Cat's Cradle Chapter 81 Summary

A White Bride for the Son of a Pullman Porter

  • Angela returns with her clarinet and Cat House Piano by Meade Lux Lewis.
  • We'll give her credit. The lady's got good taste in music.
  • She lets the record play its first track alone, and John reads the album cover.
  • When track two hits, she plays along, improvising around the tune (81.14).
  • John describes the sensation as "a case of schizophrenia or demonic possession" that makes his "hair [stand] on end" (81.16-17). In case you're wondering, for John, that's a good thing.
  • John can't understand a bit of it, but he loves it. Julian advises him not to try, quoting from the The Book of Bokonon.
  • Newt only snorts, comparing religion to his trademark cat's cradle.