Rating: 
Summary: A must for Vonnegut fans
Review: Like most writers who got their start before or shortly after WWII, Kurt Vonnegut began his writing career as a short story writer. Consequently, this collection includes some of his very earliest work, as well as several truly classic short stories that rank among the best of the second half of the 20th century. As one would expect from a collection housing many stories from a writer in his infancy, the collection is not consistently stellar: some pieces are unquestionably wonderful; others are of lesser quality, and at least one -- Where I Live -- is pointless. Vonnegut himself is quick to point out that this is not his best work: in the introduction he states that the stories were written to finance the writing of his novels. Indeed, as with many beginning writers, they constituted his very livelihood; writing them was often a matter of necessity, and not always necessarily the calling of artistic craft. Don't expect the Vonnegut that you're familar with from the novels. Several of these stories hit a moral note, as Vonnegut inevitably does, while others are attempts to strike an emotional chord. Vonnegut, at his short-story-writing best, was a master of what some of the greatest practitioners of the art -- Edgar Allen Poe, among others -- have cited as the key element of any short story: evoking one specific feeling, emotion, or tone. Vonnegut achieves this in many of the stories contained herein, and uses far less humor in doing so than we are accustomed to from him. Some of the best stories include the title story, which lays out a highly provocative and imaginative future scenario; Harrison Bergeron, a truly classic story that really strikes a moral chord; Tommorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, a bleak, darkly funny satirical piece; All The King's Horses, a highly suspenseful and dramatic rendering; Unready To Wear, a thoughtful slice of science fiction; Report On The Barnhouse Effect, Vonnegut's first published story and a science fiction classic; and The Manned Missles, an emotional shocker. Many of these stories are science fiction, a genre under which a lot of Vonnegut's early work fell. Science fiction, at that time, was not even considered a real literary genre, and many literary elitists disparage Vonnegut for having mined it. The author himself has also distanced himself from the field in intervening years, due to the bad press it got him, which has caused a rift between Vonnegut and the science fiction community. Let it be said by me, then, a long-time reader of science fiction, that Vonnegut wrote very well in the genre, and that most of his best short stories were, indeed, SF. Though he never purveyed the so-called "hard" science fiction, full of complex technicalities, that made writers such as Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov famous, Vonnegut was continually full of great ideas that were well-suited the genre. I wish he had written more SF stories. Overall, quite a good collection of short fiction, certainly far superior to the more recent Bagombo Snuff Box -- do not avoid reading this book if you weren't a big fan of that one -- though it does not rank among the best of Vonnegut's work. I recommend it highly to fans of the author or enthusiasts of the short story art form.
Rating: 
Summary: optimistic stuff
Review: this collection of vonnegut is probably better than any novel of his that i have read. because, while his novels are wonderful this colletion of short stories makes you proud to be a person. i feel this collection of his works is very positive and, in contrast to his other, later works has very little negative social commentary. and hearing positive things is something very nice in a world full of so many negative things to talk about.
Rating:
Summary: Vonnegut also writes excellent short stories
Review: True, some of his earliest works were in this book, but it's just as essential to Vonnegut's catalogue than one of his acclaimed novels like Slaughterhouse-Five and Bluebeard. Most of the stories in here kept me very interested and a lot of them had very brilliant storylines. Essential reading.
Rating:
Summary: bite-sized chunks
Review: If you don't already know Kurt Vonnegut's work, this may be the best introduction to it -- especially considering that short stories are the art form that Vonnegut started out with, where he developed his craft.And if you already know Vonnegut but don't know this book, then think of this as the author in delicious bit-sized chunks. But read the book! I would not say that Welcome to the Monkey House is Vonnegut's best book -- in fact, it may not even be in the top five by my calculations -- but it is the one book of his I would keep if I had to give all the other away, simply because of the diversity of the stories he tells and the simple writing skill they illustrate. And I might argue that the best single STORY Vonnegut ever wrote is "Harrison Bergeron" the riveting and still-relevant tale about human nature that effects me as much today as it did when I first read it 20 years ago. Vonnegut without a doubt proves with this story that all writers are not created equal.
Rating:
Summary: vonnegut's best
Review: even if you don't buy buy this collection of vonnegut's short stories (which you should) at least read "harrison bergeron". that story changes you.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, Fascinating, Thought Provoking. A Winner!
Review: ~ * * * * ~
~I'd love to give this book 6 ****** Stars!
This book made such an impression on me as an adolescent, and as an adult, I still love it. The short stories are very different, they are unique in that many show a more optimistic and hopeful Kurt Vonnegut than we see in any of his other books.
These stories were written at various times for publication in different magazines. The title story "Welcome to the Monkey House" is no less thought provoking 30 years later! My favorite story "D.P" for "displaced person"- about a little black orphan in an all white post-war 'German" orphanage - was heartbreakingly sweet.
Although he disparages the story, "Long walk to Forever" shows a caring and hopeful side of the author he rarely reveals.
All the stories are absorbing, and deceptively easy to read. This book was one I'll never give away, I need to reread the stories too often!
Rating:
Summary: Delightful
Review: I've read all but one or two Vonnegut books, and I think this short story collection is a good representation of his style and typical plots, if you're looking to try Vonnegut out. If you've already read Vonnegut before and liked him, you'll probably love this one too.
Rating:
Summary: Welcome to the Monkey House
Review: One of the greatest books of KV. Really.
Rating: 
Summary: So-so sci-fi, and the title story glorifies rape
Review: It's interesting that most of the reviewers who give this anthology a high rating appear to be male, because only men (or adolescent boys) could fail to realize that the title story is, appallingly, about rape as a "good" thing. Vonnegut's premise in the "Monkey House" story is that in some future over-populated society, all sexuality will be suppressed by chemical means, and euthanasia will be encouraged in "Ethical Suicide Parlor" franchises. A renegade named Billy the Poet has been kidnapping the beautiful female operators of the suicide parlors, forcing them off their sex-suppression pills, and "deflowering" them in the name of freedom. What Billy actually does is rape these women, telling them that they should be grateful and that he only has their happiness in mind when he does this! That Vonnegut should present a rapist as a hero, someone who's trying to liberate the world from a sexually oppressive government/society, is simply ghastly and offensive! Billy's explanation that in Victorian times all women were in effect raped by their husbands on their wedding night is both historically inaccurate and just plain stupid. It's some kind of sick, sadistic male fantasy that a virgin will suddenly start to like sex when her only sexual experience has been a violent violation by a stranger! (Small wonder that the story was originally published in "Playboy" magazine!) Maybe if Billy had wooed the women and made them want to have sex with him (granted, he'd still have to kidnap them to keep them off their sex-suppression pills), Vonnegut could make the case for Billy as some sort of hedonistic, freedom-loving hero. It's a shame, because early on in the story there are flashes of humor and satiric barbs at American society; Vonnegut ruins it all in the truly repellent ending to his tale. As for the other stories: the science fiction ones are rather crudely written, somewhat jerky and forced, and often dated, although the story of "EPICAC" the computer is cute. Vonnegut does better in the real world: "The Kid Nobody Could Handle," "All the King's Horses" (admittedly a tad fantastical), and "Who Am I this Time?" are poignant and interesting.
Rating: 
Summary: I enjoyed the stories...
Review: I don't favor short stories, but this collection sounded like something I might get into. Well, I did enjoy the stories. My favorite would have to be "Unready To Wear". The thought of being able to leave your body and enter dead bodies to use whenever the need arose (say, if you might want to be in a parade), sounds like a pretty good way to extend your life some. Also, I've discovered that since I began the book, I've been thinking in a more abstract way. This is a good thing. A freeing feeling. Kurt Vonnegut wrote in a way that makes you think of possibilities. I appreciate that.
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