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mirandyli's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Weird and antiquatedly racist. Not sure what the point of this book was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Racism, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
sunn_bleach's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Another one of those revisits from the mid-2010s when I was getting deeper into adult reading. I felt middling upon first reading "Cat's Cradle" in around 2015 or 2016. Upon this read, I get it a lot more, albeit it's still not my favorite Vonnegut. The parallels to MAD and nuclear warfare are more obvious, though it's clearly meant to be so - the man is angry. Vonnegut writes imperfect and unlikeable characters yet usually separate that from the author's voice (masterful in "Breakfast of Champions"), but here it's hard to separate the pseudo-nameless narrator from Vonnegut's own voice in the native sexualization and overuse of "midget". One can always say he's aware of this - especially since Newt gets it more than anyone else - but it's still jarring. The banana republic satire is similarly confused, at once sardonic toward the USA's involvement in the rape and pillage of those countries while also kind of playing it straight with McCabe and Bokonon.
Yet, as with some other mixed opinion reads this year, I still liked it. The ultimate "fuck you" to God at the end and mordant tendency toward fatalism is incredible. I had a friend who in his early 20s called himself a "Bokononist", and I see why.
Yet, as with some other mixed opinion reads this year, I still liked it. The ultimate "fuck you" to God at the end and mordant tendency toward fatalism is incredible. I had a friend who in his early 20s called himself a "Bokononist", and I see why.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Suicide
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, and Racism
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Confinement, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Animal cruelty, Fatphobia, Genocide, Slavery, Excrement, and Grief
Also includes technically legal but nonetheless predatory age gaps.