firstly, the title may seem strange, one of its meanings is explained in the beginning - a knot in a known worldwide children game. another meaning is relieved later in the story - the rope pattern doesn't look either like a cradle or like a cat at all.
secondly, the main sci-fi element is an ice-nine substance invented for military guys sick of getting stuck in the swamps. won't spoil the details, yet it's a mass destruction weapon able to freeze any water in a matter of seconds.
moreover, the mc is a writer sent to the laboratory where a co-father of an atomic bomb has spent his last days, there he discovers the last horrifying creation of this brilliant mind. although he was reassured such horrors beyond human comprehension don't exist yet, he is having nightmares about ice-nine. tbh, this morning i also dreamed about riding some car wagons escaping from the rain that was about to fall and freeze everyone...
the made-up religion is another powerful aspect of the novel, below are some terms from it's dictionary on wiki so that you know what to expect:
karass – A group of people linked in a cosmically significant manner, even when superficial linkages are not evident.
duprass – a karass of only two people ( loving couple who work together for a great purpose), who almost always die within a week of each other.
granfalloon – a false karass; i.e., a group of people who imagine they have a connection that does not really exist.
wampeter – the central theme or purpose of a karass. Each karass has two wampeters at any given time, one waxing and one waning.
foma – harmless untruths.
kan-kan – An object or item that brings a person into their karass.
sinookas – The intertwining "tendrils" of peoples' lives.
stuppa – a fogbound child (i.e. an idiot)
duffle – the destiny of thousands of people placed on one "stuppa"
sin-wat – a person who wants all of somebody's love for themself.
Busy, busy, busy – words Bokononists whisper when they think about how complicated and unpredictable the machinery of life really is.
boko-maru – the supreme act of worship of the Bokononists, which is an intimate act consisting of prolonged physical contact between the naked soles of the feet of two persons.
zah-mah-ki-bo – Inevitable destiny.
it's definitely a memorable book and you have my recommendation to check it
secondly, the main sci-fi element is an ice-nine substance invented for military guys sick of getting stuck in the swamps. won't spoil the details, yet it's a mass destruction weapon able to freeze any water in a matter of seconds.
moreover, the mc is a writer sent to the laboratory where a co-father of an atomic bomb has spent his last days, there he discovers the last horrifying creation of this brilliant mind. although he was reassured such horrors beyond human comprehension don't exist yet, he is having nightmares about ice-nine. tbh, this morning i also dreamed about riding some car wagons escaping from the rain that was about to fall and freeze everyone...
the made-up religion is another powerful aspect of the novel, below are some terms from it's dictionary on wiki so that you know what to expect:
karass – A group of people linked in a cosmically significant manner, even when superficial linkages are not evident.
duprass – a karass of only two people ( loving couple who work together for a great purpose), who almost always die within a week of each other.
granfalloon – a false karass; i.e., a group of people who imagine they have a connection that does not really exist.
wampeter – the central theme or purpose of a karass. Each karass has two wampeters at any given time, one waxing and one waning.
foma – harmless untruths.
kan-kan – An object or item that brings a person into their karass.
sinookas – The intertwining "tendrils" of peoples' lives.
stuppa – a fogbound child (i.e. an idiot)
duffle – the destiny of thousands of people placed on one "stuppa"
sin-wat – a person who wants all of somebody's love for themself.
Busy, busy, busy – words Bokononists whisper when they think about how complicated and unpredictable the machinery of life really is.
boko-maru – the supreme act of worship of the Bokononists, which is an intimate act consisting of prolonged physical contact between the naked soles of the feet of two persons.
zah-mah-ki-bo – Inevitable destiny.
it's definitely a memorable book and you have my recommendation to check it