Just Finished Reading Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut

A few days ago I saw a posting on Facebook by WKTK radio announcer Storm Roberts that quoted the late American writer Kurt Vonnegut...it got me interested in his works, and Storm himself recommended his short story collection Welcome to the Monkey House to me...I just finished reading it. Published in 1968, this collection contains 25 relatively brief tales spanning the years back to 1950, and in numerous genres including science fiction, romance, satire, human interest, and war.  My favorite stories were Tom Edison's Shaggy Dog, Deer in the Works, Unready to Wear, The Foster Portfolio, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Who Am I This Time?...in that order.  My least favorite of the bunch was the futuristic dystopian story (and title of the collection) Welcome to the Monkey House which seemed to implicitly justify sexual assault...it seemed completely out of character with Vonnegut's other entries.  I also didn't care that much for Where I Live, Long Walk to Forever, and The Manned Missiles...but to each his own I say, you may think differently should you read them.  The stories originally appeared in various magazines, chief among them Collier's, the Saturday Evening Post, and Lady's Home Journal...the sex-obsessed title story naturally was first published in Playboy.  The book is an interesting assortment of diverse stories...I'm sure you'll find something here to like, as well as something not to like. Below I've listed each title followed by its original year of publication and a few words intended to refresh my own memory later on...

WHERE I LIVE (1964)...basically a travelogue on Cape Cod, Massachusetts that tries to be funny.

HARRISON BERGERON (1961)...later in the 21st century everyone is ludicrously forced into equality on every level.

WHO AM I THIS TIME? (1961)...a shy but highly talented community actor meets his match.

WELCOME TO THE MONKEY HOUSE (1968)...in a future, overpopulated dystopia a man rebels against its sex suppression laws with very questionable tactics.

LONG WALK TO FOREVER (1960)...an AWOL soldier makes one last try at romancing his love.

THE FOSTER PORTFOLIO (1951)...an investment pro is perplexed at his client's motivations.

 

MISS TEMPTATION (1956)...a pretty young woman is devastated by an embittered vet's public outburst.

ALL THE KING'S HORSES (1951)...a US envoy abroad and his family are kidnapped and forced by a warlord to play chess for keeps.

TOM EDISON'S SHAGGY DOG (1953)...an elderly man relates to another man about Edison's greatest invention and what it says about dogs.

NEW DICTIONARY (1966)...actually a short essay rather than a story, the author compares versions of dictionaries, praising the format while stressing their limitations.

NEXT DOOR (1955)...a little boy left alone at home one evening must deal with arguing couple next door.

MORE STATELY MANSIONS (1951)...Grace vividly imagines in detail how her home should look, one day her husband decides to make it real.

THE HYANNIS PORT STORY (1963?)...a wealthy man who despises the Kennedys lives next to the President's (JFK's) residential compound on Cape Cod and lights up the night with his Goldwater sign, until something changes it all.

D.P. (1953)...a young black boy in a postwar German orphanage thinks he found his father among US soldiers in the vicinity.

REPORT ON THE BARNHOUSE EFFECT (1950)...an unassuming man discovers how to manipulate reality and then discovers that others want to manipulate him.

THE EUPHIO QUESTION (1951)...certain radio waves are discovered to cause euphoria and the race is on to exploit it in spite of its danger.

GO BACK TO YOUR PRECIOUS WIFE AND SON (1962)...a famous actress leaves her husband as the narrator is trying to install a shower at their home.

DEER IN THE WORKS (1955)...a writer decides to get a better paying job at a big, noisy factory and experiences it all in a rush.

THE LIE (1962)...a boy en route to his private school for the first time cannot tell his parents the terrible secret about his entrance exam.

UNREADY TO WEAR (1953)...going amphibious is the rage in this very funny story about "wearing" bodies.

THE KID NOBODY COULD HANDLE (1955)...a sullen, disaffected teen orphan meets a school's music director.

THE MANNED MISSILES (1958)...in the intensity of the Cold War, Russian and US spacemen suffer a tragic meeting, recounted in letters.

EPICAC (1954)...poetically-challenged Romeo mathematician depends on a supercomputer to help him win his love object.

ADAM (1950)...contrasts the vastly different attitudes of two men at a hospital awaiting their children's births.

TOMORROW AND TOMORROW AND TOMORROW (1954)...the future is overcrowded, life has been greatly extended, and a couple is stuck living in granddad's hallway.

Yes, I generally enjoyed this book, maybe you will, too...