Twenty-five short stories from the 50s and 60s of which I'd say more than two-thirds were top-notch. Some of my faves were - Who I am This Time?, Welcome to the Monkey House, Miss Temptation, More Stately Mansions, All the King's Horses, Go Back to your Precious Wife and Son, & The Manned Missiles. Nothing overly complex about these stories, told in a nice crisp accessible prose, with such a diverse range of themes throughout; from war to contemporary settings of house makeovers, the theatre, bathroom salesman, charmed love, juvenile delinquents, and private schools; to sci-fi stories of anti-aging potions, games of human chess, ethical birth Control pills, and air force pilots rocketed to space. And, of course, it wouldn't be Vonnegut without a big dollop of his brilliant slick satire. This was my ninth book of his, and I'd put it in my top three - for now anyway. Also worth saying, there are writers who I don't think much of as human beings but I still love their work, whereas with KVJ he was absolutely one of the good guys you'd so want to be pals with.

What is happiness? What is pleasure? Is happiness an emotion that endures, that has to be earned and pleasure a temporary reaction to something that makes you feel good.?

In this short story, radio waves from a distance star are picked up and amplified and the effect on people is much like good weed. Everyone hangs out feeling mellow, letting the little things go, a somewhat deviant idea of what is funny, great hilarity and general love. I know this exactly because I've tried Euphio.

The story centres on whether or not a Euphiophone machine can be commercialised, and if so would it be ethical to sell happiness, and what price can you put on it?

Ultimately, Vonnegut comes down on the side that happiness must be earned and the blissful feelings induced by Euphiophone will leave the person in a miserable state of withdrawal and dissatisfaction when the Euphiophone is not operating. Happiness, though, being earned, is a more valid emotion and will endure.

There is also the implication that if there was such a thing available easily if not freely, that the apathy would destroy society, would mean that no one would really be happy because they couldn't be bothered to get off their asses and go and do something to earn it

In my mind, Kurt Vonnegut is the writerly equivalent to an eccentric, sarcastic, but kindly old uncle, the one you can always count on to take the stuffing out of your more puffed-up, less agile-minded relatives at family Christmas parties, while giving you a sly wink. In an important way, he was a voice for America in the 1950s and 60s, both a counterpoint to and a commenter on "mainstream" attitudes. He could do zaniness, anger, sorrow, and gentleness equally well.

This collection is a fine intro to what made the man great. A few stories fall a little flat, and a few feel dated, but most still resonate in one way or another. In style, they range from memoir to science fiction to allegory to absurd satire to"straight" fiction, which make them interesting as a prismatic breakdown of the eccentric, eclectic voice Vonnegut uses in his longer works. My own favorite story was a poignant piece about a half-black German orphan who encounters a unit of black American GIs in post-WWII Europe, and the friendship he forms with a particular soldier.

I actually found most of the stories in this book to pretty entertaining, however, this book got the rating that it did because of two short stories in this book: Harrison Bergeron and Welcome to the Monkey House.
Harrison Bergeron tried to tell the reader that we want things equal, but not too equal otherwise we run into problems x, y, and z. considering this was written in 1961 I am curious and annoyed at the possible intentions of this writing. As for Welcome to the Monkey House, I really want to like it, but there it has this tiny problem of trying and failing to be funny, and this not so tiny problem of saying it is rape women in order to cause some sort of sexual awakening in them (not sure I should expect much better from a story that debuted in Playboy magazine).

Really good and thought provoking stories.

But less funny than a lot of his full books and lots of stories about the terrors of overpopulation which feels dated

I love Kurt Vonnegut. Slaughter House Five consistently makes the list of my top ten favorite novels and Ice-nine consistently makes the list of my top ten favorite doomsday devices. However, if I didn't love Kurt Vonnegut, I would have dropped this book the moment I read the titular story and never looked back.

TW: Rape
Someone please tell me that I dramatically missed the point of Welcome to the Monkey House. It started out strong, like the dystopian futures of his that I love so much. The skewed morality of people unwilling to allow birth control but interested in controlling an exploding population leading to chemical castration for the populace and suicide parlors rather than actual birth control. I even get that Billy the Poet is a terrorist who supposedly takes no joy in doing the things that he does and is not necessarily painted as a good person. But I really, really need someone to tell me that the punchline of this story is not predicated in the theory that being raped at gun point would increase or jump start a woman's sexual appetite. Because I've looked at this story from a couple of different angles, and I can't make sense of it unless that punch line is serious.

Which, no. No. No. No. No. No. Not okay. Not even a little bit okay. Women do not work that way. People do not work that way. It would be very nice if someone could tell me that I simply missed the punch line or got it wrong. Being raped while being held down by a group of people is nothing at all like a nineteenth century wedding night.

I loved the rest of the collection. Harrison Bergeron is an old favorite of mine. Adam made me cry. The story about the man who would literally turn down a fortune for his music was utterly beautiful. I even liked the semi-autobiographical piece that Vonnegut apparently wrote for a women's magazine. The beautiful thing about short stories is that even if you hate one, there are plenty of others to choose from.

Vonnegut does it again.

This took me way longer than intended, probably due to the hectic nature of my first week back in uae. Nevertheless, I'm glad I read it.
I was never a big fan of a book of collection of short stories. Usually there would be a lot of hit and miss. With Welcome To The Monkey House however, literally every short story was memorable. Maybe one was mediocre, but all of the rest were so good. I can't stress enough how each individual short story was able to stand on its own, and also made me think of each one after I let the book down.

If you are a fan of Vonnegut, you shouldn't miss out on this book.... 5/5

This is a collection of Vonnegut’s short stories and I did not know what to expect. Not being a fan of satire, I have not read any of his novels ( I chose this for a satire read in a challenge.). However, he is a creative and very original writer with a minimalistic style. Most of the stories are futuristic which made the collection a good fit for me.

Vonnegut focuses on the same themes throughout- individuality, dislike or distrust of technology, pacifism, and a distrust of government control. Because the stories are very short and the themes repetitive, I had to take a break from the book several times or I would find myself skimming through what seemed like something I had already read.
The book was great for giving me a taste of Vonnegut. I definitely want to try one of his novels.

Likes and Dislikes—
I did not like the title story. It shares some of the same themes as the short story 2BR02Bwhich is not in this collectIon, but I would recommend instead. Another one to read is Harrison Bergeron. Both will give you a good sense of the type of stories in this collection.

*İlgimi uyandıran hikayeler olmadığı için kitaptan da hoşlanmadım. Çoğu hikaye bir yere ulaşmayan, yan yana getirilmiş sözcüklerden ibaret bir silsile gibiydi.

I simply love, love, love, LOVE Kurt Vonnegut! He's hilarious, intelligent, and entertaining-and this collection of short stories is one of the finest ever written! While some of the stories aren't necessarily "classic Vonnegut" and a couple of them aren't particularly memorable, this collection is still worth reading in its entirety. It was a really fun read for me, especially because Vonnegut is so funny. Not all of the stories are extremely hilarious, a couple of them are actually really emotional (and those stories were also EXCELLENT), which just goes to show that, although he certainly dabbled w/a definite signature style in nearly all his work, Vonnegut was really a writer w/range. Some of the stories are unbelievably creative, while others focus on mundane life, a side of Vonnegut that you don't normally see in his most famous works.
My absolute 10/10 favorite stories in this collection were:
Harrison Bergeron-Vonnegut at his finest and cleverest!
Welcome to the Monkey House- A crazy, hilarious, and weird tale about overpopulation.
Long Walk to Forever-This is not your typical Vonnegut story, there's no black humor and sci-fi twist, it's just a sweet, emotional romance story, and it shows that Vonnegut really has a heart!
The Euphio Question-Fascinating and engaging piece of science fiction writing, one of the most interesting short stories I've ever read.
Deer in the Works-This is a REALLY strange one!
Unready to Wear-Interesting and engaging science fiction tale.
The Manned Missiles-This is likely the saddest, most tragic story in the collection. Very emotional, but very good.
EPICAC-Laugh out loud funny, classic Vonnegut!
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow-Funny, strange, fascinating, creative, clever, and satirical a.k.a Vonnegut at his best and most pleasing!

PS: - povestirea cea mai impresionanta (greu cuvantul pentru niste povestiri prin excelenta impresionante si surprinzatoare) e pentru mine, de departe, Toti caii regelui, despre cum e sa ai in maini viata celorlalti si sentimentul de-a fi la moftul cuiva, gandire limpede in tensiune, thriller in toata puterea cuvantului, ca la PROTV.

- mi-a placut in mod deosebit Colectia de primavara-iarna, despre o lume utopica(?) in care oamenii pot invata sa-si paraseasca corpurile, pricina tuturor nazurilor si neintelegerilor, pot fi amfibii, cu optiunea de a imbraca unul cand nevoia o cere sa faci ceva, in sensu efectiv al cuvantului. Ce chestie, corpurile ne stapanesc si odata scapati de ele, ce buni si rabdatori am fi unii cu altii!

- cea mai amuzanta, hands down, Vecinii, despre mania decoratiunilor interioare. Am tras niste hohote bune la ironiile sotului si vecinilor. Povestita de un tip spiritual si simpatic, haios, cu un simt al umorului bland.

- si inca una pe care vreau eu s-o mentionez, Domnisoara Ispita - disturbing si mult peste ce m-asteptam sa faca cineva din subiectu asta. Care subiect nu e foarte original, e fata-cliseu ce innebuneste orasul de se regleaza ceasurile dupa tabieturile ei, blala.

apoi, Chestiunea Eufio, euforia-fericire data la pachet, Cine sunt, de data asta? - viata prin teatru, Portofoliul Foster, despre o viata dubla, aproape la nivel inconstient, Cerb in uzina despre viata ca angajat intr-o corporatie - o abordare foarte comica! Si nu in ultimul rand, faimoasa distopie Harrison Bergeron, inspiratia pentru filmul 2081, cu scene care ma bantuie si azi (2015)

I could write a long review and talk about every short story in this collection, but I'm not going to do that. There are just too many good stories in this collection. My personal favorite was probably "Harrison Bergeron" but I would have to think about that. It's not necessary that I have a "favorite" per se, but my mind just works that way.

If you're a Vonnegut fan, you've probably read this. If you've never read Vonnegut, give it a shot. It's a great way to start your journey into his mind. He can be hilarious and moving in the same story. I've enjoyed reading his works since I was in high school, and I will continue to do so for a long time.

In fact, I will continue reading his work "tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow."