Welcome to the Monkey House

I had read this collection of stories in high school and loved it. When I saw it came out in audio, I snapped it up. It's even better than I remembered it. This collection has it all: from quirky romance to thought-provoking sci-fi to biting (and sometimes hilarious) political satire.

This collection also includes one of the most disturbing short stories I've ever read: the haunting war tale "All the King's Horses".

All stories are well read, by a collection of very capable narrators.

Kurt Vonnegut?s Welcome to the Monkey House is a collection of short stories. Some of the stories are dated material and stories that might require knowledge of current events from the 1960?s to fully understand. This is not the norm for most of the stories. The stories subjects range from science fiction to American humor. I found many of the stories to be delightful, imaginative and laugh out loud funny. This audio book is a good family travel book that can be enjoyed by many listeners but some of the stories may not be appropriate for children under the age of 13 due to subject matter.

I found this collection of stories to be both mismatched and bizarre, and enjoyed them thoroughly. If you are looking for Chicken Soup for your Soul ... look elsewhere. If you are looking for a strange collection of short stories that will make think about them hours after listening, then this is for you.

In my mind, Kurt Vonnegut is the writerly equivalent to an eccentric, sarcastic, but kindly old uncle, the one you can always count on to take the stuffing out of your more puffed-up, less agile-minded relatives at family Christmas parties, while giving you a sly wink. In an important way, he was a voice for America in the 1950s and 60s, both a counterpoint to and a commenter on "mainstream" attitudes. He could do zaniness, anger, sorrow, and gentleness equally well.

This collection is a fine intro to what made the man great. A few stories fall a little flat, and a few feel dated, but most still resonate in one way or another. In style, they range from memoir to science fiction to allegory to absurd satire to"straight" fiction, which make them interesting as a prismatic breakdown of the eccentric, eclectic voice Vonnegut uses in his longer works. My own favorite story was a poignant piece about a half-black German orphan who encounters a unit of black American GIs in post-WWII Europe, and the friendship he forms with a particular soldier.

Vonnegut was one of the best authors this country every produced. This collection of short stories does not disappoint. My favorite stories within have to be Welcome to the Monkey House and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. Tony Roberts is the best of the group of narrators, but they are all great story tellers. Worth the money/credit

Really well-crafted short stories--some are extremely memorable. Very evident that they're set shortly after WWII though with all sorts of references that make them seem extremely old-fashioned now.