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Title: Welcome to the Monkey House (Best of Playboy Fiction, Vol 2) by Tom Robbins, Roald Dahl, T. Coraghessan Boyle, Jane Smiley, Kurt, Jr. Vonnegut ISBN: 1-56740-502-9 Publisher: Brilliance Audio Pub. Date: October, 1996 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 2 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.65 (54 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: This book has a spectacular blend of comedy and drama.
Comment: "Welcome to the Monkey House" by Kurt Vonnegut is probably the best collection of short stories I have ever read. It has a great combination of comedy, drama, suspense, and action. Mr. Vonnegut has a way of including a lot of detail but not so much as to bore you. You often find yourself getting so caught up in the story that you feel almost as if you are there. The story "Epicac" was among the best in the book. It takes place in the fifties and the first super computer has been built. A man tells the computer about the problems in his love life and the computer actually has an answer for him. He and the computer continue to have these conversations until one day the computer develops emotions. He feels the need to be loved and burns out trying to figure out why he can't be. "Welcome to the Monkey House" is another good story in the book. It takes place in a future where sex is outlawed. Then this man comes along who refuses to take his hormonal control pills. He persuades many women to join him on his quest. He then kidnaps a woman and takes him to a hidden place where they make love. "Welcome to the Monkey House" is a fast paced book for any reader. It will keep you enthused with its detail and entertained with its humor.
Rating: 5
Summary: As essential as the novels
Comment: I'm not a huge fan of short story collections since I'd much rather sit through a single story throughout all those pages instead of a series of tales that at best tend to be hit or miss and wildly inconsistent. However there are some writers that I will acknowledge are masters of the form, Theodore Sturgeon, Ray Bradbury and of course Kurt Vonnegut (that's not even counting the "classic" short story masters who I haven't read) who's novels sometimes come across as longish short stories anyway. Most of these stories were written early in his career, in the fifties or sixties and it looks like someone actually made an attempt to sequence them instead of just dumping them in chronoloogical order, thus there's a bit of a procession as you move along, finally ending with the darkly hopeful 'Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow". Along the way you'll find that the quality is quite high and many of these are very much vintage Vonnegut. He mixes around with genres and so SF exercises such as "Harrison Bergeron" and "Welcome to the Monkey House" (classics both) sit comfortably next to more typical stories such as "Manned Missiles" (which gets my vote for most effective story in the collection and surprised me the most). There aren't really any clunkers here, some are simpler than others and will pass you by without much impact, but the majority all have some moment or theme to recommend them as keepers and give you something to think about long after you've finished them. Sure, most of the stories were written in a different time but regardless of the SF or the Cold War backdrop or whatever, these are essentially timeless and deserved to be read again and again.
Rating: 5
Summary: He writes science fiction, with a dash of harsh reality.
Comment: Myself, I've never read any Vonnegut in the past. As a matter of fact, I have not read many books at all before. This collection of short stories is just perfect for someone like me. The stories vary from about five pages to twenty pages apiece, making them easy for anyone to ascertain in a short amount of time. After getting about half-way through the book I decided to go out and purchase SLAUGHTER-HOUSE-FIVE, SIREN OF THE TITANS, and GODBLESS YOU DR.KEVORKIAN. That is what is so beautiful about this book, the fact that someone who never reads, can easily peruse a story or two with out missing a beat. Kurt will capture your attention in every tale.
Vonnegut came way before my time, but now I see what all the recognition was about. His ideas on government and modern society were way ahead of his time. His notions of peace, shifty politicians, and clandestine activities are what make him an excellent addition to any radical library. He writes science fiction, with a dash of harsh reality. These ideals, of an overpopulated world in which every aspect of our lives are governed, are presented with extraordinary detail in Vonnegut's writing. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Harrison Bergeron, and Welcome to the Monkey House (The story) are lurid representations of the way the future could be. This book has it all romance, tragedy, and triumph. Every story is not just science fiction, as you may imagine. Most of the stories are set in the past and have no portrayals of an automated society or a talking dog that helped to invent electricity. In fact, one of my favorite stories, The Foster Portfolio, is one that contains no special effects at all. Like many of Vonnegut's other stories, The Foster Portfolio just deals with simple human characteristics like pride, ambition, and happiness. The presentation that Kurt puts into his characters is marvelous. When you get done reading one of his stories you'll feel as though you know the characters.
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Title: Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut ISBN: 0385334206 Publisher: Delta Pub. Date: 11 May, 1999 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut ISBN: 038533348X Publisher: Delta Pub. Date: 08 September, 1998 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut ISBN: 0440180295 Publisher: Dell Publishing Pub. Date: 03 November, 1991 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut ISBN: 0385333498 Publisher: Delta Pub. Date: 08 September, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut ISBN: 0385334141 Publisher: Delta Pub. Date: 11 May, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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