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Science Fiction & Fantasy |
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Cat's Cradle
written by Kurt Vonnegut
Studio : Henry Holt & Co
by Henry Holt & Co
Publisher : Henry Holt & Co
Released : 1963-01-01
Availability : This Item is currently Not Available
EAN : 9780030672255
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 375 reviews)
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Product Description |
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Told with deadpan humour and bitter irony, Kurt Vonnegut's cult tale of global destruction preys on our deepest fears of witnessing Armageddon and, worse still, surviving it ...Dr Felix Hoenikker, one of the founding 'fathers' of the atomic bomb, has left a deadly legacy to the world. For he is the inventor of 'ice-nine', a lethal chemical capable of freezing the entire planet. The search for its whereabouts leads to Hoenikker's three ecentric children, to a crazed dictator in the Caribbean, to madness. Felix Hoenikker's Death Wish comes true when his last, fatal gift to mankind brings about the end, that for all of us, is nigh. |
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Americancivilwar.com Review |
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Cat's Cradle, one of Vonnegut's most entertaining novels, is filled with scientists and G-men and even ordinary folks caught up in the game. These assorted characters chase each other around in search of the world's most important and dangerous substance, a new form of ice that freezes at room temperature. At one time, this novel could probably be found on the bookshelf of every college kid in America; it's still a fabulous read and a great place to start if you're young enough to have missed the first Vonnegut craze. |
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Surreal yet all too close to the truth... |
Vonnegut's novel takes the reader into the myriad faces of human emotions--from disenchantment to awe, skepticism to empathy, from horror and madness to succor and redemption. This dryly humorous and unforgivingly scathing story of the seemingly inevitable tendency of humans to think up of ways to destroy themselves, or, simply, to make complete wretches of their lives, is at times too incredulous to be taken seriously, and yet the author has managed to slip in some amazingly straightforward insights people nowadays would probably hardly acknowledge readily, too preoccupied we are with the superfluous things in life.
I certainly enjoyed Cat's Cradle with its memorable zany characters, unashamed views on tolerance, hypocrisy, and even religion. It takes a jab at the senselessness of war, the farcical stage that is politics, and ponders the possibility that life can be lived so simply but it seems that that idea for us nowadays is too complex to grasp.
Makes the reader sit back and think while still helplessly embroiled in the world of "Bokononism" and the twists and turns of fate the narrator was dealt with. A veritable tour de force. |
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Great Storytelling |
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This is a great introductory book for those who want to try science fiction but don't want to get too deeply into robots and alien visitations. It's just a great yarn, like any classic novel: a story that will hold your interest because it's more fun than your life. |
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Still relevant to this day |
A free-lance journalist, researching material for his book: The Day the World Ended, tracks down the family of the father of the atom bomb. His quest takes him to a banana republic where he meets the love of his life and magically becomes El Presidente. But he gets more than he asked for when he comes face-to-face with Ice-Nine.
Vonnegut, who witnessed the horror of the Dresden fire-bombing, takes us on a light-hearted romp through the madness of mankind. He challenges us with wry humor, zany characters and a half-baked religion. Do we really know or do we only think we know?
Cat's Cradle has become ever more relevant over the years. |
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WONDERFUL BOOK |
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This is a great book that everyone should read. One thing I especially loved about this book is that it's addicting and a very easy read. The chapters are very short, but it works nicely, and this makes it a fast and easy read that makes you want to go on to the next chapter. |
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The master of Cat's Cradle |
The cat's cradle is an extraordinary tale about the extent of human limitations when incompatibilities exist between the goals of science and humanity. Vonnegut created another masterpiece that describes the dangers of human science when mixed with their desires and lewdness.
John, the narrator, is writing a book about the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, and in the process of his research discovers the life of Felix Hoenikker, the Nobel prize-winning physicist and one of the creators of the atomic bomb.
Similar to walking through a hilarious human maze, we are taken to San Lorenzo; a town were Hoenikker's two sons and daughter live and ignorantly use their father's last invention causing another world wide human disaster.
Vonnegut brilliantly shows human limitations and foolishness with his description of an imaginary religion called Bokononism, which originated and blossomed in San Lorenzo.
Vonnegut, who survived the cruelty of war and faced life's emptiness, is one of the few writers who can laugh at the human inability to reconcile the inherent conflict of science's power and capabilities with the needs and limitations of humanity.
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