Cat's Cradle

Nine months ago I read my first Vonnegut novel, Slaughterhouse-Five, which most people consider to be his magnum opus. I asked for and received a number of Vonnegut's other novels this Christmas, and today I have finished one of his other most famous works in Cat's Cradle. I'll be honest; for the majority of the book, I was pretty nonplussed. There was wit and humor interspersed throughout the first 200 pages or so, but I was growing more and more frustrated every few chapters by the lack of a coherent or cohesive plot. I had a hunch about where everything was ultimately headed (and I was right), but Vonnegut really teased the finale by alluding and foreshadowing several times throughout the otherwise seemingly pointless narrative. Now, when the climax of the book did happen, predictable or not, the whole thing really came into its own and managed to make what I assume will be a lasting impact on me. So even though I saw a certain climactic event coming long before it did, I'm very pleased with Vonnegut's execution of said event. I guess I just wish there was a bit more to take away from the first 90% of the story. Fortunately, because it ended on such a high note, I still enjoyed Cat's Cradle a great deal and will be able to nod approvingly if anyone ever brings it up in conversation from here on out. And it's not as if the book was a total bore until then, either. Perhaps I just had unjustly high expectations thanks to Slaughterhouse-Five, which read like a masterpiece from beginning to end. I've got plenty more Vonnegut to read, and I still expect to enjoy all of it. But so far I'd definitely say that it seems like Slaughterhouse-Five was to Vonnegut what Catch-22 was to Heller. But yeah, still, Cat's Cradle was a pretty good book.