Cat's Cradle (1963) By Kurt Vonnegut

Chicago Tribune photo

Kurt Vonnegut's fourth novel was Cat's Cradle, written in 1963. It is perfectly bizarre, I loved it. As bizarre is that I didn't read Cat's Cradle until this week. I was aware of it back in my high school days, I just never read it -- probably because it wasn't required reading (unlike Slaughterhouse-Five). My loss.

The novel is a combination of pure sarcasm, science fiction, biting political commentary, and equally biting "comparative religion," with a touch of Mad Magazine thrown in to hold it all together.

The story's narrator is Jonah, a free-lance writer. He's working on what he hopes will become the book that will make him famous, about what important Americans were doing on the day the first atomic bomb was dropped, on Hiroshima, Japan. He will title it: The Day the World Ended.

On his list of people he hopes to write about is (the fictional) Dr. Felix Hoenniker, who in the book is the "father of the atomic bomb." He's a poorly paid scientist subcontracted by the Department of War.  Hoenniker however is deceased, so Jonah sought to interview his three children as to what their father was doing on the day the bomb was dropped.  Was he apprehensive, guilt ridden, or did he celebrate what would end World War II, and his role in it?

Jonah was able to interview two of the three children. Newt a "midget" who is the youngest child; and his sister Angela, who largely took care of the family after the death of their mother. Missing was the oldest son Frank who disappeared after his father's death, and is presumed murdered. Jonah does however uncover that Dr. Hoenniker was working on another secret invention, called ice-nine, at the time of his death, but appears to have taken its details to the grave with him.

After giving up on the book for awhile, Jonah receives an assignment to write a magazine piece about San Lorenzo, "the barracuda capital of the world" located somewhere in the Caribbean.  On his flight to the island-country, he discovers that Angela and Newt are also onboard, on their way to brother Frank's wedding.

Through an endless series of hysterical circumstances, Jonah will discover the secret of ice-nine, and garner first-person documentation for The Day the World really Ended.
    
Recommendation:  Yes, completely fun.

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Last week, to take my mind off of current events (pick your news nightmare), I re-read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, one of the best known of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Published in 1902, and at just 249 pages, the cultural shelf life of this book is beyond phenomenal. 

The case to be solved in this book is to uncover the true story behind a "supernatural" hound that has become the curse of the Baskervilles, an artistocratic British family with a hereditary estate – Sir Charles Baskerville has died mysteriously, and the new heir is Sir Henry Baskerville, who had been living in Canada.  The estate, Baskerville Hall, is quite remote, in the moors of the west country.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s output of Sherlock Holmes novels (4) and short stories (56) is impressive enough, but the Sherlock Holmes franchise, now in its second century, also includes countless republications in countless languages, audiobooks, radio programs, theater productions, television shows, and an exhaustive list of movie adaptions – and still growing, having lost none of its popularity. The books are now in the public domain, so there will be more.  When I finished reading the book, I watched the 1983 movie version on Amazon Prime starring Ian Richardson and Donald Churchill which was well done. I'm also a fan of the Sherlock Holmes series on Netflix.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are two of the world’s best-known fictional characters – along with the likes of David Copperfield and Huck Finn.  There is a reason for that, people, including me, like them.

Recommendation:  Yes, fun and relaxing.  

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965) By Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Kurt Vonnegut was one of the “cutting edge” authors of my teen years, and beyond. His novel Slaughterhouse-Five was literally required reading. However, I was never that into his writings – my reading interests back then were almost exclusively nonfiction. This year, I’ve been revisiting some of his many other works: Galapagos during my winter vacation; and now God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater.

This novel is set largely in fictional Rosewater County in Indiana – for the record, Vonnegut was raised in Indianapolis. Generations ago the Rosewater family settled the county and built and grew their business, (a sawmill and other profitable businesses) making them exceedingly rich, and easily the most prominent citizens in town. Their status in the Hoosier state was not unlike the (real life) Ball family of Ball Industries (glass jars for food canning) in Muncie where Ball State University is located, or even the fictional Magnificent Ambersons, portrayed in Booth Tarkington’s classic also set in Indianapolis.  

The Rosewater accumulated fortune went into a charitable foundation, control of which has been passed on to Eliot, the grandson of the company’s founder.  How proper control of the Foundation is viewed is the subject of the novel. Does one have buildings named after the Rosewaters? Does one bankroll important philanthropic causes? Does one buy fire trucks? Does one just give money away?

The plot details an attempt to wrestle control of the Foundation away from Eliot by having him declared mentally incompetent.  The novel is deeply and deliciously cynical, with a just and quite funny ending. 

Recommendation:  Yes, definitely a thought-provoking book, particularly for those of us who spent our careers working in nonprofit organizations.

Things Fall Apart (1958) By Chinua Achebe

Heinemann Publishing founded the African Writers Series in 1962 to facilitate bringing an international audience to African authors.  The first novel they selected to print was Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe a Nigerian who wrote in English. It is the first book of his African Trilogy, which collectively tells of the impact of European colonization on the Africa continent. The other two are No Longer at Ease (1960), and Arrow of God (1964).  Achebe was presented with the Man Booker International Prize in 2007 for his lifetime of achievement.  He passed away in 2013.

Achebe opens his novel with an overview of village life, its family hierarchy, its belief structure with multiple Earth gods, and customs – seen through the eyes of Okonkwo, a leading Igbo warrior and farmer.  Some of the customs may seem barbaric today, but they worked successfully as a societal structure for generations.  When the Christian missionaries arrive (the “advance team” of colonization), things slowly, then quickly, begin to change, or as the book title put it, “things fall apart”. 

The novel is a remarkable piece of history-based fiction. I will read the other two books in the Trilogy.  The theme of Things Fall Apart parallels closely with a memorable book set in Tasmania that I read and blogged about several years ago: Doctor Wooreddy’s Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the World, by Mudrooroo.

I’ve read only a few books by African authors, including Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih (Sudan) written in Arabic; Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt) also written in Arabic; and A Palace in the Old Village, Leaving Tangier, The Last Friend, all by Tahar Ben Jelloun (Morocco) written in French. Dalene Matthee’s Fiela’s Child (South Africa) is on my summer reading list. As you can see, I've read next to nothing by sub-Sahara authors. Recommendations of other African authors will be appreciated.  

Here is the list of books published in the African Writers Series.

Recommendation:  Definitely.