First published in 1953 and born from a life in the post-atomic age, Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle is a satirical take on the purpose and function of religion, science and technology in the shadow of an arms race.
The story follows Jonah who, while researching for his book ‘The Day the World Ended’, goes on the hunt for Dr Felix Hoenikker, co-creator of the atomic bomb and inventor of Ice-Nine, a lethal chemical capable of freezing the entire planet. His search for the elusive scientist lands him on an island republic in the Caribbean where the peculiar religion of ‘bokononism’ is practised. Here Jonah encounters Hoenikker’s three eccentric children and starts to confront the futile and madcap reality of facing mutually assured destruction…
Now, Cat’s Cradle has received The Folio Society treatment in a brand new edition. Handsomely bound and collected in its own Cat’s Cradle blocked slipcase, this new edition of Vonnegut’s hilarious tale of the end of the world is supplemented by seven full colour illustrations from Korean artist Joonho Ko. Employing geometrically unsettling symmetry, each piece presents almost like a propaganda poster from another dimension.
Just check out some of the images from The Folio Society’s edition in the gallery below…
The new edition also includes an exclusive introduction from, Pulitzer-prize winner Michael Dirda, which tells of a very brief encounter with the man himself and describes why Vonnegut wasn’t just an author to many readers in the 60s and 70s but more like a “guru” and a “loveable prophet of doom”.
Indeed, a master of black humour with a wry touch for approaching difficult subjects, Vonnegut’s trademark dry wit provides a strange comfort in Cat’s Cradle as he drives you towards global destruction leaving in its wake the madness of mankind.
The Folio Society edition of Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle, introduced by Michael Dirda and illustrated by Joonho Ko, is available exclusively fromwww.foliosociety.com