Book #15: Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut's "Cat's Cradle"

On the trip to Asia, travel was fast and furious. Hours of waiting in airports and on planes themselves meant there had to be something to do other than sleep. I had tucked 6 or 7 paperbacks into my backpack, in addition to the kindle lent to me by my cousin Kristine. By the last couple of days of the tour, however, I had plowed through all of them, and so I borrowed one of my buddy Dan's books. Dan is a relentless reader whose bookshelf I not-so-secretly envy. In any case, he gave me "Cat's Cradle", assuring me that it was a quick- albeit strange- read.

It was my first venture into the literature of Vonnegut, and while I was entertained and certainly amused by his writing, I can't say I was altogether very stricken by any feeling that Vonnegut had cracked the code with regards to any otherworldly insight. The story- following the narrator's journey to follow a lead to aid him in writing a book. He goes to a fictional island in the Caribbean, and encounters a variety of slightly-off characters as his life is taken by strange storm, all in pursuit of a lead.

Vonnegut deserves credit for incorporating so many big ideas into this tale of twists and turns (like, of course, a game of cat's cradle). Whether it's religion (Bokononism, a cynic's response to Shintoism) and the denouncement of other religions throughout history; science (ice-nine plays a prominent role in the climactic action of the story) and its ability to spiral beyond control of those who experiment with the "unnatural"; or politics (the dictatorship of the fictional San Lorenzo eventually is bestowed upon John, the narrator) and its fickle nature, particularly given the often-shaky premise upon which a political structure is built. Through an absurd lens, the author makes his mark in a sardonic sort of way with regards to weighty issues. It is Vonnegut's strong writing (it really is an effortless read, if strange) that gives this story its wings.

I am very much interested in reading more from the man, as he came and continues to come highly recommended. All in all, Cat's Cradle ranks somewhere in the middle of the pack among books I've read for this list so far.