Cat's Cradle: Kurt Vonnegut

I love Vonnegut's characters and the dryness with which he presents the story. A man decides to write a book about the atomic bomb scientist who also developed a substance called "ice-nine" which freezes anything it touches. The author corresponds with the scientist's children who live on an island controlled by what seems to be a cult, he then visits the island. On the plane he meets a "Hoosier" who seems obsessed with that fact and insists that other Hoosiers she meets call her "mom". The humor is delightful and subtle throughout Vonnegut's stories. I liked this quote" And we all vied, in saving face, to be the greatest students of human nature, the person with the quickest sense of humor". In the end the leader of the island drinks the ice-nine because he is dying of cancer, then the inhabitants of the island all drink it too. (Think Jonestown) and only the tourists are still alive at the end. We are meant to believe the release of the ice-nine into the ocean (the leader's body fell into the sea) killed all of mankind. I liked that the Cat's cradle represented making something out of nothing at all, but then you realize the cat's cradle is really nothing too...excellent story that you could reflect on for a while.