Cat's Cradle
Cat's Cradle is Kurt Vonnegut's satirical commentary on modern man and his madness. An apocalyptic tale of this planet's ultimate fate, it features a midget 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. A book that left an indelible mark on an entire generation of readers, Cat's Cradle is one of the twentieth century's most important works -- and Vonnegut at his very best.
Stats for nerds
65recommend
135mentions
127people
2008–2026years
51% recommend47% neutral2% critical
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- Right?! Anyway for anyone who hasn't read it, go pick up a copy. Cat's Cradle is not too long, and it's funny and engaging and altogether worthwhile. And you'll always think of ice/9 when you see an article like this one.
- A lot, but my favorites of the year:
- Children of Time
- Hyperion & The Fall of Hyperion
- Red Dragon & Silence of the Lambs
- Cat's Cradle
- The Book of the New Sun
- I think their point is clear if you read the rest of the sentence: “… given the number of compelling works and the limited time available to us”.
Yes, it’s the OP’s choice, it’s their information diet. You COULD read the good stuff over and over, but you risk falling behind the flood. This is their approach to keeping up. It makes me a little sad, sure, but as a practical solution I get it.
I certainly don’t use this approach to literature. I’ve reread my favorite books a few times over the years (Cat’s Cradle, White Noise), but I’m sure that’s not the kind of thing OP is talking about.
- He wrote his science fiction novel "Cat's Cradle" before Slaughterhouse-Five, and I consider this novel to be his best. It is essentially an intelligent parody of the madness of scientists who are eager to make a breakthrough discovery but also completely blind to ethics, and who can even endanger the whole planet. This is a very relevant issue to this day.
- "Perhaps someone told Zelensky that Trump doesn’t read much, and reacts to images".
This redneck has no empathy whatsoever and it's not fit to lick Zelenskyy boots.
What he should read is Vonnegut and especially a chapter from Cat's Cradle "Why Americans are hated". I've always thought that Vonnegut was too pesimistic about the US. Now I think he was too optimistic.
- I think Murakami’s books are a great suggestion. Magical realism, nowhere near sci-fi, but very easy to slip into. However, 1Q84 feels a bit like a heavy recommendation even if you’re a Murakami fan. It’s a bit more of a commitment and I think it helps if you’re familiar with his other stories before diving into it. I’d say try Hardboiled Wonderland first - I thought it stepped away from some of his recurring themes but still a good example of his style. Also a quicker read. He has a few anthologies might be good intros as well - I read two, Dance, Dance, Dance and The Elephant Also Vanishes, but I think he’s got some others.
Along the lines of magical realism, Kurt Vonnegut seems like a great recommendation too. His books incorporate a bit more sci-fi - Galapagos, Cat’s Cradle, Sirens of Titan, slaughterhouse five, …
Related
Slaughterhouse-Five
58 recommend · 144
The Sirens of Titan
40 recommend · 70
Breakfast of Champions
21 recommend · 54
Galápagos
11 recommend · 25
Mother Night
23 recommend · 54
Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade
2 recommend · 3
Deadeye Dick
4 recommend · 7
