"bokononism"

1963 · Kurt Vonnegut · 287 pages · Literary Fiction

Cat's Cradle is a compact, wickedly funny apocalypse delivered in short chapters that read like punches. Vonnegut's satire of science, religion, and human self-deception lands consistently, and Bokononism is one of the more memorable invented philosophies in fiction. It's not quite as emotionally rich as his later work, but as dark comedies go, this one ends at the bottom of the world and still makes you laugh.