Cat's Cradle

Just finished Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut. It was probably the most thoroughly unenjoyable yet unresistable book I've read. And Vonnegut has become one of my heroes. He was such a loveable cynic. On the one hand, he seems to have a hope in the goodness of humanity. But on the other, he sees its detrimental flaws. 


This is what Cat's Cradle is about-the end of the world, at the hands of humanity. It revolves itself around the fake religion of Bokononism, which is so attractive to me in that followers live based on lies, and they know it. They don't try to pretend they know anything to be absolutely true. Bokononism doesn't pretend to have the ability to "know" God and His plans. 


But, in the context of the actual novel written in the midst of the Cold War, the book in my opinion seems to be a criticism of the human (and nations') hunger for power at the expense, ultimately, of what? The possible, and probable, end of the humanity itself. Cat's Cradle is a wake-up call, and a much needed one at the time. What an incredible man, incredible writing. Thank you, Vonnegut, for taking the time and energy that was your life to help an ignorant college student like myself open my eyes to the danger it is to be made of mud.