Cat’s Cradle (Magill Book Reviews)
At a glance:
- Author: Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
- First Published: 1963
- Type of Work: Novel
- Genres: Long fiction, Fable, Science fiction, Fantasy, Apocalyptic and catastrophe fiction
- Subjects: 1960’s, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Traveling or travelers, Philosophy or philosophers, Caribbean, Wit or humor, End of the world, Atomic bomb, Ants, Ice, Inventions or inventors
- Locales: Ilium, NY, San Lorenzo, Caribbean
As John, the narrator, researches the background for his book on the atomic bomb, he becomes fascinated by Dr. Felix Hoenikker. Hoenikker is the archetypal scientist, isolated from human contact, dedicated to his work, and completely without moral awareness. Like the child’s game cat’s cradle, which is meant to amuse but only terrifies his son, Hoenikker’s scientific games are anything but harmless.
Ironically the atomic bomb is not even Hoenikker’s most devastating creation. Working on the rather innocuous problem of how to get soldiers out of the mud, he synthesizes...
[The entire page is 689 words long]
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