Welcome to the Monkey House is a collection of 25 short stories written by Kurt Vonnegut, published by Delacorte in August 1968. The stories range from wartime epics to futuristic thrillers, given with satire and Vonnegut's unique edge. The stories are often intertwined and convey the same underlying messages on human nature and mid-twentieth century society.
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Kurt Vonnegut |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Speculative fiction • literary fiction |
| Publisher | Delacorte Press |
Publication date | 1968 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 352 pp |
| ISBN | 0-385-33350-1 |
Contents
edit- "Where I Live" (Venture- Traveler's World, October 1964)[1]
- "Harrison Bergeron" (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October 1961)
- "Who Am I This Time?" (The Saturday Evening Post, 16 December 1961)[1]
- "Welcome to the Monkey House" (Playboy, January 1968)
- "Long Walk to Forever" (Ladies' Home Journal, August 1960)[1]
- "The Foster Portfolio" (Collier's Magazine, 8 September 1951)[1]
- "Miss Temptation" (The Saturday Evening Post, April 21, 1956)[1]
- "All the King's Horses" (Collier's Magazine, 10 Feb 1951)[1]
- "Tom Edison's Shaggy Dog" (Collier's Magazine, 14 March 1953)[1]
- "New Dictionary" (The New York Times, October 1966)[1]
- "Next Door" (Cosmopolitan, April 1955)[1]
- "More Stately Mansions" (Collier's Magazine, 22 December 1951)[1]
- "The Hyannis Port Story" (Set to be published in The Saturday Evening Post, it was removed when John F Kennedy was assassinated)[citation needed]
- "D.P." (Ladies' Home Journal, August 1953)[1]
- "Report on the Barnhouse Effect" (Collier's Magazine, 11 February 1950)[2]
- "The Euphio Question" (Collier's Magazine, 12 May 1951)[2]
- "Go Back to Your Precious Wife and Son" (Ladies' Home Journal, July 1962)[1]
- "Deer in the Works" (Esquire, April 1955)[1]
- "The Lie" (The Saturday Evening Post 24 February 1962)[1]
- "Unready to Wear" (Galaxy Science Fiction, April 1953)
- "The Kid Nobody Could Handle" (The Saturday Evening Post, 24 September 1955)[1]
- "The Manned Missiles" (Cosmopolitan, July 1958)[1]
- "EPICAC" (Collier's Magazine, 25 November 1950)[2]
- "Adam" (Cosmopolitan, April 1954)[1]
- "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" (Galaxy Science Fiction, January 1954)[1]
The story "Der Arme Dolmetscher" is listed in the book's copyright notice as being included in this collection, but it was ultimately omitted, and does not appear in any edition of Welcome To The Monkey House. It does appear in Vonnegut's later collection Bagombo Snuff Box.
Adaptations in other media
editIn 1970, Christopher Sergel adapted the collection of stories into a play, also called Welcome to the Monkey House.[3] The play was staged at Carolina Actors Studio Theatre in 2010. In 1991, a short-lived television series titled Kurt Vonnegut's Monkey House aired on the United States Showtime channel. It was based on Vonnegut's stories and hosted by Vonnegut himself.[4]
"Who Am I This Time?" was made into a 53-minute television movie in 1982 starring Christopher Walken and Susan Sarandon and directed by Jonathan Demme.
The story "D.P." has been adapted to screen twice. Vonnegut co-wrote the first adaptation, "Auf Wiedersehen", which aired on October 5, 1958, as part of the Ronald Reagan-hosted television anthology series General Electric Theater. The episode starred Sammy Davis Jr. The second adaptation, "Displaced Person", aired on May 6, 1985, as part of the television anthology series American Playhouse,[5] meeting with critical success.[6] The episode was directed by Alan Bridges and starred Stan Shaw, and won an Emmy for "Outstanding Children's program" for its producers, including Barry Levinson.[7]
References in popular culture
edit- "Happiness By The Kilowatt", a song by Canadian post-hardcore band Alexisonfire, makes several references to "The Euphio Question".
- The Philadelphia-area based hardcore/post-hardcore band This Day Forward included a mostly instrumental song called "Euphio Question" on their 2003 release In Response.
- American hardcore band Snapcase has a song titled "Harrison Bergeron" on their 1997 album Progression Through Unlearning.
- American rock band The Dandy Warhols's fourth studio album is called Welcome to the Monkey House.
- The character Mae rather appropriately picks up a copy of "Welcome to the Monkey House" in the film Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Other short story collections
edit- This collection includes all but one of the twelve stories in Vonnegut's previous short story collection Canary in a Cat House, published in 1961.
- Other short stories Vonnegut wrote during the same time period are collected in a second anthology, Bagombo Snuff Box, published in 1999.
Notes
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-01-18. Retrieved 2009-06-19.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b c Jerome Klinkowitz The Vonnegut effect pp.19-22
- ^ Comedy by Christopher Sergel, based on short stories by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
- ^ Monkey House at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Displaced Person at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ "TV Review; A Vonnegut Story: Displaced Person" by John J. O'Connor
- ^ "Outstanding Children's Program". 37th Primetime Emmy Awards: September 22, 1985. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 22 February 2016.