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Canary in a Cat House

kurt vonnegut jr.

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Published in 1961, Canary in a Cathouse is a collection of twelve short stories. Except for Hal Irwin's magic lamp, eleven of them reappear in the later collection Welcome to the Monkey House.

Contents:
- Report on the barnhouse effect
- All the king's horses
- D.P.
- The manned missiles
- The Euphio question
- More stately mansions
- The Foster portfolio
- Deer in the works
- Hal Irwin's magic lamp
- Tom Edison's shaggy dog
- Unready to wear
- Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1,1961

This edition

Format
160 pages, Hardcover
Published
January 1, 1976 by Buccaneer Books
ISBN
9780899667577
ASIN
0899667570
Language
English

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About the author

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kurt vonnegut jr.

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Kurt Vonnegut, Junior was an American novelist, satirist, and most recently, graphic artist. He was recognized as New York State Author for 2001-2003.

He was born in Indianapolis, later the setting for many of his novels. He attended Cornell University from 1941 to 1943, where he wrote a column for the student newspaper, the Cornell Daily Sun. Vonnegut trained as a chemist and worked as a journalist before joining the U.S. Army and serving in World War II.

After the war, he attended University of Chicago as a graduate student in anthropology and also worked as a police reporter at the City News Bureau of Chicago. He left Chicago to work in Schenectady, New York in public relations for General Electric. He attributed his unadorned writing style to his reporting work.

His experiences as an advance scout in the Battle of the Bulge, and in particular his witnessing of the bombing of Dresden, Germany whilst a prisoner of war, would inform much of his work. This event would also form the core of his most famous work, Slaughterhouse-Five, the book which would make him a millionaire. This acerbic 200-page book is what most people mean when they describe a work as "Vonnegutian" in scope.

Vonnegut was a self-proclaimed humanist and socialist (influenced by the style of Indiana's own Eugene V. Debs) and a lifelong supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The novelist is known for works blending satire, black comedy and science fiction, such as Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), Cat's Cradle (1963), and Breakfast of Champions (1973)

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Community Reviews

Rating(4.3 / 5.0, 16 votes)
5 stars
7(44%)
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16 reviews All reviews
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Seky
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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A rare treasure! This collection of Vonnegut short stories contains some of the most entertaining and thought-provoking classics that never fail to delight readers. Every story feels familiar, and I think that is because of Vonnegut's unique style that brings the reader in and satisfies them with every single piece. It is a remarkable book and felt like coming home, in the best possible literary way! All of these short stories can be found in other collections, but having them together paints an entirely different picture. In their own way, each story contributes to a larger theme: things aren't always what they seem, what you desire might not be what you actually want. It's a curious theme, so down to earth, and I think that's what makes it so relatable and enjoyable!
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KidneyEnjoyer
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Written over 50 years ago, some of his short stories really depict the current age. I chuckled when reading about the 5 ft tv or the 2000 world,s fair. Kurt Vonnegut is a master writer.

I also chuckled when I paid $30 for this book after a long search. It originally cost 35 cents

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WarsonG10
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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this was interesting, but i definitely prefer his longer works
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Reiaika
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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For my first Vonnegut short story collection, I decided to read the first collection he released. Truth be told, it's hard to get ahold of, so I actually read the same stories in Welcome To The Monkey House, where all but one of the tales were included. But I originally planned on reading that extra story via the library, and still might someday.

I any event, this was classic Vonnegut (again). I was really impressed by the depth he was able to pack into each of these shorts. I could have definitely enjoyed any of them in an expanded form, but never felt like they needed to be longer. Great stuff, highly recommended (as always!).
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akemoto
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Vonnegut's first attempt at a collection of short fiction was superseded some year later by "Welcome to the Monkey House," which contains all of the stories found here, save one, and adds many more besides. Thus, with the exception of "Hal Irwin's Magic Lamp," this collection has been rendered nearly superfluous. But only nearly so.

Vonnegut completists may want to track this volume down because, although the aforementioned "Hal Irwin's Magic Lamp" was eventually collected in 1999's "Bagombo Snuff Box," the version found there was a later re-write. All of the stories here were published in major magazines between 1950 and 1958 and, although Vonnegut was still finding his characteristic voice, they are generally of sufficiently high quality to warrant such publication.

For those, like myself, who simply must have all of Vonnegut's writing, a hard-cover edition of dubious origin has been printed by Buccaneer Books at various point since the mid-70s. For those who are less fanatical, both "Welcome to the Monkey House" and "Bagombo Snuff Box" are highly recommended and should suffice. (Docked one star as inessential.)
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Tatagod2
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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This had some overlap with Welcome to the Monkey House, but also contained a few new to me stories that I really enjoyed. I’m always amazed by Vonnegut’s ability to really make you think, even in short story format. His alternate reality ideas translate and apply even to todays modern world. I see this as a great introduction to Vonnegut.
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Femboy_Hooters
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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I’ve never thought of Vonnegut as a short story writer. I realize he started as one, selling pieces to magazines back in the 1950’s, but his storytelling skills have always seemed better suited to novels. I suppose that’s why I’ve never particularly enjoyed rereading Canary in a Cat House.

Yet, when I began rereading his work after his death, I discovered I actually liked what he did with the format. They’re certainly not groundbreaking by today’s standards, but each contain themes that are grounded in Vonnegut’s time, and still carry enough universality to read well today. All The Kings Horses — about a group of captured soldiers forced to play chess by their Communist Asian captors — could have been written about China; The Manned Missiles — with a Soviet and American dying at odds — carries the same weight today as it originally did; and The Foster Portfolio and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow examine the human condition in a way that avoids the tendency to date them.

While I still feel that Vonnegut’s talent rested in the novel, I’ll certainly go back to Canary more willingly in the future.
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