3.0
What started out as a journalist trying to write a book on the history of the atomic bomb quickly very very odd journey to the end of the world when he started following the Bokon religion on the island of San Lorenzo. It’s half total genius, half totally madness. I’d probably need multiple sessions with a therapist to decided exactly what my thoughts were. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either. I’m confused. There was one section on p89 though that really summer up the world for me:
“…”everything I've heard about it I like," said H. Lowe Crosby.
"They've got discipline. They've got something you can count on from one year to the next.They don't have the government encouraging everybody to be some kind of original pissant nobody ever heard of before."
"Sir??
"Christ, back in Chicago, we don't make bicycles any more. It's all human relations now. The eggheads sit around trying to figure out new ways for everybody to be happy. Nobody can get fired, no matter what; and if somebody does accidentally make a bicycle, the union accuses us of cruel and inhuman practices and the government confiscates the bicycle for back taxes and gives it to a blind man in Afghanistan.”
"And you think things will be better in San Lorenzo?"
"I know damn well they will be. The people down there are poor enough and scared enough and ignorant enough to have some common sense!"
“…”everything I've heard about it I like," said H. Lowe Crosby.
"They've got discipline. They've got something you can count on from one year to the next.They don't have the government encouraging everybody to be some kind of original pissant nobody ever heard of before."
"Sir??
"Christ, back in Chicago, we don't make bicycles any more. It's all human relations now. The eggheads sit around trying to figure out new ways for everybody to be happy. Nobody can get fired, no matter what; and if somebody does accidentally make a bicycle, the union accuses us of cruel and inhuman practices and the government confiscates the bicycle for back taxes and gives it to a blind man in Afghanistan.”
"And you think things will be better in San Lorenzo?"
"I know damn well they will be. The people down there are poor enough and scared enough and ignorant enough to have some common sense!"
felidmostfoul's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
melliferareads's review
4.0
A Classic. Vonnegut is very quirky, and it definitely shows in Cat's Cradle. After reading this book, I'm interested to read his other ones.
This book talks about a journalist who starts off by writing a book about one of the men who created the atomic bomb, but has found out that he has made something even worse. Vonnegut creates a whole new civilization on a faraway island, where all the citizens speak another dialect, have a different language, and a completely different way of life.
I'm hoping to look up the deeper meaning behind the book, as I felt there was a lot that I might be missing. For the most part, this book was enjoyable and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in modern classic literature.
This book talks about a journalist who starts off by writing a book about one of the men who created the atomic bomb, but has found out that he has made something even worse. Vonnegut creates a whole new civilization on a faraway island, where all the citizens speak another dialect, have a different language, and a completely different way of life.
I'm hoping to look up the deeper meaning behind the book, as I felt there was a lot that I might be missing. For the most part, this book was enjoyable and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in modern classic literature.
laurs_lit_ledger's review
5.0
#6 in my challenge just so happens to be the other Vonnegut book in my choices at this point. I enjoyed Cat's Cradle very much. Vonnegut creates an on-the-nose narrative about the nature of mankind and its pitfalls, our opinions of science and religion, and the eventual fate of our planet. Would definitely recommend.
ben_smitty's review
3.0
This was kind of funny and depressing at the same time, which is what many people love about Vonnegut I suppose.
ifpoetshadmerch's review
3.0
This is another tricky rating for me, because I found the book to be amusing. Vonnegut’s writing is wacky and unpredictable. You’ve got your eccentric characters, your splash of sci-fi, dashes of dystopia, your cooked-up religion. It lives in the unsettling bridge of partial reality and partial nightmare scenario, but while I was amused by the story… I don’t think I was excited by it?
I supposed it’s just not my type of story. It’s unclear to me whether Cat’s Cradle is a critique specifically on the science and officials responsible for the atomic bomb (which, if so, is a bit too on the nose) or if it was a critique on lawless experiment as a whole. The whole story swims with the sense that the text should be symbolic of something and I always feel slightly irritated with that kind of reading. I just never reach the level of epiphany that I expect to. Perhaps I’m wanting a one-to-one translation that isn’t meant to exist within the text. But if I broaden my understanding of ice-nine and doomsday to be indicative of how humans can be cruel and amoral and hypocritical, then I shouldn’t have to read a book to arrive at that possibility.
Jonah, the narrator of the book, describes how people will select their truths or seek out superficial groups. These actions are to lessen their feelings of guilt and to experience a sense of belonging. He becomes a believer in Bokononism, a religion that he knows is false but gives him the sensation of understanding. So Vonnegut criticizes scientific advancement. He also portrays religion as phony. I guess this makes me wonder if there’s supposed to be a third option, or if either in the absence of the other is a recipe for disaster.
I’m not a fan of the stagnant way the book makes me feel. If any option is ruinous and divisive and demonstrative of superiority, why act at all? The “doomed if we do, and doomed if we don’t” mentality feels extremely teen angsty to me, and I can’t get behind that (anymore).
I supposed it’s just not my type of story. It’s unclear to me whether Cat’s Cradle is a critique specifically on the science and officials responsible for the atomic bomb (which, if so, is a bit too on the nose) or if it was a critique on lawless experiment as a whole. The whole story swims with the sense that the text should be symbolic of something and I always feel slightly irritated with that kind of reading. I just never reach the level of epiphany that I expect to. Perhaps I’m wanting a one-to-one translation that isn’t meant to exist within the text. But if I broaden my understanding of ice-nine and doomsday to be indicative of how humans can be cruel and amoral and hypocritical, then I shouldn’t have to read a book to arrive at that possibility.
Jonah, the narrator of the book, describes how people will select their truths or seek out superficial groups. These actions are to lessen their feelings of guilt and to experience a sense of belonging. He becomes a believer in Bokononism, a religion that he knows is false but gives him the sensation of understanding. So Vonnegut criticizes scientific advancement. He also portrays religion as phony. I guess this makes me wonder if there’s supposed to be a third option, or if either in the absence of the other is a recipe for disaster.
I’m not a fan of the stagnant way the book makes me feel. If any option is ruinous and divisive and demonstrative of superiority, why act at all? The “doomed if we do, and doomed if we don’t” mentality feels extremely teen angsty to me, and I can’t get behind that (anymore).
amandamadiedo's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
madeleines's review against another edition
4.0
Po średnio udanym, pierwszym spotkaniu z prozą K. Vonnenguta nie miałam wysokich oczekiwań sięgając po "Kocią kołyskę". Spodziewałam się czegoś w rodzaju "Rzeźni numer 5", która niestety mnie nie zachwyciła i spowodowała zanik chęci sięgania po twórczość autora na całkiem długi okres czasu. A szkoda!
Już od pierwszych stron historia przedstawiona w "Kociej kołysce" zaintrygowała mnie przez co trudno mi ją było przestać czytać. Z pewnością zaskoczyła mnie jej niekonwencjonalność. Vonnengut po raz kolejny zaprezentował na co stać jego bujną wyobraźnię - stworzył m.in fikcyjną religie, bokononizm, którą opisał w fascynująco rozległy sposób, a także niezwykle ciekawy, naukowy koncept lodu-9. Autor zaserwował nam przemyślaną, znakomitą satyre, a zarazem naszpikowaną czarnym humorem groteske, dotyczącą dyktatury oraz religii. Warto również wspomnieć, że książka powstawała w okresie kiedy ludzie obawiali się, iż zimna wojna zakończy się użyciem bomb nuklearnych dlatego na kartach powieści można znaleźć poruszany wątek broni chemicznej, a także wpływu jej śmiercionośnej siły na ludzkość.
"Kocia kołyska" to wyważona książka, której humor, a także filozoficzne spostrzeżenia dotyczące podejścia do życia sprawiają, że jest ona bardzo interesująca w odbiorze, a zakończenie pozostawia nas w głębokim szoku.
Już od pierwszych stron historia przedstawiona w "Kociej kołysce" zaintrygowała mnie przez co trudno mi ją było przestać czytać. Z pewnością zaskoczyła mnie jej niekonwencjonalność. Vonnengut po raz kolejny zaprezentował na co stać jego bujną wyobraźnię - stworzył m.in fikcyjną religie, bokononizm, którą opisał w fascynująco rozległy sposób, a także niezwykle ciekawy, naukowy koncept lodu-9. Autor zaserwował nam przemyślaną, znakomitą satyre, a zarazem naszpikowaną czarnym humorem groteske, dotyczącą dyktatury oraz religii. Warto również wspomnieć, że książka powstawała w okresie kiedy ludzie obawiali się, iż zimna wojna zakończy się użyciem bomb nuklearnych dlatego na kartach powieści można znaleźć poruszany wątek broni chemicznej, a także wpływu jej śmiercionośnej siły na ludzkość.
"Kocia kołyska" to wyważona książka, której humor, a także filozoficzne spostrzeżenia dotyczące podejścia do życia sprawiają, że jest ona bardzo interesująca w odbiorze, a zakończenie pozostawia nas w głębokim szoku.