Cat’s Cradle
Friday, January 15th, 2010 in: News, Travel
So this is the last time I would expect to start reading a novel, but when I came back from LA with Mark he had a handful of Vonnegut books that I couldn’t resist. He read aloud some brief but poignant excerpts from “God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian,” which only whetted my appetite. I noticed he had a copy of Cat’s Cradle, a novel I remember wanting to read when I finished Slaughterhouse Five in 9th grade, but never having the time. Now that I have no time to spare, I pick it up and start reading; I was no longer driving at that point.
This morning I started, and I almost finished it by dinnertime, managing to squeeze in a whole day of good food, meaningful conversation and slacklining. I always thought I got too absorbed in books and they would distract me from the stuff I need to do, but I realized that I need to read, I need access to these thoughts so I’m not stuck with just my own. And the best part, it makes me feel even more productive.
Back to this book, because it’s so engrossing. Vonnegut understands the brevity of the human attention span, so his chapters are barely more than a page apiece. Theoretically, you could leave off at almost any point. It’d be easy to pick back up, if it weren’t so difficult to put it down in the first place. He has such a rich imagination and comfortable writing style that you can’t help but just sit and get absorbed in his universe. In this particular book, he conjured a religion based on lies, to reflect the absurdity of a life that assumes it isn’t based on lies. Just after the dedication pages, the following is written:
“Live by the harmless untruths that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy”
So many pearls can be found in this book. I’m going to read some more right now.
Hey Dave,
Right now you are on your way to Hupiterre with Nicola. I read everything on your site and looked at all the GREAT photos. Can’t wait to follow you around Asia. Meanwhile, may we use your comments on the Vonnegut book on OUR website? You will be duly credited.
Have a WONDERFUL trip!
Thanks Karen! There’s a lot of content on my old site that i might post every so often, but I’m sure I’ll have plenty of things to talk about in the coming year. You may certainly use my comments for your site, thanks for asking. I’ll be in touch! Keep posting comments, it’s good to know that people are reading this thing haha.