As much as I don’t like going to Barnes and Noble, just because they’re ridiculously expensive and I would rather save money and buy a used book, they do tend to have really good deals on classics. Back in December, I went there to buy my friend a biography of Audrey Hepburn and they happened to be having a sale on all of Kurt Vonnegut’s books. I bought Cat’s Cradle for a little less than $3 and started reading it over spring break (I tend to buy a lot of books at once and then hoard them until I have time to read them).

The book’s back cover summary was enough to entice me: “An apocalyptic tale of this planet’s ultimate fate, it features a midget as the protagonist, a complete, original theology created by a calypso singer, and a vision of the future that is at once blackly fatalistic and hilariously funny.”

The adjectives “original” and “funny” are gross understatements of the work as a whole. I was definitely not expecting the story I read at all. Vonnegut created a story that was so unique and bizarre at times it was hard for me to believe that I was actually reading a book and not just having a vivid dream.

The story follows a writer trying to tell a false history of the day the atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima, specifically following the actions one of the chief creators and his children. At the very beginning there is a warning that everything in the book is false, history-wise, but at times I had to catch myself because all the details and their obscurity led me to believe it was true at points.

The book was also hilarious. I legitimately laughed out loud at several points, just within the first 30 pages. I knew Vonnegut was a great writer from reading his other books, but, beside’s Tina Fey’s memoir Bossypants, this may be one of the funniest books I’ve ever read.

For a book that’s considered a classic, Cat’s Cradle certainly does not have any of the drag and monotony that is often associated with classic literature. Some of the humor may not be caught by someone that does not have a higher appreciation for literature or history, but I recommend it to anyone that considers themselves a true literary aficionado.