Rating: 
Summary: The end of the world as high farce
Review: End-of-the-world fiction is probably my favorite fiction genre, and I found Vonnegut's "Cat's Cradle" to be by far the most bizzare addition to my library in this area. My interpretation is that it is suppose to be taken in the same vein as Stanley Kubrick's black comedy film "Dr. Strangeglove." Not only was it written around the same time at the height of the Cold War, it has the same high farce tone about it. Vonnegut's ultimate fate for the world is sheer genius, though when it finally happens, it seems almost like an afterthought. Vonnegut's book is a challenging read and one that is not for everybody. Nevertheless, you'll find yourself thinking about it long after you've put it down.
Rating: 
Summary: First an author, then a president, then a martyr, kind of.
Review: Jonah, the main character, plans on writing a book about the day that Hiroshima was hit by the a-bomb, but not about the bomb itself: he wants anecdotes, stories that happened to people on that particular day. To pursue this idea, he gets in touch with Newton Hoenikker (son of Felix Hoenikker, inventor of the a-bomb) and many other characters related to Hoenikker's life. We see that his interest shifts slowly from the day the a-bomb hit Hiroshima to the Hoenikker family. This wild information chase leads him to an island, San Lorenzo, where Frank Hoenikker (another son of Felix's) is one of the top dogs - his title exactly, I can't remember.Anyway, before dying, Felix had invented ice-nine, a chemical product able to "teach" water molecules to assemble themselves in a different manner, the way oranges can be piled up in a different manner in a crate. This tale, also revolving around a religion thoroughly explained - called Bokononism - gives us an apocalyptic view of ourselves, and takes to the extremes many things we take for granted. And still, for some reason, you just can't help laughing at the bitterness and harshness with which this story is written. This is without a doubt a must-read, and is one of the best-ended books of all time. You will not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Where's the cat? Where's the cradle?...
Review: This is one of the funniest, thought-provoking books I have ever read--funny from the first line, thought-provoking weeks after reading it. Vonnegut is very deceptive in his writing. Just when you think you know what's going on, he turns the story in a completely new direction. I was kept off-balance throughout the entire book. The book puts you in a strange quandry: you want others to read the book, but as you read it you want to share outloud almost every scene. It would be easy for me to post here my many favorite lines, memorable moments, and insights drawn from this work. It would also ruin it for every one of you who have not yet read the book. I would not do that you should experience this story first hand. There is a stanza from a poem by Lucille Clifton that is strangely appropriate to "Cat's Cradle" even though it deals with an entirely different subject matter. In this altered paraphrase of Clifton's words, Cat's Cradle "is a political story is a war story is a universal story but it is not about these things this story is about one human heart this story is the story at the end of the world."
Rating:
Summary: Must read!
Review: Absolutely one of the most necessary reads of a lifetime! Vonnegut will keep you in awe from the first page through to the last. A mysterious tale of the end of the world, a love story, a biography of a dead scientist and his family- an absolutely wonderful experience!
Rating:
Summary: hot knife through butter
Review: Either this guy is an immaculate genius, or he labours his prose to the bone; it is so ridiculously simple to read, but what a read! You're easily halfway through before the realisation seeps in that this is a HELL of a ride you're going on, you have no clue what'll happen next, but look back and all you see is perfect necessity. You're in a maelstrom of whirling bits of dazzling colour, apparently unrelated, and before your very eyes they start to fit together in ways unimaginable and faster than you can grasp. The beauty and the terror just keep building up until your eyes start to tear with the unbearableness of it all. God, how it all fits together! The laughter strangled in my throat again and again because it was beyond funny. You can't even call it tragic any more. There are no words in the English language with enough of their original intensity left to describe what Vonnegut achieves with this book, at least for me. He does it perfectly, inimitably. Your vision is stretched so severely, your heart so laden with emotions with no name, you find yourself mute. Which is frustrating, because the first thing you want to do is evangelise about your newfound belief in humanity and great things like that, to deaf people eagerly armed with sharp, sharp pins.
Rating:
Summary: Old but feels like brand new
Review: "CAT'S CRADDLE," by Kurt Vonnegut is not an exception of his awesome work in every book of his. For his funny imagination gave life to the story of a Christian named John, who wants to write a factual book about what the family of one of the fathers of the atomic bomb had done on the day that the a-bomb was dropped. Though, he has to travel to the Republic of San Lorenzo in order to finish interviewing the family members. And in San Lorenzo several events take place causing John to change from his religion to Bokonist. If you thought that there won't be anything weirder than "SLAPSTICK OR LONESOME NO MORE." Well, let me tell you that you've to read this book to really know what you're saying.
Rating:
Summary: DUDE! ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ!
Review: This book is one of the very best books I have ever read. Kurt Vonnegut's mind is a racing, wandering, ingenious one. I would recomend this book to anyone. -Cleo "No damn cat, no damn cradle." -Newt
Rating:
Summary: Shaped my views permanently
Review: This is my favorite Vonnegut book, and one of my most favorite books of all time. This book shaped my views on religion and on life in general. Vonneguts writing is deceptively simple and easy to read. His ideas are the kind that make you think, "Of course! That is what I have thought all along, I just didn't know how to express it!" Vonneguts main characters are his ideas, and such is the case in this book. You don't necessarily identify so much with the characters, but with the ideas their story illustrates. This is a great book and I would, and do, recommend it to anyone and everyone.
Rating:
Summary: The most masterfully clever story I've read
Review: Vonnegut has written here his most unique and original vision. I found myself smiling openly as I turned each page, not necessarily because it was funny, but because it was that good. You don't see anything coming, but when it does, it somehow makes all the sense in the world. To say that this book is simply an apocalyptic novel is to sell it short. It contains within it snippets of dialogue and random encounters with quirky individuals that we've all experienced at one time in our lives. Although only a very short novel, it's as dense as they come. Every sentence has its own significance, every chapter is a story in itself. I never thought that such zany and zealous prose could manage to create such a structurally sound story. You'll probably finish it in one sitting, and you'll be angry that it's over.
Rating:
Summary: Funniest End of the World since Dr. Strangelove
Review: or did this book come first? Well, this was funny like DS(or HIL to SC & LTB) and proves it by the end. If Bokononism is actually a religion I'd sign up. I wasn't sure how I'd rate the book until the last paragraph and it was so great I knew the book would be remembered as a great in my mind. The short chapter format is sort of impersonal but not detrimental. It's look on humans is original and witty.
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