Welcome to the Monkey House

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: This book was excellent, it was a Kaleidoscopeof different imaginative stories, and was not boring for one second. I would recomend this book to anyone who does not know how much fun it can be to read.

Rating:
Summary: Range of Stories from Sci Fi to Intimate Family Drama
Review: From the wonderous humanity of EPICAC, the computer who loved a girl, to the simply yet imaginatively told story of "Thomas Edison's Shaggy Dog", to the black American soldier's relationship with a certain displaced person ("D.P.") to the title story's grim view of the future population (see also "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow", the last story in the collection), Vonnegut surprises with his humor, and then delivers a knockout punch with his pathos. *SPOILER* The story about the boy who cannot tell his parents that he didn't get in the School, and "The Kid Noone Could Handle" *END* Is the "fifty-year man" the real "Deer in the Woods"? One of my favorite stories has always been "More Stately Mansions" about the woman who yearns for a more perfect abode as collected and clipped from many home decorating magazines. The realism of his stories is kind of spooky sometimes. His prose writing is amazing--a master of the quick turn of phrase, the one-sentence description that reads like a book, the presence behind the prose somehow is able to make complex, profound ideas more simple, and vice versa. I first read this volume in 1974 on airplanes and while traveling to Africa at the age of 12. Some of it escaped me then, but by now I think I get it. And I recommend it highly!

Rating:
Summary: SHORT STORIES????? These are all INGENIOUS tales!!!!!
Review: I have read a couple Vonnegut books and was hesitant to read his short stories. However, I was far from let down. I planned on reading one a day...but couldnt put it down. I really wanted to stop but they was such an assortment I couldn't wait to see what I was going to happen next. My personal favorites were "A Long Walk To Forever" and "Who Am I This Time?". These stories make you feel like you are there because Vonnegut has such a beautiful style of writing that sets the atmosphere!! I'm not into love stories and I knew what was going to happen, but "Long Walk" it gave me a great feeling to read the story and really got an awesome reaction out of me. "Who Am I" was incredible because it makes us think about ourselves as having some attributes of the characters in that we all serve as actors in our own life. It really made you look at the influences on your actions and who you really are and WHY YOU ACT THE WAY YOU DO!!!

Rating:
Summary: Lots of good stories here
Review: But I have to say Vonnegut would cringe if I, like another reviewer on this page, wrote that I feel like I'm watching TV when I read his stories. The way Vonnegut feels about TV, this is not a compliment. Speaking of TV, read Vonnegut's "Euphio Effect" in this collection. It's a nice satire, I feel, on TV's addictive quality. Second only to Harrison Bergeron.

Rating:
Summary: Classic
Review: Worth the money just for "Harrison Bergeron," the greatest science fiction story of all time, and my favorite of all genres. It's the perfect story: short, funny, makes its point obvious without being preachy, and includes a scene (where the two main characters, freed from society's imposed handicaps, literally reach for the sky) that stays in your mind forever. If I manage to ever write a story half this good...well, I'm dreaming, I suppose, but this story remains my inspiration every time I sit down to write.

Rating:
Summary: Welcome to the Monkey House takes me places.
Review: Welcome to the Monkey House takes me to places both mentally and emotionally. I have never been a big reader but a friend had mentioned the book. He said that it was a good read. I have to disagree with him. It was an ecellent read! I loved the first story to the last. Kurt hits every string with perfect cord. I feel like I'm watching T.V. when I read his stories. He describes in great detail the surroundings but lets you feel the emotions for yourself. "A Long Walk to Forever" is a great example; the magazine she is holding when he comes to the door, to the orchard they walk to; yet the ending takes you to the point that you know exactly what happens without Kurt having to tell you a thing. I truly believe that this is the best I'll ever read!

Rating:
Summary: How tragic...I only have one copy
Review: This book is among my 10 favorite. This book has a story for every mood. Harrison Bergeron debates true equality, Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow focuses on the aged and their overwhelming numbers, and Firehouse Harris just discusses a man who is satisfied with his arrangement with life. All the stories within are so simple and yet, so developed, formed, and well-delivered that the only word that blankets this book is "elegance".

Rating:
Summary: Vonnegut rocks my world baby
Review: Kurt Vonnegut's short stories reflect on his coming of age. The reason of his pessism is that his mother commited suicide and and tried many times. I know; it is sad. Anywho, he is one of the best science fiction writer. All in all, Vonnegut uses a good sense of imagination

Rating:
Summary: outstanding
Review: this book was amazing. All his stories land right on target and and with incredible accurecy. Vonnegut understands the human condition more then any other writer out thier today. A must read for any fan of Vonnegut.

Rating:
Summary: The Long Walk to Forever.
Review: C'mon..How could "The Long Walk to Forever" not be one of the best short stories ever written? The way it ends, kind of abrubtly, with the clipped, "She ran to him, put her arms around him, could not speak" is at once beautiful and natural. I dunno. I'm a huge fan, so I'm probably likely to enjoy most of his stuff, but this especially made me remember the book. Other highlights include: Who Am I This Time, and Epicac. Strongly recommended.