Cat's Cradle

The plot concerns the search for a substance called ice-nine, a hypothetical alternative structure for water which is solid at room temperature. The book follows the history of the creation and eventual "release" of ice-nine in a bombing, leading to the decimation of life on Earth as all water turns to ice-nine.

The book also describes an imaginary religion, Bokononism, together with several concepts that are central to it. Amongst these are:

• karass - a group of people who, unknown to them, are doing God's will.
• granfalloon - a false karass, i.e. a group of people who think they are doing God's will but are not.
• wampeter - the central point of a karass.

In Vonnegut's own words: (from Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons)

Dear Reader: The title of this book is composed of three words from my novel Cat's Cradle. A wampeter is an object around which the lives of many otherwise unrelated people may revolve. The Holy Grail would be a case in point. Foma are harmless untruths, intended to comfort simple souls. An example: "Prosperity is just around the corner." A granfalloon is a proud and meaningless association of human beings. Taken together, the words form as good an umbrella as any for this collection of some of the reviews and essays I've written, a few of the speeches I made.

Perhaps tired of what other religions have to offer, a number of people have professed themselves to be Bokononists.

The title of the book derives from the string game "cat's cradle".

Note: Vonnegut's fictional ice-nine is not to be confused with the real substance Ice-IX (also pronounced "ice-nine"), which does not have the properties of Vonnegut's fictional ice-nine. See the article on ice for more details.

External link

• The Books of Bokonon online

Referenced By