Cat's Cradle

By: Kurt Vonnegut

Narrated by: Tony Roberts

Cat's Cradle is Vonnegut's satirical commentary on modern man and his madness. An apocalyptic tale of this planet's ultimate fate, it features a little person as the protagonist; a complete, original theology created by a calypso singer; and a vision of the future that is at once blackly fatalistic and hilariously funny.

©1963 Kurt Vonnegut, Jr (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers

KV at his best.

To say that I worship at the alter of Kurt Vonnegut would be more mawkish than overstated. He is and will probably always remain one of my all-time, favorite authors. When picking up a book, one can only hope that the author can write; the surprise comes when an author’s contributions transcend what is on the printed page. Such is usually the case with KV. Not only can he write his butt off, he has the absolutely, incredible talent to hold up this mirror for all of us to see the travesty of so much we hold sacred in this American Experience and then laugh at the same time that we cry at our reflection.

About writing itself, KV once said in an interview, “Well, I've worried some about, you know, why write books ... why are we teaching people to write books when presidents and senators do not read them, and generals do not read them. And it's been the university experience that taught me that there is a very good reason, that you catch people before they become generals and presidents and so forth and you poison their minds with ... humanity, and however you want to poison their minds, it's presumably to encourage them to make a better world.” Bottom line for me, that’s what KV’s writings are always about: Humanity.

In 1971 the University of Chicago awarded KV his Master's degree in anthropology for Cat's Cradle. While at first blush that might seem a bit over the top, after reading this treatise on such subjects as science and technology, religion and morality, ethics and law, it becomes quite clear about his critique, KV did his homework. And, the originality of his work is unmistakeable. There are folks out there today such as Al Franken and Jon Stewart for whom KV had to have been an influence. KV was one of the originators of the movement for modern, self-reflection at least in contemporary America. That being said, this is not an unapproachable work reserved for the academic elite. This book is for the entertainment and edification of anyone and everyone: the unread generals, unwashed presidents and your any, off-the-street, Joe Blow, the Plummer. I cannot imagine anyone with a scintilla of humanity not loving this book. You're not into social critique you say. Great, read it just for the fun of it. It is funnier than _ _ _ _, well, it's just plain fun.

The narration could have possibly been done differently and still worked. It's hard to believe that it could have been done better.

Not for everyone ...

This novel is typical Vonnegut and requires that you think ... but not too much throughout. If you over think it, you won't understand it ... but if you are expecting to be spoon fed a a story with all the plot lines hilighted for simplicity, then this is certainly not for you.

The narrator gives you the feeling of sitting down around a fire and listening to your grandfather tell a tale of days long past. I actually quite enjoyed it.

interesting book

Everything about this book is capitaviting.
The reader did an amazing job narrating and making a clear difdrrents between the speakers

A Well-performed but Peculiar Tale

I think this book is best listened to with idle time to contemplate the unique mixture of absurdity and whimsy that encompass this story. I think that meandering pace of the tale had a hard time keeping my interest at the beginning but the way the everything began wrapping together into an amusingly depressing ending really cinched this as a thoroughly enjoyable book.

My favorite book

Love it. The Books of Bokonon never fail to make me giggle and think about how stupid we humans truly are.

Stupid & vicious as men are, this is a lovely day!

"...for the quotation captured in a couplet the cruel paradox of Bakononist thought, the heartbreaking necessity about lying about reality, and the heartbreaking impossibility of lying about it.

Midget, midget, midget, how he struts and winks,
For he knows a man's as big as what he hopes and thinks!"
-- Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle


I first read this in 9th grade. The grade my two kids are right now. Life has a way of making you feel both old and insignificant. When I first read this book I was focused on the technology of Ice-9 and the absurdity of weapons of mass destruction. This time, as I read it in a quickly cooling bath.* Seriously, all men over 40 should read this book naked in a bath that is quickly losing its heat, while wrinkles develop on their hands, feet, etc. There is nothing emasculates a man faster than a cold bath, nakedness, age, and Kurt Vonnegut.

Anyway, 28 years after first reading it and I still love this book. It was my first Vonnegut. One of my first exposures to the world of literature as absurdism, dark satire, and the wicked wink of postmodernism. I was hooked.

* with all this damn technology, one would think it would be easy to develop a better system for insulating baths. During the last 60 years, our society has gone from porcelain to plastic. So, now I can't even scratch OR freeze my ass in my tub and remain dignified.

Interesting, Funny. Challenging

Vonnegut is a great author. Not always easy and not always this enjoyable, but definitely great.

This work is less dislinear (my word - get your own if you dont like it) than other Vonegut works than I have read. That makes it a bit easier to live with and maybe a bit more manstream but none the less challenging.

As an exposition of the depths of inadvertant stupidity that man is capable of it is maybe a bit predictable. But the banality of purpose that the characters portray makes the final outcome seem all the more plausible and therefore maybe just a bit more scary. It might just be an important book as well as a very enjoyable one.

The narration is good just because it is pretty much transparent. What characterisation there is is helpful rather than distracting. Overall a first class audiobook.

busy busy busy

Very intriguing book. Not sure how I feel about it but still very good and interesting.

Very Good !

This was my first Kurt Vonnegut book and I will be back for more as I really enjoyed his stories. Very charming and funny.
I laughed out loud several times. Really glad I opted for the audio book, the narrator was outstanding with his performance.

Oh, and there was a great interview with Vonnegut at the end of the book. Another plus.

#Vonnegut #Satire #ICE9 #Tagsgiving #Sweepstakes

RELAX EVERYTHING IS A LIE

brilliant novel, a lesson in humility, a glimpse into what humanity has meant, and all the richness of written word as a triple chocolate fudge cake. I'd mark a star off for getting lost towards the last third of the novel, but I know that's my own damn fault ;p.