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Armageddon In Retrospectby Kurt Vonnegut |
Janet Kolodner: Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut was one of my favorite books growing up, and I loved several of his other books -- Slaughterhouse 5, Pearls Before Swine, Galapagos. here were others that I cannot remember. But I had not read Kurt Vonnegut since I was in college. So I was excited when this book of shorts came out soon after he passed away. His son edited this volume of short stories and essays, all on the theme of war. Kurt Vonnegut's experiences during WWII led him to become totally anti-war.
This book, which includes
a letter he wrote home after he was released from a prisoner-of-war camp,
made me understand why. Some of the stories are fantasies; some are true.
All make the case that war is hell and that even with the best of
intentions, it's easy to do morally reprehensible things. I think
he forgets how corrupt the Nazis were and that there are some people
who you cannot reason with, but he's not knee-jerk unthinking
anti-war; it comes from deep thinking about the implications
of his own experiences and observations during WWII.
The writing is superb. If you've read Kurt Vonnegut in the past,
then you know his kind of dry style. I remember why I loved to read
Kurt Vonnegut, and I am planning to read Cat's Cradle again
over Passover. And now I know where the story and characters
in Slaughterhouse Five came from.
Rating: This book was not rated
