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Organizzati da Jerome Klinkowitz e Dan Wakefield per temi – “Guerra”, “Donne”, “Scienza”, “Amore”, “Etica del lavoro contro fama e fortuna”, “Comportamento umano”, “Il direttore della banda” e “Il futuro” – questi novantotto racconti sono stati scritti tra il 1941 e il 2007, e includono lavori pubblicati su giornali e riviste e poi raccolti in diversi volumi, cinque inediti e una manciata di testi apparsi finora solo in rete.
Durante la sua vita Kurt Vonnegut ha pubblicato meno della metà dei racconti che ha scritto, ma seguì il consiglio il suo agente dopo un rifiuto nel 1958: tenerli da parte “per la raccolta delle tue opere che si pubblicheranno il giorno in cui sarai diventato famoso. Anche se per arrivare a quel giorno forse ci vorrà un po’ di tempo.” Questa raccolta ragionata, frutto di una grande opera di recupero, mostra tutta l’intelligenza, la maestria e l’umorismo dell’uomo e dello scrittore che con la sua prosa ha segnato la letteratura americana del XX secolo.
Durante la sua vita Kurt Vonnegut ha pubblicato meno della metà dei racconti che ha scritto, ma seguì il consiglio il suo agente dopo un rifiuto nel 1958: tenerli da parte “per la raccolta delle tue opere che si pubblicheranno il giorno in cui sarai diventato famoso. Anche se per arrivare a quel giorno forse ci vorrà un po’ di tempo.” Questa raccolta ragionata, frutto di una grande opera di recupero, mostra tutta l’intelligenza, la maestria e l’umorismo dell’uomo e dello scrittore che con la sua prosa ha segnato la letteratura americana del XX secolo.
1431 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 26, 2017
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About the author
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
719 books37.2k followersKurt 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)
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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
October 5, 2017
Listen, while I enjoyed the freshness of the 5 unpublished stories that are included in this book, I can't help but recognize that for any already addicted Vonnegut fans, the book should have been... different?
It is broken down into sections: War, Love... and his catalog of work is then flipped about, collected and compartmentalized in that grouping by each topic - which to me has ruined the continuity of Vonnegut's other short story collections.
Personally, I would have much preferred this book had been built chronologically. We read his first ever short story on page 1, follow along his carrier by years of each story being published on several hundred other pages, then 900+ pages later you read his last short story. Or at least have added in the dates or years of publication along with each story. This book is so large in physical form I only wish it was larger in depth of Vonnegut's history with these individual stories, years, months, etc. A few of the introductions are meaningful and well written, but very general.
This collection could have gone one small step further and finally released his original uncorrected version of Hal Irwin's Magic Lamp, but sadly that version is not included either.
So, if you were to give this book as a gift to someone - maybe someone that hasn't read a lot of Vonnegut - this book singlehandedly makes 5 or 6 of his recently released short story collections (a few which were released as recently as 2013, see Sucker's Portfolio quick collection for example) obsolete. Save yourself from buying at least eight of his other books, to read it all here.
I will of course rate this book very highly because all of his short stories are works I tend to read over and over throughout the years, I too had read every story in this new book but for these "new" 5 which is probably the only real reason this book was made in the first place. I fell for it, it worked! Ting~a~Ling!
It is broken down into sections: War, Love... and his catalog of work is then flipped about, collected and compartmentalized in that grouping by each topic - which to me has ruined the continuity of Vonnegut's other short story collections.
Personally, I would have much preferred this book had been built chronologically. We read his first ever short story on page 1, follow along his carrier by years of each story being published on several hundred other pages, then 900+ pages later you read his last short story. Or at least have added in the dates or years of publication along with each story. This book is so large in physical form I only wish it was larger in depth of Vonnegut's history with these individual stories, years, months, etc. A few of the introductions are meaningful and well written, but very general.
This collection could have gone one small step further and finally released his original uncorrected version of Hal Irwin's Magic Lamp, but sadly that version is not included either.
So, if you were to give this book as a gift to someone - maybe someone that hasn't read a lot of Vonnegut - this book singlehandedly makes 5 or 6 of his recently released short story collections (a few which were released as recently as 2013, see Sucker's Portfolio quick collection for example) obsolete. Save yourself from buying at least eight of his other books, to read it all here.
I will of course rate this book very highly because all of his short stories are works I tend to read over and over throughout the years, I too had read every story in this new book but for these "new" 5 which is probably the only real reason this book was made in the first place. I fell for it, it worked! Ting~a~Ling!
August 23, 2021
ТОМ ПЪРВИ
РАЗДЕЛ І. ВОЙНА: 1. Партия шах 2. Изоставен 3. Пилотирани ракети 4. Танасфера 5. Сувенир 6. Плаването на „Веселия Роджър” 7. Der Arme Dolmetscher 8. Кутийка за емфие от Багомбо 9. Велик ден 10. Пушки преди кравето масло 11. Честит рожден ден 12. Горе главата 13. Капан за еднорог 14. Само ти и аз, Сами, 15. Бюрото на коменданта 16. Армагедон в ретроспекция 17. Вкаменените мравки 18. История за едно безобразие.
Вонегът участва във ВСВ и става пряк свидетел на бомбардировката над Дрезден, където е военнопленник, през февруари 1945. Убеден пацифист и противник на насилието до последния си миг, той вплита тези лайтмотиви във всеки един от разказите, независимо дали се фокусира върху битието на военнопленниците (5, 10, 12, 14, 18), на военните – бивши, трудно възприемащи нормалния живот или настоящи, изгубили човешкия си облик (6, 7, 8, 15), на осиротелите деца (2, 11) или громи с реалистични и сатирични похвати тоталитарните комунистически режими (1, 3, 17). Апропо, сцената с живия шах от първия разказ ми напомни подобна такава в Лешояди на Дан Симънс. Имаше три творби с доминиращи фантастични елементи – 4, 9 и 16, както и разказ, ситуиран в средновековна Англия (13).
Никога досега не бе правил опит да разкаже историята, и сега, когато толкова се стремеше към този нов живот, усети, че включва подробности, големи и малки, които са му се случили, докато разказът се загуби напълно и се превърна в безформено, тромаво описание на войната такава, каквато в действителност я бе видял – безсмислена, заплетена бъркотия, която преразказана звучеше много реалистично, но не и забавно.
РАЗДЕЛ ІІ. ЖЕНИ: 19. Мис „Изкушение” 20. Ситни капчици вода 21. Джени 22. Епизоотиката 23. Стодоларови целувки 24. Рут 25.Угасни, къса свещ 26. Господин Z 27. Стиснал здраво ръчката 28. Раят край реката 29. Анонимни любовници
Женските образи, в по-голяма или в по-малка степен, са представени през призмата на мъжете, които в някои от разказите те дори са говорителите в първо лице. Отношенията са подчинени на времевите условности от средата на миналия век, но Вонегът категорично отказва да вземе страната на уж по-силния пол. Така например в 19 красивата актриса ще даде подобаващ отпор на гневливия ефрейтор; ученичката на самовлюбения учител по пеене в 20 на свой ред ще му изнесе някой и друг житейски урок; в 26 и в 28 и мъжът, и жената стават жертви на обстоятелствата. А в 23 и 29 мъже ще се изправят срещу мъже в спор по женски въпроси. Имаме и сатира с елементи на антиутопия, изобличаваща консуматорското общество (22), и творба със симпатичен фантастичен мотив (21), и разказ, изцяло доминиран от жени (24), и горчиво-сладка история за домакиня, системно пренебрегвана от мъжа си, заради хобито му – електрически влакчета (27) и личният ми фаворит – романтичният 25, гаден спойлер за който присъства в предговора към раздела (имайте го предвид).
РАЗДЕЛ ІІІ. НАУКА: 30. Съседната врата 31. Доклад върху ефекта на Барнхаус 32. Случаят „Еуфио” 33. Негодни за носене 34. Епикак 35. Мнемоника 36. Довдо 37. Залата с огледалата 38. Симпатичните малки хора 39. Виж пилето 40. Между вредител и вретено
От предговора към тази част научаваме, че Вонегът не се е радвал особено, когато са го слагали в категорията автор на научна фантастика, а е смятал себе си за писател, който разбира науката. Аз ще се съглася и с двете твърдения. Учените на Вонегът винаги действат с размах, а изобретенията и откритията им - динамопсихизма (31), космически радиосигнали, носещи наркотична забрава на слушащите ги хора (32), отделянето на духа от плътта (33), осъществената аудиовръзка с тъмното човешко подсъзнание (36) и пр., и пр. са способни да прекроят облика на света и то почти винаги не за добро, но тук откриваме и разкази с още по-класически фантастични елементи: за супермогъщия, постепенно самоосъзнал се компютър (34), за първия контакт (38)… В други творби за целите на сюжета бяха ползвани реално съществуващи технически постижения – радиото (30), методите за трениране на паметта (35); 37 се оказа сносна криминална мистерия, базирана на хипнозата, а в 40 главният герой – художник – се опитваше да си отговори на въпроса какво се случва след смъртта…
РАЗДЕЛ ІV. РОМАНТИЧНИ ВРЪЗКИ: 41. Кой съм този път? 42. Дългият път към вечността 43. Нощ за любов 44. Намери ми мечта 45. Фубар 46. Момичето от секретарския фонд 47. Рим 48. Мис Сноу, уволнена сте 49. Париж, Франция 50. Градът
И тук, подобно на разказите в раздел ІІ, се долавя полъхът на епохата. На жените често е отредена ролята на красиви кукли, предназначени за ловен трофей на мъжете. Някои от сюжетите ми се сториха наивни, други – леко нереалистични като развой, а повечето бяха с твърде захаросан финал, предназначен за читателите на Лейдис Хоум Джърнъл и Космополитън, където са били публикувани. Но пък открих романтичната жилка у Вонегът и откровено се забавлявах.
ТОМ ВТОРИ
РАЗДЕЛ V. РАБОТНА ЕТИКА СРЕЩУ СЛАВА И БОГАТСТВО 51. Красиви къщи 52. История от Хаянис Порт 53. Върни се при безценната жена и сина си 54. Лъжата 55. Елен в завода 56. Всяко разумно предложение 57. Пакетът 58. Беден малък богат град 59. Подарък за Големия свети Ник 60. Този мой син 61. Вълшебната лампа на Хол Ъруин 62. Да разтръбиш на света 63. Клубът на Ед Луби 64. Краят и кралицата на вселената 65. $10,000 годишно, без да се напъваш 66. Парите говорят 67. Докато простосмъртните спят 68. Танго 69. Шарлатаните
Петият раздел е приютил доста шарени в жанрово отношение творби. Имаше истории с криминална нишка (59, 63); истории за богати и свръх амбициозни родители, рано-рано предопределили житейския път на децата си, против волята им (54, 60, 64, 68); истории за семейни двойки, открили, че така лелеяното богатство може да не е решение на проблемите им (51, 61, 62, 66); и един супер свеж разказ, въртящ се около битието на политически противник на президента Кенеди, откупен от списание, но не публикуван, поради трагичната му смърт (52). Харесаха ми сюжетните врътки в 57, 65, 67 и 69… Изобщо качествена подборка.
РАЗДЕЛ VІ. ПОВЕДЕНИЕ 70. Портфейлът на Фостър 71. Невеста по поръчка 72. Безплатен консултант 73. Инвестиционният портфейл на смотаняка 74. Тарторът на търтеите 75. Здрасти, Ред 76. Честта на едно вестникарче 77. Рунтавото куче на Томас Едисън 78. Човекът без бъбеци 79. Дракон, син като барут 80. Бегълците 81. Доброто обяснение 82. Личният настойник 83. Бомар 84. Реквием за Цайтгайст 85. И вляво от вас…
В първите творби от този раздел (70,71,72,73) действието се водеше през очите на инвестиционен консултант, а Вонегът продължава да се опитва да намери отговор на въпроса дали постигането на финансово благополучие е главната причина за щастливото съществуване. Имаше няколко разказа с изразен драматичен уклон (75, 79, 80, 81, 82), мярна се дори една семпла кримка (76)… Като цяло не съм особено впечатлен. Личният ми фаворит тук май е 85 – свежа история за научни работници, принудени да правят компромиси с работата си, за да не секне потокът на субсидиите към отдела им. И не, думата бъбеци в заглавието на разказ 82 не е печатна грешка :)
РАЗДЕЛ VII. ДИРИГЕНТЪТ НА ОРКЕСТЪРА 86. Момчето, с което никой не можеше да се справи 87. Хлапето без талант 88. Амбициозният второкурсник 89. Момчето, което мразеше момичетата 90. Песен за Селма
Колкото и да сте далеч от попрището на професионалния музикант, просто няма как да не обикнете централния персонаж в тези пет истории – Джордж М. Хелмхолмц – ръководител на духовия оркестър в гимназия Линкълн, или иначе казано – най-добрият духов оркестър на света.
РАЗДЕЛ VIII. ФУТУРИСТИЧНИ 91. Харисън Бе��жерон 92. Добре дошли в маймунарника 93. Адам 94. Утре и утре, и утре 95. Голямото космическо начукване 96. ДБИДНБ 97. Незнаен воин
Вече отваряхме дума за особеното отношение на Вонегът към фантастичната литература, нещо повече, в едно свое есе той сравнява пазара на въпросната с… писоар. Обаче това по никакъв начин не променя факта, че четири от общо седемте разказа в този цикъл (а именно – 91, 92, 94, 95 и 96) са абсолютен триумф на антиутопичния жанр. Поклон!!!
Пи Ес: Продължавам да смятам, че томчетата трябваше да имат отделни профили тук, макар да са библиофилско издание и да споделят общ ISBN. Благодаря за вниманието :)
РАЗДЕЛ І. ВОЙНА: 1. Партия шах 2. Изоставен 3. Пилотирани ракети 4. Танасфера 5. Сувенир 6. Плаването на „Веселия Роджър” 7. Der Arme Dolmetscher 8. Кутийка за емфие от Багомбо 9. Велик ден 10. Пушки преди кравето масло 11. Честит рожден ден 12. Горе главата 13. Капан за еднорог 14. Само ти и аз, Сами, 15. Бюрото на коменданта 16. Армагедон в ретроспекция 17. Вкаменените мравки 18. История за едно безобразие.
Вонегът участва във ВСВ и става пряк свидетел на бомбардировката над Дрезден, където е военнопленник, през февруари 1945. Убеден пацифист и противник на насилието до последния си миг, той вплита тези лайтмотиви във всеки един от разказите, независимо дали се фокусира върху битието на военнопленниците (5, 10, 12, 14, 18), на военните – бивши, трудно възприемащи нормалния живот или настоящи, изгубили човешкия си облик (6, 7, 8, 15), на осиротелите деца (2, 11) или громи с реалистични и сатирични похвати тоталитарните комунистически режими (1, 3, 17). Апропо, сцената с живия шах от първия разказ ми напомни подобна такава в Лешояди на Дан Симънс. Имаше три творби с доминиращи фантастични елементи – 4, 9 и 16, както и разказ, ситуиран в средновековна Англия (13).
Никога досега не бе правил опит да разкаже историята, и сега, когато толкова се стремеше към този нов живот, усети, че включва подробности, големи и малки, които са му се случили, докато разказът се загуби напълно и се превърна в безформено, тромаво описание на войната такава, каквато в действителност я бе видял – безсмислена, заплетена бъркотия, която преразказана звучеше много реалистично, но не и забавно.
РАЗДЕЛ ІІ. ЖЕНИ: 19. Мис „Изкушение” 20. Ситни капчици вода 21. Джени 22. Епизоотиката 23. Стодоларови целувки 24. Рут 25.Угасни, къса свещ 26. Господин Z 27. Стиснал здраво ръчката 28. Раят край реката 29. Анонимни любовници
Женските образи, в по-голяма или в по-малка степен, са представени през призмата на мъжете, които в някои от разказите те дори са говорителите в първо лице. Отношенията са подчинени на времевите условности от средата на миналия век, но Вонегът категорично отказва да вземе страната на уж по-силния пол. Така например в 19 красивата актриса ще даде подобаващ отпор на гневливия ефрейтор; ученичката на самовлюбения учител по пеене в 20 на свой ред ще му изнесе някой и друг житейски урок; в 26 и в 28 и мъжът, и жената стават жертви на обстоятелствата. А в 23 и 29 мъже ще се изправят срещу мъже в спор по женски въпроси. Имаме и сатира с елементи на антиутопия, изобличаваща консуматорското общество (22), и творба със симпатичен фантастичен мотив (21), и разказ, изцяло доминиран от жени (24), и горчиво-сладка история за домакиня, системно пренебрегвана от мъжа си, заради хобито му – електрически влакчета (27) и личният ми фаворит – романтичният 25, гаден спойлер за който присъства в предговора към раздела (имайте го предвид).
РАЗДЕЛ ІІІ. НАУКА: 30. Съседната врата 31. Доклад върху ефекта на Барнхаус 32. Случаят „Еуфио” 33. Негодни за носене 34. Епикак 35. Мнемоника 36. Довдо 37. Залата с огледалата 38. Симпатичните малки хора 39. Виж пилето 40. Между вредител и вретено
От предговора към тази част научаваме, че Вонегът не се е радвал особено, когато са го слагали в категорията автор на научна фантастика, а е смятал себе си за писател, който разбира науката. Аз ще се съглася и с двете твърдения. Учените на Вонегът винаги действат с размах, а изобретенията и откритията им - динамопсихизма (31), космически радиосигнали, носещи наркотична забрава на слушащите ги хора (32), отделянето на духа от плътта (33), осъществената аудиовръзка с тъмното човешко подсъзнание (36) и пр., и пр. са способни да прекроят облика на света и то почти винаги не за добро, но тук откриваме и разкази с още по-класически фантастични елементи: за супермогъщия, постепенно самоосъзнал се компютър (34), за първия контакт (38)… В други творби за целите на сюжета бяха ползвани реално съществуващи технически постижения – радиото (30), методите за трениране на паметта (35); 37 се оказа сносна криминална мистерия, базирана на хипнозата, а в 40 главният герой – художник – се опитваше да си отговори на въпроса какво се случва след смъртта…
РАЗДЕЛ ІV. РОМАНТИЧНИ ВРЪЗКИ: 41. Кой съм този път? 42. Дългият път към вечността 43. Нощ за любов 44. Намери ми мечта 45. Фубар 46. Момичето от секретарския фонд 47. Рим 48. Мис Сноу, уволнена сте 49. Париж, Франция 50. Градът
И тук, подобно на разказите в раздел ІІ, се долавя полъхът на епохата. На жените често е отредена ролята на красиви кукли, предназначени за ловен трофей на мъжете. Някои от сюжетите ми се сториха наивни, други – леко нереалистични като развой, а повечето бяха с твърде захаросан финал, предназначен за читателите на Лейдис Хоум Джърнъл и Космополитън, където са били публикувани. Но пък открих романтичната жилка у Вонегът и откровено се забавлявах.
ТОМ ВТОРИ
РАЗДЕЛ V. РАБОТНА ЕТИКА СРЕЩУ СЛАВА И БОГАТСТВО 51. Красиви къщи 52. История от Хаянис Порт 53. Върни се при безценната жена и сина си 54. Лъжата 55. Елен в завода 56. Всяко разумно предложение 57. Пакетът 58. Беден малък богат град 59. Подарък за Големия свети Ник 60. Този мой син 61. Вълшебната лампа на Хол Ъруин 62. Да разтръбиш на света 63. Клубът на Ед Луби 64. Краят и кралицата на вселената 65. $10,000 годишно, без да се напъваш 66. Парите говорят 67. Докато простосмъртните спят 68. Танго 69. Шарлатаните
Петият раздел е приютил доста шарени в жанрово отношение творби. Имаше истории с криминална нишка (59, 63); истории за богати и свръх амбициозни родители, рано-рано предопределили житейския път на децата си, против волята им (54, 60, 64, 68); истории за семейни двойки, открили, че така лелеяното богатство може да не е решение на проблемите им (51, 61, 62, 66); и един супер свеж разказ, въртящ се около битието на политически противник на президента Кенеди, откупен от списание, но не публикуван, поради трагичната му смърт (52). Харесаха ми сюжетните врътки в 57, 65, 67 и 69… Изобщо качествена подборка.
РАЗДЕЛ VІ. ПОВЕДЕНИЕ 70. Портфейлът на Фостър 71. Невеста по поръчка 72. Безплатен консултант 73. Инвестиционният портфейл на смотаняка 74. Тарторът на търтеите 75. Здрасти, Ред 76. Честта на едно вестникарче 77. Рунтавото куче на Томас Едисън 78. Човекът без бъбеци 79. Дракон, син като барут 80. Бегълците 81. Доброто обяснение 82. Личният настойник 83. Бомар 84. Реквием за Цайтгайст 85. И вляво от вас…
В първите творби от този раздел (70,71,72,73) действието се водеше през очите на инвестиционен консултант, а Вонегът продължава да се опитва да намери отговор на въпроса дали постигането на финансово благополучие е главната причина за щастливото съществуване. Имаше няколко разказа с изразен драматичен уклон (75, 79, 80, 81, 82), мярна се дори една семпла кримка (76)… Като цяло не съм особено впечатлен. Личният ми фаворит тук май е 85 – свежа история за научни работници, принудени да правят компромиси с работата си, за да не секне потокът на субсидиите към отдела им. И не, думата бъбеци в заглавието на разказ 82 не е печатна грешка :)
РАЗДЕЛ VII. ДИРИГЕНТЪТ НА ОРКЕСТЪРА 86. Момчето, с което никой не можеше да се справи 87. Хлапето без талант 88. Амбициозният второкурсник 89. Момчето, което мразеше момичетата 90. Песен за Селма
Колкото и да сте далеч от попрището на професионалния музикант, просто няма как да не обикнете централния персонаж в тези пет истории – Джордж М. Хелмхолмц – ръководител на духовия оркестър в гимназия Линкълн, или иначе казано – най-добрият духов оркестър на света.
РАЗДЕЛ VIII. ФУТУРИСТИЧНИ 91. Харисън Бе��жерон 92. Добре дошли в маймунарника 93. Адам 94. Утре и утре, и утре 95. Голямото космическо начукване 96. ДБИДНБ 97. Незнаен воин
Вече отваряхме дума за особеното отношение на Вонегът към фантастичната литература, нещо повече, в едно свое есе той сравнява пазара на въпросната с… писоар. Обаче това по никакъв начин не променя факта, че четири от общо седемте разказа в този цикъл (а именно – 91, 92, 94, 95 и 96) са абсолютен триумф на антиутопичния жанр. Поклон!!!
Пи Ес: Продължавам да смятам, че томчетата трябваше да имат отделни профили тук, макар да са библиофилско издание и да споделят общ ISBN. Благодаря за вниманието :)
March 21, 2023
Francamente sono rimasto abbastanza deluso da questi racconti.
Di solito in questi casi si trovano racconti bellissimi, racconti mediocri e tanto materiale che ondeggia intorno alla linea di galleggiamento.
Qui invece sono rarissime sia le eccellenze che gli orrori, e si sta sempre intorno al passabile.
Qualche spunto migliore, più spesso qualche giro un po' a vuoto.
Pensavo meglio, in tutta onestà.
Di solito in questi casi si trovano racconti bellissimi, racconti mediocri e tanto materiale che ondeggia intorno alla linea di galleggiamento.
Qui invece sono rarissime sia le eccellenze che gli orrori, e si sta sempre intorno al passabile.
Qualche spunto migliore, più spesso qualche giro un po' a vuoto.
Pensavo meglio, in tutta onestà.
December 9, 2019
Kurt Vonnegut is dead now. So it goes.
His favourite joke was that after he died, he wanted people to say "Old Kurt is up in Heaven now." Or something along those lines. I'm not remembering the quote correctly. At any rate, he didn't think there was an afterlife, and I'm not so sure about that kind of thing, myself. The sentimental old bird in me wants there to be one, and I'd like to think that he'd tousle my hair and tell me I was adorable for being such a slushy little thing.
I've taken two months to get through this tremendous hardcover volume of his complete short stories, a tome so hefty you could knock a dude out, possibly even kill him. I've dropped it on my face a couple of times when reading in bed - thankfully my nose is intact after both impacts. This precise sixty day reading has been an invaluable education and continual entertainment, and a sheer joy, for there was not one dud story amongst them. I learnt stuff at old Grandpa Kurt's knee, and my takeaway from this whole experience is to keep it zingy and innovative.
Cos there's so much dross in the world, both in real life and fiction, and if fiction can't be uplifting or at least carefree, then we're doing it wrong, all wrong.
His favourite joke was that after he died, he wanted people to say "Old Kurt is up in Heaven now." Or something along those lines. I'm not remembering the quote correctly. At any rate, he didn't think there was an afterlife, and I'm not so sure about that kind of thing, myself. The sentimental old bird in me wants there to be one, and I'd like to think that he'd tousle my hair and tell me I was adorable for being such a slushy little thing.
I've taken two months to get through this tremendous hardcover volume of his complete short stories, a tome so hefty you could knock a dude out, possibly even kill him. I've dropped it on my face a couple of times when reading in bed - thankfully my nose is intact after both impacts. This precise sixty day reading has been an invaluable education and continual entertainment, and a sheer joy, for there was not one dud story amongst them. I learnt stuff at old Grandpa Kurt's knee, and my takeaway from this whole experience is to keep it zingy and innovative.
Cos there's so much dross in the world, both in real life and fiction, and if fiction can't be uplifting or at least carefree, then we're doing it wrong, all wrong.
August 13, 2021
Кърт Вонегът – гений и в кратката проза: http://knigolandia.info/book-review/k...
Защото не са просто разказите на Вонегът. В пространните допълнителни материали към книгата Дейв Егърс (“Кръгът”) и съставителите Джером Клинковиц и Дан Уейкфийлд разказват с обич и вълнение за живота и творчеството на Кърт Вонегът, за неговото време, в което пише своите разкази преди да се заеме да пише романите, които го правят така известен, за житейските му неволи и успехи, за победите и провалите, с които се е срещал отново и отново. Преди всяка от частите на книгата – разказите са поделени в осем секции: ВОЙНА, ЖЕНИ, НАУКА, РОМАНТИЧНИ ВРЪЗКИ, РАБОТНА ЕТИКА СРЕЩУ СЛАВА И БОГАТСТВО, ПОВЕДЕНИЕ, ДИРИГЕНТЪТ НА ОРКЕСТЪРА И ФУТУРИСТИЧНИ, пък един от двамата съставители пише за конкретната област, описва кога и как са написани разказите в нея, каква е тяхната есенция, какво ги е вдъхновило и къде са излизали.
CIELA Books
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/k...
Защото не са просто разказите на Вонегът. В пространните допълнителни материали към книгата Дейв Егърс (“Кръгът”) и съставителите Джером Клинковиц и Дан Уейкфийлд разказват с обич и вълнение за живота и творчеството на Кърт Вонегът, за неговото време, в което пише своите разкази преди да се заеме да пише романите, които го правят така известен, за житейските му неволи и успехи, за победите и провалите, с които се е срещал отново и отново. Преди всяка от частите на книгата – разказите са поделени в осем секции: ВОЙНА, ЖЕНИ, НАУКА, РОМАНТИЧНИ ВРЪЗКИ, РАБОТНА ЕТИКА СРЕЩУ СЛАВА И БОГАТСТВО, ПОВЕДЕНИЕ, ДИРИГЕНТЪТ НА ОРКЕСТЪРА И ФУТУРИСТИЧНИ, пък един от двамата съставители пише за конкретната област, описва кога и как са написани разказите в нея, каква е тяхната есенция, какво ги е вдъхновило и къде са излизали.
CIELA Books
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/k...
February 7, 2023
Read as part of my project to (re)read all of Kurt Vonnegut's fiction this volume of 98 of his short stories was mostly underwhelming. The majority of the pieces were written for the (at the time, 1950s and early 60s) lucrative mass market magazines such as Colliers, Saturday Evening Post and (would you believe it) The Ladies' Home Journal.
Most of the stories are slightly humourous often with a little twist in their tail (or should that be tale?).
The collection includes some accompanying short essays which add extra information on the background to how and why they were written.
At least they gave him the income he needed to be independent and pursue his career as a writer of the (deservedly) better known novels.
Most of the stories are slightly humourous often with a little twist in their tail (or should that be tale?).
The collection includes some accompanying short essays which add extra information on the background to how and why they were written.
At least they gave him the income he needed to be independent and pursue his career as a writer of the (deservedly) better known novels.
December 22, 2020
Very funny. Also, the craft of writing short stories (for popular magazines of the 1950s) is evinced.
June 4, 2020
Una faticaccia (praticamente) inutile, la lettura di questi racconti. E dire che mi piace Vonnegut, e adoro il racconto come forma narrativa. Ne salverei giusto una manciata, che comunque non entrerebbero nella mia personalissima top 100 dei racconti di tutti i tempi - non esiste, ma rende l'idea.
did-not-finish
June 18, 2021Section 1: War
"All the King's Horses" - Military man forced to play chess with the lives of his men and his family; Deus Ex Machina (bad guy's girlfriend assassinates bad guy at the last minute) saves him from having to pay the price of his son's life, which he sacrificed to deflect a knight and mate in 3.
"D.P." - Orphaned black boy in Germany speaks only German; thus, total outcast among German culture. Finds a black American soldier and is convinced the man is his dad because they look the same, but he is an outcast among Americans because he can't speak English. Does D.P. stand for Dual Personality? Dis-Placement? I'm not sure, but I think it would reveal the depth of this story.
"The Manned Missiles" - Scathing critique of Cold War. Correspondence between Russian and American father, each of whom lost a boy to the 'Space Race' and an accidental collision in space. Russian guy, using broken English, called the American--a gas station owner--a petroleum merchant; I died.
"Thanasphere" - Astronaut orbits Earth to spy on enemy (Soviets, sin duda) and discovers that the spirits of the dead populate the upper reaches of the atmosphere. Astro radios this back to Earth; general in charge of mission commands to keep the info hushed so the enemy doesn't know they had a rocket up there to begin with. Military advantage trumps existential discovery of all time. Sounds about right.
"Souvenir" - G.I. unwittingly has as a war trophy a pocket watch engraved by Hitler for one of his generals. That's about it.
"The Cruise of the Jolly Roger" - Korean War vet comes home after an injury and buys a boat. He doesn't feel that he was supposed to live, suffers survivor's apathy. The simple words of a child make him realize that warriors are appreciated, both the living and the fallen.
"Der Arme Dolmetscher" - Man who speaks no German becomes U.S. army interpreter for German.
"Bagombo Snuff Box" - Vet lies to ex-wife and her husband about adventurous life to try to make them envious; he's actually just as domesticated as they.
"Great Day" - 2037, time machine, soldiers go in to see what war was like before world peace. Idiot officer drags protag into 1918 along with him. Officer dies; protag is blind and stranded in the past.
"Guns Before Butter" - German guard and 3 American POWs, all starved toward the end of the war, develop comradery over mutual hunger despite their being on opposite sides of the war.
"Happy Birthday, 1951" - Postwar orphan cared for by geriatric survivor. Unknown birthday, so they arbitrarily pick a day. The man wants to give the child a gift: a day without war. The child, having known only war, rejects the gift.
"Brighten Up" - Scam-artist POW works the system to live like a king; meanwhile, the boy scout is suffering for his principles. Quintessential "nice guys finish last."
"The Unicorn Trap" - The "little man" vs. oppressive gov't, but cast against the image of the Norman Conquest of England
"All the King's Horses" - Military man forced to play chess with the lives of his men and his family; Deus Ex Machina (bad guy's girlfriend assassinates bad guy at the last minute) saves him from having to pay the price of his son's life, which he sacrificed to deflect a knight and mate in 3.
"D.P." - Orphaned black boy in Germany speaks only German; thus, total outcast among German culture. Finds a black American soldier and is convinced the man is his dad because they look the same, but he is an outcast among Americans because he can't speak English. Does D.P. stand for Dual Personality? Dis-Placement? I'm not sure, but I think it would reveal the depth of this story.
"The Manned Missiles" - Scathing critique of Cold War. Correspondence between Russian and American father, each of whom lost a boy to the 'Space Race' and an accidental collision in space. Russian guy, using broken English, called the American--a gas station owner--a petroleum merchant; I died.
"Thanasphere" - Astronaut orbits Earth to spy on enemy (Soviets, sin duda) and discovers that the spirits of the dead populate the upper reaches of the atmosphere. Astro radios this back to Earth; general in charge of mission commands to keep the info hushed so the enemy doesn't know they had a rocket up there to begin with. Military advantage trumps existential discovery of all time. Sounds about right.
"Souvenir" - G.I. unwittingly has as a war trophy a pocket watch engraved by Hitler for one of his generals. That's about it.
"The Cruise of the Jolly Roger" - Korean War vet comes home after an injury and buys a boat. He doesn't feel that he was supposed to live, suffers survivor's apathy. The simple words of a child make him realize that warriors are appreciated, both the living and the fallen.
"Der Arme Dolmetscher" - Man who speaks no German becomes U.S. army interpreter for German.
"Bagombo Snuff Box" - Vet lies to ex-wife and her husband about adventurous life to try to make them envious; he's actually just as domesticated as they.
"Great Day" - 2037, time machine, soldiers go in to see what war was like before world peace. Idiot officer drags protag into 1918 along with him. Officer dies; protag is blind and stranded in the past.
"Guns Before Butter" - German guard and 3 American POWs, all starved toward the end of the war, develop comradery over mutual hunger despite their being on opposite sides of the war.
"Happy Birthday, 1951" - Postwar orphan cared for by geriatric survivor. Unknown birthday, so they arbitrarily pick a day. The man wants to give the child a gift: a day without war. The child, having known only war, rejects the gift.
"Brighten Up" - Scam-artist POW works the system to live like a king; meanwhile, the boy scout is suffering for his principles. Quintessential "nice guys finish last."
"The Unicorn Trap" - The "little man" vs. oppressive gov't, but cast against the image of the Norman Conquest of England
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 14, 2022
This volume not only should not be tossed aside lightly: it cannot be. At over 900 pages, it can't do anything lightly.
Except to be read. This is every short story Vonnegut ever wrote -- or, as near to that as Jerome Klinkowitz and Dan Wakefield, who appear to have done a fair amount of archival diggng to find previously-unpublished stories, could make it: nearly a hundred stories. Nothing, perhaps, on the thirteen volumes of Theodore Sturgeon's short fiction, or even the five of Philip K. Dick's, but it is still a remarkable accomplishment, particularly when you realize that almost all of it was. At any rate, with all the digging I can do, I have found exactly one novella, "Basic Training", which is not published in this volume. So it goes.
The stories are not uniform in quality. Some of them are clearly a beginner's work, written around 1950. But even in these, the basic Vonnegutness is visible: the quiet but bitter social commentary, and the beginnings of the simplicity of style which peaked with novels like SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE and MOTHER NIGHT.
The editors, for reasons known best to them, arrange the stories not by date, which might be useful, but rather into eight topical sections: War, Women, Science, Romance, Worth Ethic Versus Fame and Fortune, Behavior, The Band Director, and Futuristic.Each section has an introduction by one of the editors.
"The Band Director" section contains the stories of George M. Helmholtz, kindly and somewhat obsessive music teacher at Lincoln High School, whose band he leads to victory after victory in band competitions. Why the editors did not also choose to group in their own section (they are all contained in the "Behavior" section) the several stories about an unnamed investment counsellor/stockbroker, I do not know. The one group seems as likely as the other, and the stories as good.
A point made in one of the four introductions is that most of these come from a sort of Golden Age of the American short story, when many of the "slick" magazines pubilshed fiction, and at a good word rate. Among the magazines represented here are well-known magazines, some still with us, some long gone: Collier's, the Ladies' Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, the Atlantic Monthly, the Saturday Evening Post, Redbook,and Playboy.
Was Vonnegut a science fiction writer or not?
As you might expect, the stories with science-fictional content are grouped in "Science" and "Futuristic": eighteen in all. Several of these were published in the slicks; two in Galaxy, one in Worlds of If, one in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (the only one of these three still publishing) -- and one, "The Big Space Fuck", in Harlan Ellison's AGAIN, DANGEROUS VISIONS anthology. The rest are either published here for the first time, or published in Vonnegut's late-career and posthumous volumes of stories that had not sold in the '50s, like BAGOMBO SNUFF BOX and ARMAGEDDON IN RETROSPECT.
Eighteen out of nearly a hundred stories, and only five of those published in SF venues: and yet many in the science-fiction community still want to claim him as "one of ours". A better case could be made, perhaps, from his novels, of which rather more than half have science-fictional themes of one sort or another -- but in this, I am counting novels like BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS and GOD BLESS YOU, MR. ROSEWATER because they contain the science fiction writer Kilgore Trout, and some of his story ideas are discussed therein almost as an aside to the reader. Novels where SFnal content is part of the main story are rather less than half, but more than a third, and would include his first novel (PLAYER PIANO), his last novel (TIMEQUAKE), and his best-known novel (SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE).
On the other hand, he described science fiction, at various times, as a lodge that kept people in, and as a pigeonhole that kept sales low. He had no desire to be identified as a science fiction writer, and when you count the short stories, well under half of his total output was directly science-fictional in nature.
I think we should respect that, while enjoying much of his work as, at least, genre-adjacent.
You'll notice that I haven't discussed the individual stories, and have only named one of them. This is a deliberate choice. If I started, I wouldn't know where to stop. I will say that about fifteen of the stories are, to my mind, small masterpieces, another twenty-five damn good, about ten probably should not have been published (and weren't, until he was a Major Literary Figure), and the rest of them are, well, pretty good. On the other hand, one of the small masterpieces is among the unpublished stories found in the Vonnegut papers at the Indiana University's Lilly Library.
If you are new to Vonnegut, this is probably not a good place to start. I recommend MOTHER NIGHT or SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE as the best starting points. After SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE, the novels become somewhat hit-or-miss, but before it, wow! you really can't go wrong. If you want to start with short stories, get WELCOME TO THE MONKEY HOUSE, the 1968 collection that contained what Vonnegut, or maybe his agent, considered his best short stories up to that time (and by that time he had pretty much given up writing short fiction, as (a) the market had shrunk noticably and (b) novels were far more profitable). More than half of my "about fifteen" are in that collection.
If you already own all of Vonnegut's previous collections -- then unless you desparately want everything, you can probably skip this one. (On the other hand, if you already own all of his previous collections, you probably DO desparately want everything.) I received this as a Christmas present, but I would have bought it eventually anyway; I am one who desparately wants everything by Vonnegut. So take my praise with whatever quantity of salt you think appropriate.
Except to be read. This is every short story Vonnegut ever wrote -- or, as near to that as Jerome Klinkowitz and Dan Wakefield, who appear to have done a fair amount of archival diggng to find previously-unpublished stories, could make it: nearly a hundred stories. Nothing, perhaps, on the thirteen volumes of Theodore Sturgeon's short fiction, or even the five of Philip K. Dick's, but it is still a remarkable accomplishment, particularly when you realize that almost all of it was. At any rate, with all the digging I can do, I have found exactly one novella, "Basic Training", which is not published in this volume. So it goes.
The stories are not uniform in quality. Some of them are clearly a beginner's work, written around 1950. But even in these, the basic Vonnegutness is visible: the quiet but bitter social commentary, and the beginnings of the simplicity of style which peaked with novels like SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE and MOTHER NIGHT.
The editors, for reasons known best to them, arrange the stories not by date, which might be useful, but rather into eight topical sections: War, Women, Science, Romance, Worth Ethic Versus Fame and Fortune, Behavior, The Band Director, and Futuristic.Each section has an introduction by one of the editors.
"The Band Director" section contains the stories of George M. Helmholtz, kindly and somewhat obsessive music teacher at Lincoln High School, whose band he leads to victory after victory in band competitions. Why the editors did not also choose to group in their own section (they are all contained in the "Behavior" section) the several stories about an unnamed investment counsellor/stockbroker, I do not know. The one group seems as likely as the other, and the stories as good.
A point made in one of the four introductions is that most of these come from a sort of Golden Age of the American short story, when many of the "slick" magazines pubilshed fiction, and at a good word rate. Among the magazines represented here are well-known magazines, some still with us, some long gone: Collier's, the Ladies' Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, the Atlantic Monthly, the Saturday Evening Post, Redbook,and Playboy.
Was Vonnegut a science fiction writer or not?
As you might expect, the stories with science-fictional content are grouped in "Science" and "Futuristic": eighteen in all. Several of these were published in the slicks; two in Galaxy, one in Worlds of If, one in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (the only one of these three still publishing) -- and one, "The Big Space Fuck", in Harlan Ellison's AGAIN, DANGEROUS VISIONS anthology. The rest are either published here for the first time, or published in Vonnegut's late-career and posthumous volumes of stories that had not sold in the '50s, like BAGOMBO SNUFF BOX and ARMAGEDDON IN RETROSPECT.
Eighteen out of nearly a hundred stories, and only five of those published in SF venues: and yet many in the science-fiction community still want to claim him as "one of ours". A better case could be made, perhaps, from his novels, of which rather more than half have science-fictional themes of one sort or another -- but in this, I am counting novels like BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS and GOD BLESS YOU, MR. ROSEWATER because they contain the science fiction writer Kilgore Trout, and some of his story ideas are discussed therein almost as an aside to the reader. Novels where SFnal content is part of the main story are rather less than half, but more than a third, and would include his first novel (PLAYER PIANO), his last novel (TIMEQUAKE), and his best-known novel (SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE).
On the other hand, he described science fiction, at various times, as a lodge that kept people in, and as a pigeonhole that kept sales low. He had no desire to be identified as a science fiction writer, and when you count the short stories, well under half of his total output was directly science-fictional in nature.
I think we should respect that, while enjoying much of his work as, at least, genre-adjacent.
You'll notice that I haven't discussed the individual stories, and have only named one of them. This is a deliberate choice. If I started, I wouldn't know where to stop. I will say that about fifteen of the stories are, to my mind, small masterpieces, another twenty-five damn good, about ten probably should not have been published (and weren't, until he was a Major Literary Figure), and the rest of them are, well, pretty good. On the other hand, one of the small masterpieces is among the unpublished stories found in the Vonnegut papers at the Indiana University's Lilly Library.
If you are new to Vonnegut, this is probably not a good place to start. I recommend MOTHER NIGHT or SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE as the best starting points. After SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE, the novels become somewhat hit-or-miss, but before it, wow! you really can't go wrong. If you want to start with short stories, get WELCOME TO THE MONKEY HOUSE, the 1968 collection that contained what Vonnegut, or maybe his agent, considered his best short stories up to that time (and by that time he had pretty much given up writing short fiction, as (a) the market had shrunk noticably and (b) novels were far more profitable). More than half of my "about fifteen" are in that collection.
If you already own all of Vonnegut's previous collections -- then unless you desparately want everything, you can probably skip this one. (On the other hand, if you already own all of his previous collections, you probably DO desparately want everything.) I received this as a Christmas present, but I would have bought it eventually anyway; I am one who desparately wants everything by Vonnegut. So take my praise with whatever quantity of salt you think appropriate.
August 13, 2019
As with other collections I am going to start my review as I read it so I can create content as I go.
The first section follows War themed stories.
“ All the Kings Horses “ follows a troop of American soldiers who have been captured by a warlord in some Communist influenced country. We know this because the man is advised by a Russian who says he cannot interfere with that man’s interpretation of justice. What is devised is that the American troop leader will play a game of chess against his captor with his soldiers and crew ( including his wife and two boys as they were headed for a new posting ) as the pieces. If the piece is lost the person inhabiting will be killed.
“ D.P “ which we read was made into an episode of GE Playhouse in the early days of television centers on postwar Germany. We meet a young black boy living in an orphanage. It is believed that he must be the son of an American soldier. One day as the children are out on a walk with the nuns he sees his first man that looks like him. It is an American army troop, one with a great deal of black soldiers. He leaves at night and goes to meet them and the men themselves become infatuated with the young man.
“ The Manned Missiles “ takes the form of two letters each written by the Father of a soldier, one American, One Russian, to each other, in the aftermath of an unexplained accident in space which has resulted in each son dying. I don’t think people today can what it was like in the early fifties, The Cold War, the Space Race and how it hung as a cloud over people. This story portrays two men, both proud of their sons sacrifice, but sharing a common experience that brings them together.
“ Thanasphere” A secret military mission has sent a manned rocket into space. Amateur skywatchers claim to have seen a shadow move across the moon but the government denies it. In a secret laboratory however the astronaut in space is communicating back to Earth. A two to three year mission. Soon, however, he starts hearing voices. The dead are in the area above the Stratosphere, communicating messages back to the living. The mission goes awry.
“ Souvenir “ A few years after the end of World War 2 a farmer comes out of the backwoods to try to pawn a watch. The pawnshop owner knows the watch is worth a lot but wants to minimize its value. The farmer tells how he came to be in possession of it, it was taken off a dead German, and as he tells the story he realizes the souvenir is worth more than any cash he might gain from it. The broker had sent a German inscription by messenger to a man in town who reads German. After the man had left with his watch he gets the translation back, the watch had been gifted to a German General and inscribed with a message from Hitler himself. Not reading German, the farmer never knew.
The Cruise of The Jolly Roger : A retired soldier from World War Two, not a draftee but a career soldier, has been retired after injury. Slightly disfigured, aimless, he buys a boat. Putting in at a small Northeast town he witnesses a parade and flower laying ceremony for a friend of his killed in battle. This viewing restores some of the sense of meaning to his life, to his and his fallen comrades, lives.
“ Der Arme Detmescher “ Clever short about a soldier assigned duty as a German translator during the war. The only German he knows are the three lines of a poem from high school he was overheard reciting.
“ Bogambo Snuff Box “ Heavily anthologized story and title story of a collection we meet a man blowing into town on business, his hometown, where he stops in to see his first wife. It was a short marriage, they were crazy kids, and he had to roam. He visits her and his family regaling them with stories of his adventures but the box he gives them from Bogambo is marked made in Japan. Later we see him at his hotel calling home to his wife and kids stating that potato chip sales are up.
“ Great Day” A man tells of his time after joining the “ World Army”. It is 2030 and peace reigns everywhere. He is trained in a special group for a special secret mission. So every even he is not told. They are in France and are told to march into the path of laser beams which will allow the
To travel to a battle in 1918.
“ Guns Before Butter “ Three American POWs in Dresden are on a daily cleanup mission pulling rocks. Their guard is an elderly ( too old for the front) soldier who is far from hard on them. He tires of their constant talk of food which leads to a punishment whose results someone end up with him losing his Corporal stripes. The next day guarding them as a Private he joins them in talking about their plans for their first meal once the war is over.
“ Happy Birthday, 1951 “ Two refugees from the war, an old man and a boy, are finally found by the occupying army and made to register. The troops are not ill acting but the man Wants to protect the boy from the constant thought of war, self preservation etc. He resolved to take the boy out of town for the day, “ away from the war “, it’s his birthday or at least the day he has chosen for his birthday. The boy however, is enamored with soldiers, guns and tanks. Even in the wilderness and quiet they visit on this day he cannot protect the boy from these thoughts but, not does the boy wish to be protected.
“ Brighten Up “ Short piece in which author recalls his time in a PoW camp and specifically another prisoner who is the proverbial fixer/ wheeler dealer who soon eats better than the others and does no work detail.
“ The Unicorn Trap “ Very Strong story set in 1067. A small serf family sees men swinging under the punishment of William the Conqueror in England’s invasion. The wife admired the Normans and when they inform her husband he will be tax collector she looks forward to a better circumstance. The Father and their young son are close and joke often about capturing a unicorn. The son advises his Father of his work on the trap but the Dad assumes the boy is using his imagination. Late in the story we find the boys trap catches its own sort of unicorn.
“ Spoils” Paul looks back on his experience of World War 2. He feels great guilt of his liberating, beheading and eating a small caged rabbit.
“ Just You and Me, Sammy “ An American POW in Germany remembers his experience after liberation when a German American Bund member attempts to steal his identity.
“ The Commandants Desk “ In a time post World War Two, after a third conflict between Russia and the United States we see a small Czech village that over the last years has been occupied by Germans, then Russians And now Americans. A cabinetmaker in town anticipates the arrival expecting a good experience. The Colonel in charge however sees no differences, he considers them collaborators, leading our hero to an eventful decision
“ Armageddon in Retrospect “ Odd story about a millionaire who funds a project to remove the influence of the devil on the world.
“ The Petrified Ants “ Simply fantastic story about some Soviet scientists sent to research some petrified ant fossils found at a mining site. What they find shocks them, how,it’s interpreted does not. This story could stand with Orwell’s animal farm as an indictment of the Soviet system.
“ Atrocity Story “ This small three page story completes the WAR section. A recount of three American POW’s from Dresden who after their liberation report a war crime against s fellow soldier who was shot for plundering a can of yellow beans from an abandoned house. His superiors advise him it was not a war crime as plundering is illegal even if you are not getting enough to eat.
The next section features story’s about women, a subject Vonnegut claimed to not write well.
“ Miss Temptation “ is an eerily prescient story that could be thought of as a precursor to today’s incel movement. A beautiful young woman, spending her summer as a bit player in a small town acting company, leaves the locals agog as she walks each day to the pharmacy for the out of town newspapers. She is a bevy of bracelets, bangles and breasts and she has charmed the male population of the town. On a day like any other however, a newly returned Korean War Vet gives her the side eye and criticized her roundly as one of the girls like those in his past that won’t give him the time of day. This is strong.
“ Little Drops of Water” is the story of a womanizing man who finally meets his match when a recently dismissed woman refuses to bow out gracefully and instead torments with him scheduled alterations to his beloved schedule.
“ Jenny” Story about a brilliant scientist who meets and marries a woman in his mid thirties. Within six months they have split up, he has basically left her for his work which is robotics. He has created a computer that uses her voice, a likeness of her face. But, this robot, acts how he expects it to. He has programmed it. Interesting comment in this story. A man says that the scientist “ had nothing to do with women, no experience until he his wife. He had built up no immunity to love with slow, repeated, exposure. “ Don’t we all know someone who overreacts and blows up their life when feeling an intensity of love they have never known.
“ The Epizootic” Strange story about a collapse in the economy in a materialistic society leading many well off men with family’s to commit suicide so that the life insurance benefits can allow their families to maintain the expected lifestyle
“ Hundred Dollar Kisses “ Told in interview fashion a man is being questioned by police detectives over his assault of a coworker. His reason, his coworker ‘s demeaning treatment of women
“ Ruth “ is one of the weaker stories. Follows a young pregnant war widow who travels to live with, and meet for the first time , her husbands Mother. This woman is mourning not just the widows dead husband but her baby boy, it does not go well
“ Out, Brief, Candle “ Very good story about a middle aged farm widow, her husband had been a generation older and left her in good financial stead. She, on a whim, responds to a pen pal ad in a magazine and before long is exchanging letters with a man from New York. The man is in no hurry to meet, or even share photos. Just the exchange of letters takes them both to a higher plane. However, months in she sends an unsolicited picture, nervous of how her plainness will be received. He calls her glorious but with this she sends a message only that she will be coming to see him. He advises her by telegram not to, he is deathly ill. In our modern world we are assuming the worst, a “ catfish “ of sorts. She travels to his town and gives his address but it only takes her to a cemetery. The one eyed, dwarf like caretaker advises her that her correspondent had been his predecessor and had recently died. He takes her to a recent grave ( so new there is not yet a headstone ) and she pays her respects. After the man drops her back off at the train station for her sad trip home we see him back in his shack beginning a new, flowing flowery letter to his next pen pal.
“ Mr Z” Another strong story. Young seminary student is given an assignment in his sociology class to go to the jail and interview a prisoner. She is a young woman, not quite Twenty one, serving a year and a day for possessing stolen goods. Essentially a gangsters moll she is loud mouthed, sassy, vulgar, cynical and beautiful in the extreme. The interview does not go well and on the way out George ( our student ) is accosted by her gangster boyfriend. Somehow the small, fierce criminal ends up on the floor from one punch by the gangly man child. Revenge comes in the form of a severe beating, after a hospital visit from the now released Gloria St Pierre he feels an attraction to her but she is troubled. The next day he discovers she too is now in the hospital as a result of a beating from the gangster when she broke up with him. The gangster is dead in a police shoot out and among her many injuries is his knocking her front teeth out. It is not love at first sight for the two invalids but it does become love.
“ With His Hand on the Throttle “ follows road building construction magnate Earl as he spends all his free time in his cellar model train lounge ignoring his pretty young wife. That is until his Mother decides he is not too old to have her correct his behavior once and for all.
“ Eden By the River “ In a bit of a bait and switch we watch a young couple meander around the riverbank. The had kicked a Stone about a mile from their home to the river and now seem shy, with little to say. When they arrive home it appears a party has been awaiting them. We next see the boy, the tall, gangly young man giving his sister away in marriage.
“ Lovers Anonymous “ tells the story of an informal group of men in a small town who name themselves such when the class beauty, the class brain, the class everything leaves college two years in to settle down and marry a classmate of theirs, who, like them, is just a regular guy.
The section labeled “ Science “ begins with “ Next Door “ which follows two families who share a common wall between their apartments. An eight year old boy hears his neighbors fighting through they the wall leading to bribery and questions from his parents. It is not the most rounded of his stories.
“ Report on the Barnhouse Effect “ tells the story of a man who discovers a force stronger than any yet found which comes strictly from his mind and concentration thereof. “ The Euphio Question “ follows a scientist who discovers voids in space that transmit a static that when broadcasted creates a euphoric malaise in people who hear it. “ Unready to Wear “ details the first people to become amphibious and leave their bodies and become just an unseen entity. They maintain bodies to enter when they need to do specific tasks for which they need a physical body.
“ The Euphio Question “ A scientist discovers unexplainable voids in space that seem to broadcast a kind of radio static. He discovers that when amplified and listened to it creates a kind of mindless euphoria in the listener. When some wish to market it, meter it like electrify he tries to stop his invention in its tracks.
“ Unready to Wear “ In a future time people have discovered how to leave their bodies. They become a spirit, an essence, a full thinking but non bodied person. Some people refuse this advance while those that have become “ amphibious “ maintain warehouses of bodies that they enter when they need to perform body necessary activities. Quite interesting
“ EPICAC “ in the fifties m, in the early days of computers a scientist is working with one of those early, giant, room filling behemoths we have heard about. In love with a fellow scientist but unable to woo her with romanticism ( he is a computer scientist after all ) he programs the computer to create a series of poems to woo her. It works, but the computer does not realize it is not to be the beneficiary of that love that has been won. When it does learn this it commits suicide overloading it’s circuits until they melt.
“Mnemonics “ is a spare, silly little story.
“ Confido” is another technology gone wrong story. Scientist creates a responsive companion that you can speak to but nothing it says is positive, only harming everybody
“ Hall of Mirrors” follows a magician/hypnotist who steals old widows money and is about to get away with it until he forgets just one mirror.
“ The Nice Little People “ tells of a man who discovers a tiny spaceship filled with thumb size beings. After feeding them and gaining their trust he discovers they might be too dedicated to his happiness
“ Look at the Birdie “ is a weaker story about a psychologist who develops a list of psychotics he has treated that he can control for nefarious purposes
“ Between Timid and Timbuktu “ A man is intrigued by time and how people often ( always) say they see their life flash before their eyes in near death experiences. This is not a strong story
The next section is called Romance. “ Who Am I This Time “ centers on a woman who works for the phone company, staying eight weeks in each location to train folks on new equipment. In this town she takes part in a local play group and falls for the local drama king. He has his own story as he is a flat, vanilla, hardware clerk by day, only lighting up on stage in whatever role he plays.
“ Long Walk to Forever “ Is said to be autobiographical as a young man returns to his hometown from the army to see a young woman he has been friends with since kindergarten. She is about to be married and when he heard about it from his Mother he went AWOL to profess his own undying love.
“ A Night For Love “ Two couples in a small town have their night split open when their two children are late arriving home. The girls Father calls the young mans Father. All is complicated by the fact that the girls Father works for the man who is the richest man in town. Also the girls Mother, long ago dated that man.
“ Find Me a Dream “ In an industrial company town ( a pipe making town) the middle aged manager of the factory brings a pretty young woman to a party. Bored out of her mind with constant pipe talk she strikes up a conversation with the bandleader who might be the only man in town not obsessed with pipe
FUBAR : A man who works in an isolated office on a huge factory complex tells of meeting a young woman assigned to be his secretary
Girl Pool : From that same factory we see a story from the viewpoint of one of the young girls in the pool. She becomes enamored of the idea of a young man believed to be hiding somewhere on the industrial site after committing a crime in the local al city.
“ Rome “ A young sheltered girl whose Father is caught in an embezzlement scam in a small company town. He sends his daughter away to weather the storm and she becomes involved with a local theater company.
“ Miss Snow, Your Fired “ follows the relationship between a young eighteen year old girl, a beauty, who causes much trouble in the company she works for.
“ Paris “ Story follows three couples on their way from London to Paris. Traveling by train on the last leg to Paris, the three couples, all at different stages I their relationship, realize they are all traveling on the same train on their return trips. We see them both before, and after, their trips and the changes that take place for them as a result.
“ City “ Very short piece that describes two lonely people of the big city who, after seeing each other for a couple weeks at their nightly bus stop venture a conversation and, perhaps a life together.
“ More Stately Mansions “ follows a couple who move into a neighborhood and meet their neighbors. The wife is nice but she has suggestions by the handful of how the new occupant can improve her home. House improvement and decorating magazines abound. Eventually the hospitality is reciprocated but the couple is shocked to see the home of their neighbors. None of the ideas exist for decorating appear but in her mind. Still, they are nice. Even in her oddness and her husbands obvious desire to protect her from those who would call out her eccentricities.
“ The Hyannis Port Story “ was set to be published in a magazine but when the President was killed the story was never included or released. Still, it holds up well. A longtime resident of the island, unhappy with the influx of tourist activity due to the President hires a New Hampshire window salesman to redo his whole house. While there he listens to the man rail against Kennedy and even witnesses him turning on a well lighted Goldwater sign which can easily be seen from the Kennedy compound next door. When he discovers his son is in love with a Kennedy cousin from Ireland he modifies his opinion a bit , then has a memorable interaction with his famous neighbor
Out of room TBC privately
The first section follows War themed stories.
“ All the Kings Horses “ follows a troop of American soldiers who have been captured by a warlord in some Communist influenced country. We know this because the man is advised by a Russian who says he cannot interfere with that man’s interpretation of justice. What is devised is that the American troop leader will play a game of chess against his captor with his soldiers and crew ( including his wife and two boys as they were headed for a new posting ) as the pieces. If the piece is lost the person inhabiting will be killed.
“ D.P “ which we read was made into an episode of GE Playhouse in the early days of television centers on postwar Germany. We meet a young black boy living in an orphanage. It is believed that he must be the son of an American soldier. One day as the children are out on a walk with the nuns he sees his first man that looks like him. It is an American army troop, one with a great deal of black soldiers. He leaves at night and goes to meet them and the men themselves become infatuated with the young man.
“ The Manned Missiles “ takes the form of two letters each written by the Father of a soldier, one American, One Russian, to each other, in the aftermath of an unexplained accident in space which has resulted in each son dying. I don’t think people today can what it was like in the early fifties, The Cold War, the Space Race and how it hung as a cloud over people. This story portrays two men, both proud of their sons sacrifice, but sharing a common experience that brings them together.
“ Thanasphere” A secret military mission has sent a manned rocket into space. Amateur skywatchers claim to have seen a shadow move across the moon but the government denies it. In a secret laboratory however the astronaut in space is communicating back to Earth. A two to three year mission. Soon, however, he starts hearing voices. The dead are in the area above the Stratosphere, communicating messages back to the living. The mission goes awry.
“ Souvenir “ A few years after the end of World War 2 a farmer comes out of the backwoods to try to pawn a watch. The pawnshop owner knows the watch is worth a lot but wants to minimize its value. The farmer tells how he came to be in possession of it, it was taken off a dead German, and as he tells the story he realizes the souvenir is worth more than any cash he might gain from it. The broker had sent a German inscription by messenger to a man in town who reads German. After the man had left with his watch he gets the translation back, the watch had been gifted to a German General and inscribed with a message from Hitler himself. Not reading German, the farmer never knew.
The Cruise of The Jolly Roger : A retired soldier from World War Two, not a draftee but a career soldier, has been retired after injury. Slightly disfigured, aimless, he buys a boat. Putting in at a small Northeast town he witnesses a parade and flower laying ceremony for a friend of his killed in battle. This viewing restores some of the sense of meaning to his life, to his and his fallen comrades, lives.
“ Der Arme Detmescher “ Clever short about a soldier assigned duty as a German translator during the war. The only German he knows are the three lines of a poem from high school he was overheard reciting.
“ Bogambo Snuff Box “ Heavily anthologized story and title story of a collection we meet a man blowing into town on business, his hometown, where he stops in to see his first wife. It was a short marriage, they were crazy kids, and he had to roam. He visits her and his family regaling them with stories of his adventures but the box he gives them from Bogambo is marked made in Japan. Later we see him at his hotel calling home to his wife and kids stating that potato chip sales are up.
“ Great Day” A man tells of his time after joining the “ World Army”. It is 2030 and peace reigns everywhere. He is trained in a special group for a special secret mission. So every even he is not told. They are in France and are told to march into the path of laser beams which will allow the
To travel to a battle in 1918.
“ Guns Before Butter “ Three American POWs in Dresden are on a daily cleanup mission pulling rocks. Their guard is an elderly ( too old for the front) soldier who is far from hard on them. He tires of their constant talk of food which leads to a punishment whose results someone end up with him losing his Corporal stripes. The next day guarding them as a Private he joins them in talking about their plans for their first meal once the war is over.
“ Happy Birthday, 1951 “ Two refugees from the war, an old man and a boy, are finally found by the occupying army and made to register. The troops are not ill acting but the man Wants to protect the boy from the constant thought of war, self preservation etc. He resolved to take the boy out of town for the day, “ away from the war “, it’s his birthday or at least the day he has chosen for his birthday. The boy however, is enamored with soldiers, guns and tanks. Even in the wilderness and quiet they visit on this day he cannot protect the boy from these thoughts but, not does the boy wish to be protected.
“ Brighten Up “ Short piece in which author recalls his time in a PoW camp and specifically another prisoner who is the proverbial fixer/ wheeler dealer who soon eats better than the others and does no work detail.
“ The Unicorn Trap “ Very Strong story set in 1067. A small serf family sees men swinging under the punishment of William the Conqueror in England’s invasion. The wife admired the Normans and when they inform her husband he will be tax collector she looks forward to a better circumstance. The Father and their young son are close and joke often about capturing a unicorn. The son advises his Father of his work on the trap but the Dad assumes the boy is using his imagination. Late in the story we find the boys trap catches its own sort of unicorn.
“ Spoils” Paul looks back on his experience of World War 2. He feels great guilt of his liberating, beheading and eating a small caged rabbit.
“ Just You and Me, Sammy “ An American POW in Germany remembers his experience after liberation when a German American Bund member attempts to steal his identity.
“ The Commandants Desk “ In a time post World War Two, after a third conflict between Russia and the United States we see a small Czech village that over the last years has been occupied by Germans, then Russians And now Americans. A cabinetmaker in town anticipates the arrival expecting a good experience. The Colonel in charge however sees no differences, he considers them collaborators, leading our hero to an eventful decision
“ Armageddon in Retrospect “ Odd story about a millionaire who funds a project to remove the influence of the devil on the world.
“ The Petrified Ants “ Simply fantastic story about some Soviet scientists sent to research some petrified ant fossils found at a mining site. What they find shocks them, how,it’s interpreted does not. This story could stand with Orwell’s animal farm as an indictment of the Soviet system.
“ Atrocity Story “ This small three page story completes the WAR section. A recount of three American POW’s from Dresden who after their liberation report a war crime against s fellow soldier who was shot for plundering a can of yellow beans from an abandoned house. His superiors advise him it was not a war crime as plundering is illegal even if you are not getting enough to eat.
The next section features story’s about women, a subject Vonnegut claimed to not write well.
“ Miss Temptation “ is an eerily prescient story that could be thought of as a precursor to today’s incel movement. A beautiful young woman, spending her summer as a bit player in a small town acting company, leaves the locals agog as she walks each day to the pharmacy for the out of town newspapers. She is a bevy of bracelets, bangles and breasts and she has charmed the male population of the town. On a day like any other however, a newly returned Korean War Vet gives her the side eye and criticized her roundly as one of the girls like those in his past that won’t give him the time of day. This is strong.
“ Little Drops of Water” is the story of a womanizing man who finally meets his match when a recently dismissed woman refuses to bow out gracefully and instead torments with him scheduled alterations to his beloved schedule.
“ Jenny” Story about a brilliant scientist who meets and marries a woman in his mid thirties. Within six months they have split up, he has basically left her for his work which is robotics. He has created a computer that uses her voice, a likeness of her face. But, this robot, acts how he expects it to. He has programmed it. Interesting comment in this story. A man says that the scientist “ had nothing to do with women, no experience until he his wife. He had built up no immunity to love with slow, repeated, exposure. “ Don’t we all know someone who overreacts and blows up their life when feeling an intensity of love they have never known.
“ The Epizootic” Strange story about a collapse in the economy in a materialistic society leading many well off men with family’s to commit suicide so that the life insurance benefits can allow their families to maintain the expected lifestyle
“ Hundred Dollar Kisses “ Told in interview fashion a man is being questioned by police detectives over his assault of a coworker. His reason, his coworker ‘s demeaning treatment of women
“ Ruth “ is one of the weaker stories. Follows a young pregnant war widow who travels to live with, and meet for the first time , her husbands Mother. This woman is mourning not just the widows dead husband but her baby boy, it does not go well
“ Out, Brief, Candle “ Very good story about a middle aged farm widow, her husband had been a generation older and left her in good financial stead. She, on a whim, responds to a pen pal ad in a magazine and before long is exchanging letters with a man from New York. The man is in no hurry to meet, or even share photos. Just the exchange of letters takes them both to a higher plane. However, months in she sends an unsolicited picture, nervous of how her plainness will be received. He calls her glorious but with this she sends a message only that she will be coming to see him. He advises her by telegram not to, he is deathly ill. In our modern world we are assuming the worst, a “ catfish “ of sorts. She travels to his town and gives his address but it only takes her to a cemetery. The one eyed, dwarf like caretaker advises her that her correspondent had been his predecessor and had recently died. He takes her to a recent grave ( so new there is not yet a headstone ) and she pays her respects. After the man drops her back off at the train station for her sad trip home we see him back in his shack beginning a new, flowing flowery letter to his next pen pal.
“ Mr Z” Another strong story. Young seminary student is given an assignment in his sociology class to go to the jail and interview a prisoner. She is a young woman, not quite Twenty one, serving a year and a day for possessing stolen goods. Essentially a gangsters moll she is loud mouthed, sassy, vulgar, cynical and beautiful in the extreme. The interview does not go well and on the way out George ( our student ) is accosted by her gangster boyfriend. Somehow the small, fierce criminal ends up on the floor from one punch by the gangly man child. Revenge comes in the form of a severe beating, after a hospital visit from the now released Gloria St Pierre he feels an attraction to her but she is troubled. The next day he discovers she too is now in the hospital as a result of a beating from the gangster when she broke up with him. The gangster is dead in a police shoot out and among her many injuries is his knocking her front teeth out. It is not love at first sight for the two invalids but it does become love.
“ With His Hand on the Throttle “ follows road building construction magnate Earl as he spends all his free time in his cellar model train lounge ignoring his pretty young wife. That is until his Mother decides he is not too old to have her correct his behavior once and for all.
“ Eden By the River “ In a bit of a bait and switch we watch a young couple meander around the riverbank. The had kicked a Stone about a mile from their home to the river and now seem shy, with little to say. When they arrive home it appears a party has been awaiting them. We next see the boy, the tall, gangly young man giving his sister away in marriage.
“ Lovers Anonymous “ tells the story of an informal group of men in a small town who name themselves such when the class beauty, the class brain, the class everything leaves college two years in to settle down and marry a classmate of theirs, who, like them, is just a regular guy.
The section labeled “ Science “ begins with “ Next Door “ which follows two families who share a common wall between their apartments. An eight year old boy hears his neighbors fighting through they the wall leading to bribery and questions from his parents. It is not the most rounded of his stories.
“ Report on the Barnhouse Effect “ tells the story of a man who discovers a force stronger than any yet found which comes strictly from his mind and concentration thereof. “ The Euphio Question “ follows a scientist who discovers voids in space that transmit a static that when broadcasted creates a euphoric malaise in people who hear it. “ Unready to Wear “ details the first people to become amphibious and leave their bodies and become just an unseen entity. They maintain bodies to enter when they need to do specific tasks for which they need a physical body.
“ The Euphio Question “ A scientist discovers unexplainable voids in space that seem to broadcast a kind of radio static. He discovers that when amplified and listened to it creates a kind of mindless euphoria in the listener. When some wish to market it, meter it like electrify he tries to stop his invention in its tracks.
“ Unready to Wear “ In a future time people have discovered how to leave their bodies. They become a spirit, an essence, a full thinking but non bodied person. Some people refuse this advance while those that have become “ amphibious “ maintain warehouses of bodies that they enter when they need to perform body necessary activities. Quite interesting
“ EPICAC “ in the fifties m, in the early days of computers a scientist is working with one of those early, giant, room filling behemoths we have heard about. In love with a fellow scientist but unable to woo her with romanticism ( he is a computer scientist after all ) he programs the computer to create a series of poems to woo her. It works, but the computer does not realize it is not to be the beneficiary of that love that has been won. When it does learn this it commits suicide overloading it’s circuits until they melt.
“Mnemonics “ is a spare, silly little story.
“ Confido” is another technology gone wrong story. Scientist creates a responsive companion that you can speak to but nothing it says is positive, only harming everybody
“ Hall of Mirrors” follows a magician/hypnotist who steals old widows money and is about to get away with it until he forgets just one mirror.
“ The Nice Little People “ tells of a man who discovers a tiny spaceship filled with thumb size beings. After feeding them and gaining their trust he discovers they might be too dedicated to his happiness
“ Look at the Birdie “ is a weaker story about a psychologist who develops a list of psychotics he has treated that he can control for nefarious purposes
“ Between Timid and Timbuktu “ A man is intrigued by time and how people often ( always) say they see their life flash before their eyes in near death experiences. This is not a strong story
The next section is called Romance. “ Who Am I This Time “ centers on a woman who works for the phone company, staying eight weeks in each location to train folks on new equipment. In this town she takes part in a local play group and falls for the local drama king. He has his own story as he is a flat, vanilla, hardware clerk by day, only lighting up on stage in whatever role he plays.
“ Long Walk to Forever “ Is said to be autobiographical as a young man returns to his hometown from the army to see a young woman he has been friends with since kindergarten. She is about to be married and when he heard about it from his Mother he went AWOL to profess his own undying love.
“ A Night For Love “ Two couples in a small town have their night split open when their two children are late arriving home. The girls Father calls the young mans Father. All is complicated by the fact that the girls Father works for the man who is the richest man in town. Also the girls Mother, long ago dated that man.
“ Find Me a Dream “ In an industrial company town ( a pipe making town) the middle aged manager of the factory brings a pretty young woman to a party. Bored out of her mind with constant pipe talk she strikes up a conversation with the bandleader who might be the only man in town not obsessed with pipe
FUBAR : A man who works in an isolated office on a huge factory complex tells of meeting a young woman assigned to be his secretary
Girl Pool : From that same factory we see a story from the viewpoint of one of the young girls in the pool. She becomes enamored of the idea of a young man believed to be hiding somewhere on the industrial site after committing a crime in the local al city.
“ Rome “ A young sheltered girl whose Father is caught in an embezzlement scam in a small company town. He sends his daughter away to weather the storm and she becomes involved with a local theater company.
“ Miss Snow, Your Fired “ follows the relationship between a young eighteen year old girl, a beauty, who causes much trouble in the company she works for.
“ Paris “ Story follows three couples on their way from London to Paris. Traveling by train on the last leg to Paris, the three couples, all at different stages I their relationship, realize they are all traveling on the same train on their return trips. We see them both before, and after, their trips and the changes that take place for them as a result.
“ City “ Very short piece that describes two lonely people of the big city who, after seeing each other for a couple weeks at their nightly bus stop venture a conversation and, perhaps a life together.
“ More Stately Mansions “ follows a couple who move into a neighborhood and meet their neighbors. The wife is nice but she has suggestions by the handful of how the new occupant can improve her home. House improvement and decorating magazines abound. Eventually the hospitality is reciprocated but the couple is shocked to see the home of their neighbors. None of the ideas exist for decorating appear but in her mind. Still, they are nice. Even in her oddness and her husbands obvious desire to protect her from those who would call out her eccentricities.
“ The Hyannis Port Story “ was set to be published in a magazine but when the President was killed the story was never included or released. Still, it holds up well. A longtime resident of the island, unhappy with the influx of tourist activity due to the President hires a New Hampshire window salesman to redo his whole house. While there he listens to the man rail against Kennedy and even witnesses him turning on a well lighted Goldwater sign which can easily be seen from the Kennedy compound next door. When he discovers his son is in love with a Kennedy cousin from Ireland he modifies his opinion a bit , then has a memorable interaction with his famous neighbor
Out of room TBC privately
November 8, 2020
Brilliant and while sometimes funny, nothing like his novels.
September 17, 2017
This posthumous collection of short stories by Kurt Vonnegut throws in everything and the kitchen sink. If you want to read every single completed short story written by Vonnegut, who was a grandmaster of American letters in the 20th century and who died a decade ago in New York City, this is the volume for you. Not only does it bring together every single story from previous story collections, such as Welcome to the Monkey House and Bagombo Snuff Box, it throws in completed stories that have been previously unpublished. The only thing that’s not here are those stories that were left unfinished.
As you can imagine, Complete Stories is a mammoth volume that surpasses 1,000 pages. If you want to read this, plan on calling in sick to work or school — for a week. It took me two months to read this book, though I crammed in other books for reviews here on Medium, aware that if I were silent too long by taking the time to read this start to finish in one go, my Top Writer status in Books would be revoked. There are nearly 100 stories in this collection, and your investment in Vonnegut in this case is measured by time mostly. (The book is expensive, though, too, costing $45 US and $60 Canadian.)
So should you read Complete Stories? I would give a resounding yes, but that yes will mean different things to different people. If you already have all of the other short story collections published by Vonnegut and his estate, you’re only getting a handful of new ones. For you, unless you’re a completist and must own everything the guy wrote, I’d hit the library for this one. If you’ve read Vonnegut’s novels and want to see how he developed during the early part of his career, when he was chiefly a short story writer, this is a book to discover. If you’ve only read Slaughterhouse-Five and maybe one or two more of his books, and are curious, then maybe this is a book you’ll want to read.
Read the rest of this review here: https://medium.com/@zachary_houle/a-r...
As you can imagine, Complete Stories is a mammoth volume that surpasses 1,000 pages. If you want to read this, plan on calling in sick to work or school — for a week. It took me two months to read this book, though I crammed in other books for reviews here on Medium, aware that if I were silent too long by taking the time to read this start to finish in one go, my Top Writer status in Books would be revoked. There are nearly 100 stories in this collection, and your investment in Vonnegut in this case is measured by time mostly. (The book is expensive, though, too, costing $45 US and $60 Canadian.)
So should you read Complete Stories? I would give a resounding yes, but that yes will mean different things to different people. If you already have all of the other short story collections published by Vonnegut and his estate, you’re only getting a handful of new ones. For you, unless you’re a completist and must own everything the guy wrote, I’d hit the library for this one. If you’ve read Vonnegut’s novels and want to see how he developed during the early part of his career, when he was chiefly a short story writer, this is a book to discover. If you’ve only read Slaughterhouse-Five and maybe one or two more of his books, and are curious, then maybe this is a book you’ll want to read.
Read the rest of this review here: https://medium.com/@zachary_houle/a-r...
July 7, 2019
The embodiment of his career, this is a must for Vonnegut aficionados. That said, it is not a book you read cover to cover. Read a story every once in a while and then come back later for another.
October 14, 2021
This really says alot about are society as a hole
November 10, 2022
Per ora ho letto solo la sezione dedicata alle donne + Parola d'onore, e ho apprezzato moltissimo tutti i racconti in questione.
August 30, 2023
Wolałabym, żeby opowiadania były ustawione chronologiczne, a nie tematycznie.
March 8, 2025
There were only five or so stories in here I hadn’t read before… boy would this have saved me a lot of time if i’d known it existed before
August 30, 2025
Super wydanie z wszystkimi opowiadaniami Vonneguta. Ta książka pokazała mi, że jego twórczość, pomimo tego, że poznałam juz całkiem sporo, cały czas potrafi mnie skłonić do refleksji czy zaskoczyć (szczególnie sekcja "futurystyka"). Chętnie polecę każdemu.
May 9, 2020
Czy po przeczytaniu 98 opowiadań mogę uznać się za znawcę twórczości Vonneguta? Z pewnością nie: jak przez mgłę pamiętam dwie powieści (Galapagos, Kocia Kołyska), a przecież jest ich dużo więcej i to one, przynajmniej w tej części świata, rozsławiły autora. Jednak czuję jakbym lepiej poznał konkretnego człowieka - Kurta Vonneguta, co może być najcenniejszym walorem tej pozycji, nie wspominając o przystępnie dostarczonych kontekstach twórczości.
Muszę powiedzieć, choć zapewne wiedzą o tym już prawie wszyscy, że Vonnegut faktycznie świetnie opowiada historię, a może historyjki - prosty punkt wyjścia sprawnie przeprowadza, często oferując zaskakujące zaskoczenie. Jest prosto, humorystycznie, może trochę moralizatorsko (nie mam z tym problemu, poza wydzieloną częścią "Zachowanie", gdzie oszczędny kunszt zanika zupełnie i dostajemy grubo wyciosane powtórzenia, że "do cholery, trzeba być przyzwoitym").
Trudno oceniać taki ogrom tekstu: mógłbym liczbami (9 ulubionych opowiadań, 8 bardzo kiepskich, około 30 "wyróżnionych", 50 bezboleśnie i, z pewną przyjemnością, przeczytanych), lecz nie sądzę, bym w ten sposób coś sensownego powiedział. Nie ukrywam, że miałem też złe podejście: gdybym siadał sobie wieczorem i czytał dwa opowiadanka i tak przez dwa miesiące, znalazłbym niezobowiązującą rozrywkę. Tymczasem po 700 stronach po prostu chciałem już kończyć, bojąc się, że jak przestanę teraz, to nie doczytam nigdy. To sprawiało, że 6-7 opowiadanie pod rząd o kierowniku orkiestry męczyło, trochę.
Chyba lepiej zacząć od jakiejś powieści, co nie znaczy, że nie polecam.
Muszę powiedzieć, choć zapewne wiedzą o tym już prawie wszyscy, że Vonnegut faktycznie świetnie opowiada historię, a może historyjki - prosty punkt wyjścia sprawnie przeprowadza, często oferując zaskakujące zaskoczenie. Jest prosto, humorystycznie, może trochę moralizatorsko (nie mam z tym problemu, poza wydzieloną częścią "Zachowanie", gdzie oszczędny kunszt zanika zupełnie i dostajemy grubo wyciosane powtórzenia, że "do cholery, trzeba być przyzwoitym").
Trudno oceniać taki ogrom tekstu: mógłbym liczbami (9 ulubionych opowiadań, 8 bardzo kiepskich, około 30 "wyróżnionych", 50 bezboleśnie i, z pewną przyjemnością, przeczytanych), lecz nie sądzę, bym w ten sposób coś sensownego powiedział. Nie ukrywam, że miałem też złe podejście: gdybym siadał sobie wieczorem i czytał dwa opowiadanka i tak przez dwa miesiące, znalazłbym niezobowiązującą rozrywkę. Tymczasem po 700 stronach po prostu chciałem już kończyć, bojąc się, że jak przestanę teraz, to nie doczytam nigdy. To sprawiało, że 6-7 opowiadanie pod rząd o kierowniku orkiestry męczyło, trochę.
Chyba lepiej zacząć od jakiejś powieści, co nie znaczy, że nie polecam.
May 27, 2025
Kurt Vonnegut clearly saw a future of overpopulation that would lead to many ethical questions
https://popculturelunchbox.substack.c...
Kurt Vonnegut Complete Stories is one of the best gifts I’ve received in recent memory (thanks Dad) because he’s one of my favorite novelists and I have yet to read most of his short stories outside of the Welcome to the Monkey House collection.
I’ve read his classic “Harrison Bergeron” many times and it’s no stretch to call it one of the greatest short stories ever. So I thought I would dig into the other six entries in the “futuristic” section of the book and share my reviews.
Like “Bergeron,” “Welcome to the Monkey House” (1968) appeared in his classic collection obviously as the title story (Welcome to the Monkey House is ranked #8 on my list of favorite books of all time). Overpopulation has roiled Earth and now there are ethical suicide parlors and ethical birth-control pills to manage the situation. The story begins in one of these parlors in Cape Cod as news spreads that the infamous “nothinghead” (the word for someone who illegally doesn’t take the birth-control pills) Billy the Poet is headed towards the parlor. It turns out that he is actually already in the parlor and successfully escapes, kidnapping one of the hostesses. They make their way through the sewers until they arrive at what was once the Kennedy compound. Billy the Poet is leading a resistance to get people to stop taking the pills, which numb the lower half of peoples’ bodies, and to again bring a bit of much-needed pleasure back into the world. The reference to the “monkey house” is that the inventor of the pill had seen monkeys playing with their own genitals in the zoo and thought it would be good to numb them so visitors wouldn’t have to witness that kind of offensive behavior; it was not originally intended for humans. The story is simply brilliant and every bit as essential as “Bergeron.” 5 out of 5 stars
The next two are also from Welcome to the Monkey House.
“Adam” (1954) is a bit oddly placed in the futuristic section of the book. There is no mention of an “Adam” in the brief story, but it seems to refer to Adam and Eve as the first people in the Bible. Two men are sitting in a Chicago maternity ward. The big guy’s wife is having their seventh baby—all girls—and the little guy’s wife is having their first. It’s a boy and will be named after one of the man’s relatives, all of whom died in the Holocaust. I don’t quite get what Vonnegut was going after in this one, and although it isn’t bad, it’s arguably the weakest in Welcome to the Monkey House. 3 out of 5 stars
“Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” (1958). The year is 2158 and married couple Lou is 112 years old while Emerald is 93. They live in a New York skyscraper apartment in what used to be southern Connecticut with their Gramps who refuses to stop taking “anti-gerasone,” therefore he keeps living and not giving up the bed the couple would like. Overpopulation has them crammed into the apartment and the over-sized city and they can’t even get away because all the metal and gasoline have been used up and nobody has cars anymore. There is also no longer any countryside between cities for “Sunday drives” anyway. The world’s 12 billion people eat processed seaweed and sawdust. The dozens of family members living in the apartment all want to get Gramps’ private bedroom and eventually get in a huge brawl when it appears Gramps has either died or left. The police arrive, they all get thrown in jail, and then discover the secret that jail cells each have beds and wash basins. It’s marvelous. Turns out Gramps had baked up the plan to get the family jailed so he could move his bed out into the main area and watch TV from in his bed and not have any interruptions. A super strangely creative story and a great one. 5 out of 5 stars
“The Big Space Fuck” (1972) holds the claim as the first-ever short story with the F-word in its title and appeared in Vonnegut’s Palm Sunday collection that was subtitled “An Autobiographical Collage.” It’s 1987, there isn’t much left to eat anymore, and it’s become possible to sue your parents for poor parenting. People no longer care if the president or others cuss, so he names the plan to escape this dying planet the Space Fuck. A couple watching the launch on TV is given a summons by their friendly sheriff that their daughter is suing them. As they all leave the house, they are eaten by a lamprey, which has incidentally replaced the bald eagle as the national bird. This is a beautiful and silly mess of a story—true Vonnegutism. 4 out of 5 stars
“2BRO2B” (1962) is from Bagombo Snuff Box, a collection of his short stories from the 1950s and 60s that basically don’t make it into Welcome to the Monkey House. Everything is just swell on Earth because there are no more wars, prisons, or poverty. There is a cure that stops the aging process so the only issue is controlling the population. The story takes place in the Chicago Lying-In Hospital where a 56-year-old youngster and his wife are having triplets. They’ll have to select three people to report to the Federal Bureau of Termination if they want to keep all three babies. The man ends up shooting and killing a famous doctor, an exterminator nurse, and himself. An artist who is painting a mural in the same room then makes an appointment at the termination bureau. I guess he doesn’t like the world he’s seeing. The grass is always greener elsewhere. I can see why it was left out of the Monkey House, but it’s still interesting. 3.5 out of 5 stars
“Unknown Soldier” comes from a 2008 posthumous collection called Armageddon in Retrospect and is very short. A couple is awarded all kinds of prizes for having what is marketed as the first baby of the new millennium. But then the baby dies when she is six months old and nobody really cares. This was written not long before Vonnegut’s death in 2007 and seems to be a statement on the dawning of reality TV, which is helping confirm what a mad world we live in and how doomed we appear to be. It’s a minor story but typically poignant. 4 out of 5 stars
https://popculturelunchbox.substack.c...
Kurt Vonnegut Complete Stories is one of the best gifts I’ve received in recent memory (thanks Dad) because he’s one of my favorite novelists and I have yet to read most of his short stories outside of the Welcome to the Monkey House collection.
I’ve read his classic “Harrison Bergeron” many times and it’s no stretch to call it one of the greatest short stories ever. So I thought I would dig into the other six entries in the “futuristic” section of the book and share my reviews.
Like “Bergeron,” “Welcome to the Monkey House” (1968) appeared in his classic collection obviously as the title story (Welcome to the Monkey House is ranked #8 on my list of favorite books of all time). Overpopulation has roiled Earth and now there are ethical suicide parlors and ethical birth-control pills to manage the situation. The story begins in one of these parlors in Cape Cod as news spreads that the infamous “nothinghead” (the word for someone who illegally doesn’t take the birth-control pills) Billy the Poet is headed towards the parlor. It turns out that he is actually already in the parlor and successfully escapes, kidnapping one of the hostesses. They make their way through the sewers until they arrive at what was once the Kennedy compound. Billy the Poet is leading a resistance to get people to stop taking the pills, which numb the lower half of peoples’ bodies, and to again bring a bit of much-needed pleasure back into the world. The reference to the “monkey house” is that the inventor of the pill had seen monkeys playing with their own genitals in the zoo and thought it would be good to numb them so visitors wouldn’t have to witness that kind of offensive behavior; it was not originally intended for humans. The story is simply brilliant and every bit as essential as “Bergeron.” 5 out of 5 stars
The next two are also from Welcome to the Monkey House.
“Adam” (1954) is a bit oddly placed in the futuristic section of the book. There is no mention of an “Adam” in the brief story, but it seems to refer to Adam and Eve as the first people in the Bible. Two men are sitting in a Chicago maternity ward. The big guy’s wife is having their seventh baby—all girls—and the little guy’s wife is having their first. It’s a boy and will be named after one of the man’s relatives, all of whom died in the Holocaust. I don’t quite get what Vonnegut was going after in this one, and although it isn’t bad, it’s arguably the weakest in Welcome to the Monkey House. 3 out of 5 stars
“Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” (1958). The year is 2158 and married couple Lou is 112 years old while Emerald is 93. They live in a New York skyscraper apartment in what used to be southern Connecticut with their Gramps who refuses to stop taking “anti-gerasone,” therefore he keeps living and not giving up the bed the couple would like. Overpopulation has them crammed into the apartment and the over-sized city and they can’t even get away because all the metal and gasoline have been used up and nobody has cars anymore. There is also no longer any countryside between cities for “Sunday drives” anyway. The world’s 12 billion people eat processed seaweed and sawdust. The dozens of family members living in the apartment all want to get Gramps’ private bedroom and eventually get in a huge brawl when it appears Gramps has either died or left. The police arrive, they all get thrown in jail, and then discover the secret that jail cells each have beds and wash basins. It’s marvelous. Turns out Gramps had baked up the plan to get the family jailed so he could move his bed out into the main area and watch TV from in his bed and not have any interruptions. A super strangely creative story and a great one. 5 out of 5 stars
“The Big Space Fuck” (1972) holds the claim as the first-ever short story with the F-word in its title and appeared in Vonnegut’s Palm Sunday collection that was subtitled “An Autobiographical Collage.” It’s 1987, there isn’t much left to eat anymore, and it’s become possible to sue your parents for poor parenting. People no longer care if the president or others cuss, so he names the plan to escape this dying planet the Space Fuck. A couple watching the launch on TV is given a summons by their friendly sheriff that their daughter is suing them. As they all leave the house, they are eaten by a lamprey, which has incidentally replaced the bald eagle as the national bird. This is a beautiful and silly mess of a story—true Vonnegutism. 4 out of 5 stars
“2BRO2B” (1962) is from Bagombo Snuff Box, a collection of his short stories from the 1950s and 60s that basically don’t make it into Welcome to the Monkey House. Everything is just swell on Earth because there are no more wars, prisons, or poverty. There is a cure that stops the aging process so the only issue is controlling the population. The story takes place in the Chicago Lying-In Hospital where a 56-year-old youngster and his wife are having triplets. They’ll have to select three people to report to the Federal Bureau of Termination if they want to keep all three babies. The man ends up shooting and killing a famous doctor, an exterminator nurse, and himself. An artist who is painting a mural in the same room then makes an appointment at the termination bureau. I guess he doesn’t like the world he’s seeing. The grass is always greener elsewhere. I can see why it was left out of the Monkey House, but it’s still interesting. 3.5 out of 5 stars
“Unknown Soldier” comes from a 2008 posthumous collection called Armageddon in Retrospect and is very short. A couple is awarded all kinds of prizes for having what is marketed as the first baby of the new millennium. But then the baby dies when she is six months old and nobody really cares. This was written not long before Vonnegut’s death in 2007 and seems to be a statement on the dawning of reality TV, which is helping confirm what a mad world we live in and how doomed we appear to be. It’s a minor story but typically poignant. 4 out of 5 stars
September 2, 2019
It was really disappointing to revisit Vonnegut's short stories. I loved his work when I was young in the late 1960's. So many of the stories in this collection date from the 50's and reflect the stultifying conditions of the time. There are smart bits and funny bits, but I just couldn't relate. So I looked for the stories that I had connected with so deeply 50 years ago: the futurist, science fiction and speculative fiction. He hadn't written all that many as it turns out. There were a few that I enjoyed rereading, but one of his most celebrated stories: "Welcome to the Monkey House" is downright rapey. I know I read it at the time it was published, but didn't remember it all. Must have blocked it out after reading it because to have called it was in the late '60's would have made me a "prude". I know Vonnegut got on board with feminism later, but this story made me nauseous and I couldn't finish the book.
March 3, 2020
[English review down below]
🇮🇹 Ho ricevuto questo libro dall'editore in cambio di una recensione onesta.
Potessi descrivere questa raccolta con un solo aggettivo, sceglierei sicuramente geniale.
Vonnegut non si smentisce mai, nemmeno quando gli scritti solo “solo dei racconti”, come in questo caso. L’autore riesce a trovare argomenti, personaggi, luoghi, capaci di far esplorare al lettore, in lungo e in largo, la vastità e la complessità del suo stile e del suo personaggio letterario.
___
🇬🇧 I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review.
If I could describe this collection with a single adjective, I would definitely choose genius.
Vonnegut never contradicts himself, not even when there's "only little stories," as in this case. The author is able to find topics, characters, places, capable of making the reader, far and wide, explore the vastness and complexity of his writing style.
🇮🇹 Ho ricevuto questo libro dall'editore in cambio di una recensione onesta.
Potessi descrivere questa raccolta con un solo aggettivo, sceglierei sicuramente geniale.
Vonnegut non si smentisce mai, nemmeno quando gli scritti solo “solo dei racconti”, come in questo caso. L’autore riesce a trovare argomenti, personaggi, luoghi, capaci di far esplorare al lettore, in lungo e in largo, la vastità e la complessità del suo stile e del suo personaggio letterario.
___
🇬🇧 I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review.
If I could describe this collection with a single adjective, I would definitely choose genius.
Vonnegut never contradicts himself, not even when there's "only little stories," as in this case. The author is able to find topics, characters, places, capable of making the reader, far and wide, explore the vastness and complexity of his writing style.
February 6, 2019
Absolutely loved it. Can't recommend it enough.
I had no idea Vonnegut was as prolific a short story writer, but I'm so glad that he was! There are no weak stories in this compliation, and there are ones that are absolutely brilliant. Short, devoid of any unnecessary big words, pure and down-t0-earth. At over 900 pages it's a Leviathan of a book, really, but such a page-turner at the same time! Truly a masterpiece. I'm suffering from a major book hangover now. Might have to take in on vacation with me every year, until I die, to re-read it piece by piece.
I had no idea Vonnegut was as prolific a short story writer, but I'm so glad that he was! There are no weak stories in this compliation, and there are ones that are absolutely brilliant. Short, devoid of any unnecessary big words, pure and down-t0-earth. At over 900 pages it's a Leviathan of a book, really, but such a page-turner at the same time! Truly a masterpiece. I'm suffering from a major book hangover now. Might have to take in on vacation with me every year, until I die, to re-read it piece by piece.
July 8, 2021
Full Range and Explanation of Vonnegut Captivation - During a recent search, I saw that there was this new collection of all of the Vonnegut’s stories. I had read several of the compilations issued earlier but I noticed that some additional works were included. There are also introductory and sectional notes from Jerome Klinkowitz (e.g. see my review of The Vonnegut Effect ) and Dan Wakefield (e.g. see my review of Lori Rackstraw’s Love as Always, Kurt: Vonnegut as I Knew Him (Hardback) - Common ) who have written about Vonnegut and contributed to anthologies before. Furthermore, there is a forward by contemporary fiction author Dave Eggers.
The ninety-eight stories were written from 1941 to 2007 and consist of those published in magazines or collected in “Welcome to the Monkey House,” “Bagombo Snuff Box,” and other books (e.g. “Armageddon Revisited”). Also included are five previously unpublished stories from his papers in the Indiana University Lily Library, as well as a handful that were published online. The stories are organized into thematic sections, i.e. War, Women, Science, Romance, Work Ethic v. Fame and Fortune, Behavior, The Band Director, and Futuristic, preceded by the notes from Klinkowitz or Wakefield.
While acquainted with many pieces in the collection, it is good to have them together with less familiar and some new material in one place (although I did miss the incorporation of Vonnegut’s drawings). For instance, it was heartening to meet ‘Monkey House’s’ Nancy McLuhan again (how did the author happen to choose that name?) and better understand why such titles ended up as headliners for previous assemblages. Lesser known items such as the namesake of ‘Look at the Birdie,’ and ‘Between Timid and Timbuktu’ from ‘Suckers Portfolio’ were jarring and funny for me in an ironic way. Of the formerly un-published articles, I liked best “City” about a couple meeting and “And on Your Left” about scientists showcasing a new lab facility. The “Drone King,” a men’s club fable also had appeal, but like other ones just coming to print had endings that were not as impactful. The various entries and accompanying commentaries are helpful in making explicit how Vonnegut’s got his texts that succeed to work.
The Egger’s foreword differs somewhat from the one he provided for “While Mortals Sleep” (see my review of Egger’s How We Are Hungry ) although having some similar elements. For instance, his remarks about the way the moral/fable, ‘how to live life’ stories like Vonnegut’s which are rarer today remain highly entertaining and valuable. More specifically (on pages xi and xiii), he points out that “Vonnegut . . . wrote . . . like many in the 1950’s [and early 1960’s], concise cautionary tales set among burgeoning prosperity. . . [Whereas] The short story evolved to reflect the dark ambiguity of the times . . . rarely a moral tool . . . [Previously, they] reminded us what was noble and what was evil, how we should act and how we can live with dignity.” He ends his piece saying . . . “please know that this collection pulses with relevance even today . . . and provides . . . [much] reading pleasure. . . satisfaction we draw from seeing some moral clarity, some linear order brought to a knotted world . . .”
As Klinkowitz remarks while presenting the Science section (on page 273) “Today, ‘Between Timid and Timbuktu’ speaks most personally of the Kurt Vonnegut who would begin as a short story writer and after twenty years of persistent effort triumph as a best-selling author. There’s the shaping power of time . . . also the desire to manipulate it, a fascination Vonnegut explored from his earliest to latest work. It takes readers from heartbreak to hopefulness and back again, in a rhythm that Kurt likes to outline in his chalk-talk for lecture audiences eager to know how fictive narratives worked . . . possibility . . . used as an enabling device . . . another trick Vonnegut plays on readers . . . a warning of how human desire might be served.” (See my review of A Man Without a Country )
Finally, like Wakefield observes in introducing the Romance section (on page 368), many of the pieces include “. . . the O. Henry kind of ending with the surprise twist-----what Dave Egger’s calls Vonnegut’s mousetrap stories,” a story that moves the reader along through the machinery. . . of the story, until the end, when the cage is sprung and the reader is trapped. . . surprised but pleased by the unexpected but plausible finale.” Delve into the Complete Stories as a reference on the full range of Vonnegut’s works including the many that captivate and why.
The ninety-eight stories were written from 1941 to 2007 and consist of those published in magazines or collected in “Welcome to the Monkey House,” “Bagombo Snuff Box,” and other books (e.g. “Armageddon Revisited”). Also included are five previously unpublished stories from his papers in the Indiana University Lily Library, as well as a handful that were published online. The stories are organized into thematic sections, i.e. War, Women, Science, Romance, Work Ethic v. Fame and Fortune, Behavior, The Band Director, and Futuristic, preceded by the notes from Klinkowitz or Wakefield.
While acquainted with many pieces in the collection, it is good to have them together with less familiar and some new material in one place (although I did miss the incorporation of Vonnegut’s drawings). For instance, it was heartening to meet ‘Monkey House’s’ Nancy McLuhan again (how did the author happen to choose that name?) and better understand why such titles ended up as headliners for previous assemblages. Lesser known items such as the namesake of ‘Look at the Birdie,’ and ‘Between Timid and Timbuktu’ from ‘Suckers Portfolio’ were jarring and funny for me in an ironic way. Of the formerly un-published articles, I liked best “City” about a couple meeting and “And on Your Left” about scientists showcasing a new lab facility. The “Drone King,” a men’s club fable also had appeal, but like other ones just coming to print had endings that were not as impactful. The various entries and accompanying commentaries are helpful in making explicit how Vonnegut’s got his texts that succeed to work.
The Egger’s foreword differs somewhat from the one he provided for “While Mortals Sleep” (see my review of Egger’s How We Are Hungry ) although having some similar elements. For instance, his remarks about the way the moral/fable, ‘how to live life’ stories like Vonnegut’s which are rarer today remain highly entertaining and valuable. More specifically (on pages xi and xiii), he points out that “Vonnegut . . . wrote . . . like many in the 1950’s [and early 1960’s], concise cautionary tales set among burgeoning prosperity. . . [Whereas] The short story evolved to reflect the dark ambiguity of the times . . . rarely a moral tool . . . [Previously, they] reminded us what was noble and what was evil, how we should act and how we can live with dignity.” He ends his piece saying . . . “please know that this collection pulses with relevance even today . . . and provides . . . [much] reading pleasure. . . satisfaction we draw from seeing some moral clarity, some linear order brought to a knotted world . . .”
As Klinkowitz remarks while presenting the Science section (on page 273) “Today, ‘Between Timid and Timbuktu’ speaks most personally of the Kurt Vonnegut who would begin as a short story writer and after twenty years of persistent effort triumph as a best-selling author. There’s the shaping power of time . . . also the desire to manipulate it, a fascination Vonnegut explored from his earliest to latest work. It takes readers from heartbreak to hopefulness and back again, in a rhythm that Kurt likes to outline in his chalk-talk for lecture audiences eager to know how fictive narratives worked . . . possibility . . . used as an enabling device . . . another trick Vonnegut plays on readers . . . a warning of how human desire might be served.” (See my review of A Man Without a Country )
Finally, like Wakefield observes in introducing the Romance section (on page 368), many of the pieces include “. . . the O. Henry kind of ending with the surprise twist-----what Dave Egger’s calls Vonnegut’s mousetrap stories,” a story that moves the reader along through the machinery. . . of the story, until the end, when the cage is sprung and the reader is trapped. . . surprised but pleased by the unexpected but plausible finale.” Delve into the Complete Stories as a reference on the full range of Vonnegut’s works including the many that captivate and why.
October 8, 2018
Four stars or five stars, depending on what you look for.
It's a large collection of Vonnegut's short stories - from his first ones in the early 1950s, up to the early 1970s. Some of them you've probably already read, such as "Welcome to the Monkey House," and "Harrison Bergeron," but others are printed here for the first time. Each story is emblematic of a few of Vonnegut's classical themes and concerns, giving an overview of him as an author and a person. It's worth noting though, that even experienced Vonnegut readers might find one or two facets of the author that will surprise them (for better and for worse). As Vonnegut's many storm window salesmen valued hard work and elicited honesty out of others - I found a strange optimistic moralist in Vonnegut. He seemed unfamiliar to the worldweary Vonnegut I first found in "Slaughterhouse Five," and "the Sirens of Titan," and far different from the essays he wrote in later life. But the more I read, the more I appreciated it.
As with any collection of short stories, your mileage will vary. Some of Vonnegut's writings have aged poorly (it's sadly hard to hope for better in that time time period). Still others are perhaps even more timely now than they were then. Personally, "The Honor of a Newsboy," "The Euphio Broadcast," and "The Commandant's Desk" each resonate with me deeply. As did Vonnegut's unexpected and hopeful collection of stories around the passionate marching band director George Helmholtz.
Read it if you like Vonnegut. You'll probably come to like him more.
It's a large collection of Vonnegut's short stories - from his first ones in the early 1950s, up to the early 1970s. Some of them you've probably already read, such as "Welcome to the Monkey House," and "Harrison Bergeron," but others are printed here for the first time. Each story is emblematic of a few of Vonnegut's classical themes and concerns, giving an overview of him as an author and a person. It's worth noting though, that even experienced Vonnegut readers might find one or two facets of the author that will surprise them (for better and for worse). As Vonnegut's many storm window salesmen valued hard work and elicited honesty out of others - I found a strange optimistic moralist in Vonnegut. He seemed unfamiliar to the worldweary Vonnegut I first found in "Slaughterhouse Five," and "the Sirens of Titan," and far different from the essays he wrote in later life. But the more I read, the more I appreciated it.
As with any collection of short stories, your mileage will vary. Some of Vonnegut's writings have aged poorly (it's sadly hard to hope for better in that time time period). Still others are perhaps even more timely now than they were then. Personally, "The Honor of a Newsboy," "The Euphio Broadcast," and "The Commandant's Desk" each resonate with me deeply. As did Vonnegut's unexpected and hopeful collection of stories around the passionate marching band director George Helmholtz.
Read it if you like Vonnegut. You'll probably come to like him more.
June 14, 2018
At almost 1000 pages this collection hurts your wrists if you hold it up too long. But it’s worth the pain, since it’s a complete collections of a masters early career writing short fiction and the unreleased five stories in here doesn’t hurt either.
I didn’t actually read every story since I’ve already read them all in previous collections so for me the real draw here was the introductions to each category by Vonnegut scholars and friends Jerome Klinkowitz and Dan Wakefield, who offer revealing insights and backstories to each category before you dive into the stories and these introductions are fascinating on there own. The book is broken up into 8 categories ranging from War to Futuristic and having read all these stories they range from brilliant (Harrison Bergeron) to meh (A Night for Love) but the real draw is the unreleased stuff.
Of the five my favourite was “The Drone King” which is both humorous and sad in equal measures that Vonnegut was an expert at, as well as “Atrocity Story” which is a story based on the soldier who stole a teapot in “Slaughterhouse Five” but with an even more depressing and gut punch ended which is hard to believe since Slaughterhouse is particularly dark.
But the reason this book gets 5 stars is that it’s what you want if you love Vonnegut and lets be honest who are if your picking up this behemoth, it’s everything he wrote minus the novels and if that’s not enough for 5 stars I don’t know what is.
I didn’t actually read every story since I’ve already read them all in previous collections so for me the real draw here was the introductions to each category by Vonnegut scholars and friends Jerome Klinkowitz and Dan Wakefield, who offer revealing insights and backstories to each category before you dive into the stories and these introductions are fascinating on there own. The book is broken up into 8 categories ranging from War to Futuristic and having read all these stories they range from brilliant (Harrison Bergeron) to meh (A Night for Love) but the real draw is the unreleased stuff.
Of the five my favourite was “The Drone King” which is both humorous and sad in equal measures that Vonnegut was an expert at, as well as “Atrocity Story” which is a story based on the soldier who stole a teapot in “Slaughterhouse Five” but with an even more depressing and gut punch ended which is hard to believe since Slaughterhouse is particularly dark.
But the reason this book gets 5 stars is that it’s what you want if you love Vonnegut and lets be honest who are if your picking up this behemoth, it’s everything he wrote minus the novels and if that’s not enough for 5 stars I don’t know what is.
December 5, 2024
I guess this is my month for short stories (see Table for Two), although I have been slowly working my way through this book for several months now. And I think that's how short stories should be read. Take some time between them rather than racing through them like a page-turner of a novel.
As the title suggests, this is the COMPLETE collection of Vonnegut's short stories - almost 100 of them, and oh my, could the man write. Sure, some feel a little dated due to the fact that most come from the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s. And due to that, women are not always treated in a particularly enlightened manner - although there are a number of them who make sure the men receive their comeuppance (is that a term from the 1950s?).
Rather than just laying the stories out in chronological order, the editors group them by categories such as War, Romance, Behavior and even a section on a band director - a series of stories that appeared in The Saturday Evening Post. Some of the editorial introductions were superfluous, but the stories, overall, were wonderful. Most appeared in the popular magazines of the day and have nothing to do with science fiction - perhaps a surprise to many readers of some of his SF-related novels.
I highly recommend getting a copy of this collection and spending a few months with Mr. Vonnegut and his imagined corporation in Ilium NY, his aluminum door & window salesman, the band director, and the rest of his memorable characters.
As the title suggests, this is the COMPLETE collection of Vonnegut's short stories - almost 100 of them, and oh my, could the man write. Sure, some feel a little dated due to the fact that most come from the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s. And due to that, women are not always treated in a particularly enlightened manner - although there are a number of them who make sure the men receive their comeuppance (is that a term from the 1950s?).
Rather than just laying the stories out in chronological order, the editors group them by categories such as War, Romance, Behavior and even a section on a band director - a series of stories that appeared in The Saturday Evening Post. Some of the editorial introductions were superfluous, but the stories, overall, were wonderful. Most appeared in the popular magazines of the day and have nothing to do with science fiction - perhaps a surprise to many readers of some of his SF-related novels.
I highly recommend getting a copy of this collection and spending a few months with Mr. Vonnegut and his imagined corporation in Ilium NY, his aluminum door & window salesman, the band director, and the rest of his memorable characters.
August 5, 2022
Vonnegut è un mago e si sapeva, ma che lo fosse fin dai primi esperimenti non era affatto scontato. Che parli di guerra e di soldati a cui è rimasta solo la fantasia per immaginare prelibate ricette gastronomiche, o di uomini che costruiscono un frigorifero meccanico che si comporti esattamente come una moglie ideale, di rapporti amorosi sconvolti dalla pubblicazione di un libro o dai trenini elettrici, oppure di meccanismi per impedire il pensiero e diventare tutti stupidi allo stesso modo, i racconti di Vonnegut sembrano sempre veri pure se pieni di assurdità e congegni impossibili.
Quello che è sempre interessato, e si capiva anche leggendo i romanzi, erano le reazioni delle persone. Se queste poi vengono dalla scienza, dalla fantascienza, dall'amore o dalle probabilità del destino, poco importa.
Pochissima fantascienza, tantissima vita comune vista spesso con gli occhi dell'intruso (il venditore di finestre capitato per caso, il gestore di portafogli finanziari, l'installatore di qualche cosa) che si trova costretto a ficcare il naso in faccende spinose.
Due commenti sull'edizione: si faceva tranquillamente a meno della prefazione di Dave Eggers e dei commenti dei due curatori (a cui va comunque tutto il ringraziamento per la raccolta definitiva) che vanno poco oltre la selezione di qualche racconto riassunto in breve.
Quello che è sempre interessato, e si capiva anche leggendo i romanzi, erano le reazioni delle persone. Se queste poi vengono dalla scienza, dalla fantascienza, dall'amore o dalle probabilità del destino, poco importa.
Pochissima fantascienza, tantissima vita comune vista spesso con gli occhi dell'intruso (il venditore di finestre capitato per caso, il gestore di portafogli finanziari, l'installatore di qualche cosa) che si trova costretto a ficcare il naso in faccende spinose.
Due commenti sull'edizione: si faceva tranquillamente a meno della prefazione di Dave Eggers e dei commenti dei due curatori (a cui va comunque tutto il ringraziamento per la raccolta definitiva) che vanno poco oltre la selezione di qualche racconto riassunto in breve.
December 16, 2017
Reading all of Vonnegut's short stories was a nice way to finish up the year. I'd only ever read his novels before this. His short stories are a lot different. I realize the intended audience for these stories was different from his novels, and that is why many of them are so much more straightforward than his novels. But they were just as enjoyable.
If you've already read Welcome to the Monkey House (I hadn't) and his other short story collections you'll get a lot less out of this than I did. It was all new and wonderful to me. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I can't say I liked every story in the collection. I think the story Welcome to the Monkey House was probably my least favorite of the book. It's not easy to read a story that seems to condone rape, especially these days with horrible news stories of sexual violence coming out daily. I'm probably missing some dark irony in that particular story, but I found it quite uncomfortable. There didn't seem to be anything else like it in the rest of the book.
Overall, the book was very satisfying and I would recommend it to anyone who may only be familiar with his novels.
If you've already read Welcome to the Monkey House (I hadn't) and his other short story collections you'll get a lot less out of this than I did. It was all new and wonderful to me. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I can't say I liked every story in the collection. I think the story Welcome to the Monkey House was probably my least favorite of the book. It's not easy to read a story that seems to condone rape, especially these days with horrible news stories of sexual violence coming out daily. I'm probably missing some dark irony in that particular story, but I found it quite uncomfortable. There didn't seem to be anything else like it in the rest of the book.
Overall, the book was very satisfying and I would recommend it to anyone who may only be familiar with his novels.
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