Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut is a collection of short stories from the 50s and 60s and demonstrates Vonnegut’s tremendous range as a writer.

I have read one critic who did not like Vonnegut, saying that all of his novels are essentially the same, with his voice and tone narrating each new set of facts. I agreed somewhat, but still liked the way he writes and have enjoyed every one of his works I have read.

The stories in this collection, however, written earlier than most of his novels, displays a great variety of themes and models, and though Vonnegut’s signature humor is evident in many, he shows a different, often more emotional side in many stories.

“Harrison Bergeron”, the dystopian classic, is undoubtedly the most recognizable of these shorts, but several others have clearly been influential to other writers and filmmakers. “Welcome to the Monkey House” and “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” both address over population, but from Vonnegut’s unique perspective.

Several stories speak to Vonnegut’s stance on demilitarization and illuminating the idiocy of industrial war making. Stories like “D.P.”, “Adam”, and “Next Door”, though, originally published in Ladies Home Journal and Cosmopolitan, reveal an unguarded sentimentality and humanity that is not as evident in much of Vonnegut’s later works.

A very good read.

**** 2019 re-read

Kurt Vonnegut’s 1968 anthology of previously published short stories is a good introduction to his earlier work. Most of these were written in the 50s and early 60s and represent a more mainstream side of him that many of his fans and those not yet accustomed to his work would not readily recognize.

Actually, I was struck by how much like Ray Bradbury many of these were. Stories like “Who am I this time?” and “The Foster Portfolio” could have been penned by Ray. Makes me wonder how much of an influence RB was on. KV.

Stories that stand out this time around are “The Hyannis Port Story” which I remember liking before and “Deer in the Works” which was likely connected to his work on his novel Player Piano.

Most endearing was “D.P.” which was first published in the August 1953 edition of the Ladies Home Journal is about a little boy in Germany, after the second world war. He has brown skin and blue eyes and the sisters in the orphanage and the local villagers accept that he is likely the offspring of a German girl and an American soldier. When a group of US soldiers visit the area, he takes to one of the men who must surely be his papa.

Great mix of short stories.

Vonnegut reaffirms my love for his work with this delightful collection of short stories. His stories are always so original and ahead of their time. And his characters are so real.

"Welcome to the Monkey House" is a collection of Vonnegut's short stories written for various magazines in the fifties and sixties. By 1968, when this collection was published, Vonnegut was a famous writer and this collection was put together to capitalize on his fame. Unlike some of the posthumous short story collections that have been thrown together since his death, this short story collection is worth reading. I am not a huge fan of the genre of the short story, and there are a few in this collection that left me feeling nothing. However, those blah stories are outweighed by some of the magnificent short fiction in this book. For the purpose of this review I am going to mention a few highlights from the text.
The title story in the collection is subversively powerful. It uses sex as a metaphor for choice and freedom in life, and it works on a lot of levels. I believe that this story speaks more powerfully to this generation (for a variety of reasons) then it would have when originally published in 1968.
I think the best piece in this collection is the stunningly beautiful and heartbreaking story "D.P.". Only Vonnegut could write a sentence like, "Peter was the oldest boy in the orphanage, an embittered old man of fourteen..." which makes you grin and get misty eyed simultaneously. The opening paragraph of this story is one of the saddest in all of literature. A brilliant piece of writing!
The story "Unready to Wear", like the best science fiction, examines the very basic assumptions of human life with a very interesting twist. In a completely different vein, the piece "Long Walk to Forever" is simply lovely and well written. The whole text bounces all over the place in terms of themes and plot contrivances.
Ironically one of the more prophetic stories in this collection has to do with education and how kids are raised. "The Kid Nobody Could Handle" should be taught in every school. Its message (which like the best Vonnegut is so simple) is more needed today than ever.
Although not as strong as his novels, "Welcome to the Monkey House" is a necessary read for any fan of Vonnegut, if for no other reason than to see the variety on display. I enjoyed this book, and will return to its pages again!

Put it down for some time after the eponymous "Welcome to the Monkey House." I only speak for myself, but I'm tired of reading about rape, either as a plot device or metaphor. Especially since I read this just after "Sirens of Titan," in which Vonnegut also writes in a detached manner of a character's assault. The character Billy's explanation of his actions was condescending and objectifying, even saying his other victims were "grateful," and asserting Nancy's anger is not because of her violation, but because he is a bad lover. I realize that Vonnegut is using this device to discuss other ideas, but that's not enough for me to enjoy this story. Even re-reading bits for the purpose of this review was a frustrating endeavor. It was enough to put me off Vonnegut for a while.

Nevertheless, I did finally finish the other stories, and am glad I did. The later stories are thoughtful and interesting. Not sure they were enough in the end, however, to redeem this collection for me.

Romanlarıyla tanınan Vonnegut'un bütün öykülerini içeren bu kitap, son yıllarda okuduğum en iyi kitaplardan biri. Vonnegut külliyatında benim için Mezbaha No. 5 ve Şampiyonların Kahvaltısı'ndan sonra üçüncü sırada yer alacak.

Aseara dupa ce am intrat in posesia cartii, mi-am spus "hai sa vad cum incepe". Am citit prefata (semnata de autor) si nu m-am mai oprit pina nu am terminat primele 5 povestiri, printre care si Harrison Bergeron o scurta distopie de tip orwellian, absolut tulburatoare, de care eram interesat in mod deosebit dupa ce am vazut ecranizarea-i superba in filmul de 25 de minute, 2081.

In mare, filmul respecta povestea, dar, nu reuseste sa redea latura ironica existenta in povestire — un amanunt nesemnificativ pentru mine in conditiile in care overall pelicula este splendida. La fel si coloana sonora.

simply masterful

Advocates rape.

0 stars.

kitaba adını veren öykü hariç hepsi çok güzeldi gerçekten Kurt dedemin ellerine sağlık özellikle Bu Defa Kimim, Şahın Tüm Atları ve İnsanlı Füzeler çok hoşuma gitti

I spent over three months with this book, never reading more than one story per day. I have read selections of Vonnegut, including parts of Player Piano and "Harrison Bergeron," but this was my first cover-to-cover read. I love the guy. Something about his writing is so believable to me. I rarely have difficulty stepping into his POV.

Welcome to the Monkey House is a bit of a hodgepodge collection, jumping from sci-fi to articles suited for Ladies Home Journal. Some of the stories, naturally, are not as good as others--but this is a collection, not a coherent narrative. I enjoy how Vonnegut takes simple genre fiction and still catches my attention with his subtle humor. I would suggest taking your time with this one and reading it across several months. Vonnegut may not be for everyone, but I look forward to reading more novels in the coming years.

Welcome to the Monkey House is a collection of 25 short stories Vonnegut wrote between 1950 and 1968 so a few of them even predate his first novel, Cat's Cradle. Nothing surprising here, you have a lot of Vonnegut's cutting satire and dark humor on display and most of the stories are excellent and thought provoking, and you have a good mix of funny and melancholy. Hell, even the preface is a hoot.

His most famous short story "Harrison Bergeron" is included, of course. I would guess most people read this in high school. My favorites of the bunch were "Next Door", which felt like a dark, scary Twilight Zone episode; "D.P.", a sad story about a little orphan boy in post WWII Germany who looks for a father figure amongst some American GIs; "The Euphio Question", a very funny technology-gone-mad tale which Vonnegut is so good at; "Deer in the Works", a critique of industrialism's effect on nature; and probably my favorite - "Epicac", the story about a modern (by 1950s standards) supercomputer which develops feelings.

Generally, it felt like the stories got better as they went on. The last few stories were written in the mid-1960s. I typically don't give short story collections five stars as not all stories in a given collection resonate with me but I thought the best ones in this collection were great and Vonnegut's writing is just something else. And I think given the current situation we are all in makes the darker tales even more relatable. This was a nice escape while it lasted.