Kurt, I've missed you.
It's been a few months since I've read his immortal musings, owing to some personal strife, which, in fact, is when you need him the most. In truth, I'm bearing down on the last of his (officially) published works, so I'm wondering if the avoidance is at least in part due to my reluctance to reach the end of the road, one officially begun in 2019, when I started to re-read the entire corpus of Kurt Vonnegut's published works. I've held off on "The Sirens of Titan," as I want that one to be the last I read... a fitting way to conclude a life-changing journey with someone I wish I had been better acquainted with long before now. I know I wouldn't have appreciated his incisive wit and cynicism in my youth, however, so it's probably better this way.
So, the monkey house. Kurt starts off with one of my favorite quotes ever, by Thoreau:
Beware of all enterprises
that require new clothes.
Couldn't have said it better myself.
This is a collection of some of Kurt's most beloved short stories, mostly from the 1950s and 60s, with an initial publication date of 1968. They run the gamut from poignant vignettes that could have been inspired by the author's collective memories, to the sci-fi variety rivaling those of his buddy Isaac Asimov (a very famous one, entitled "Harrison Bergeron," about the handicapper general, is included here, which also seems to have been stock in high-school readers, which is where I first encountered it - that may have been my first exposure to Kurt Vonnegut's works, actually).
Most actually appeared in other publications, which somewhat explains the variety, intended to appeal to readers of varying interests. "Harrison Bergeron," for example, appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, with others featuring in Ladies Home Journal, Collier's Magazine, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, The Saturday Evening Post and The New York Times, and even Playboy (1968). Quirky, fantastical and always profound, imbued with his visions of the world, both inspiring and dystopic, this volume is a precursor to what was to come.
I have to say I'm somewhat pleased that efforts to take Kurt's works mass-market have largely met with failure. I wish more people read him, but I hate to see profound works dumbed down for the masses. Not that efforts have not been made, but the results have turned out largely how you might expect: this collection of stories was made into a TV series in 1991, entitled "Kurt Vonnegut's Monkey House," which aired on Showtime, but, of course, that didn't last long. It's impossible to make these stories palatable to the masses, because there's just so much depth beneath the surface, which most people won't get. A few have met with critical success, such as the 1970 play, and a few of the stories, including "D.P." (displaced person) in 1985.
It's difficult to write at great length on this kind of collection, so I'll just sum up in saying that all of the stories herein in some way feature the moral lessons, or warnings, that Kurt's other writings have: they explore the mundane and often dark side of human nature, exposing the multi-faceted foibles and frailties of mankind for all to see, which is, perhaps the point. Our own natures are often our own worst enemies, but that's something which we all share and can relate to, resulting in a oneness that is perhaps sometimes overlooked.
Another prominent theme of this collection seems to be an uncomfortable, disquieting fear and perhaps loathing (or at least profound discomfort) of modernity, especially technological advancement, which is manifest in his numerous dystopic short stories which date from the 50s and 60s. I've always considered Kurt something of a Luddite, what with his love of life's simple pleasures, and it's pretty much confirmed herein. Considering that the post-war world was still coming to terms with the atomic age, that's perhaps not surprising for someone as profoundly affected with combat PTSD as Kurt was, who had to wonder with new horror at what future lie ahead - if any.
And I'm discovering now that this book wraps up my 2022 Reading Challenge... and what a way to end! I didn't get through nearly as many as in previous years, but hoping to make up some ground in 2023, with a book a week. That should be a reasonable goal for me and my new reading glasses!
-------------------
The public health authorities never mention the main reason many Americans have for smoking heavily, which is that smoking is a fairly sure, fairly honorable form of suicide.
I like to say that the 51st state is the state of denial.
-To The Associated Press, 2005
Who was it, Gore Vidal? Who said, "I don't care how original you think you are, somebody somewhere, at some point, has already said it better than you."
It's been a few months since I've read his immortal musings, owing to some personal strife, which, in fact, is when you need him the most. In truth, I'm bearing down on the last of his (officially) published works, so I'm wondering if the avoidance is at least in part due to my reluctance to reach the end of the road, one officially begun in 2019, when I started to re-read the entire corpus of Kurt Vonnegut's published works. I've held off on "The Sirens of Titan," as I want that one to be the last I read... a fitting way to conclude a life-changing journey with someone I wish I had been better acquainted with long before now. I know I wouldn't have appreciated his incisive wit and cynicism in my youth, however, so it's probably better this way.
So, the monkey house. Kurt starts off with one of my favorite quotes ever, by Thoreau:
Beware of all enterprises
that require new clothes.
Couldn't have said it better myself.
This is a collection of some of Kurt's most beloved short stories, mostly from the 1950s and 60s, with an initial publication date of 1968. They run the gamut from poignant vignettes that could have been inspired by the author's collective memories, to the sci-fi variety rivaling those of his buddy Isaac Asimov (a very famous one, entitled "Harrison Bergeron," about the handicapper general, is included here, which also seems to have been stock in high-school readers, which is where I first encountered it - that may have been my first exposure to Kurt Vonnegut's works, actually).
Most actually appeared in other publications, which somewhat explains the variety, intended to appeal to readers of varying interests. "Harrison Bergeron," for example, appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, with others featuring in Ladies Home Journal, Collier's Magazine, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, The Saturday Evening Post and The New York Times, and even Playboy (1968). Quirky, fantastical and always profound, imbued with his visions of the world, both inspiring and dystopic, this volume is a precursor to what was to come.
I have to say I'm somewhat pleased that efforts to take Kurt's works mass-market have largely met with failure. I wish more people read him, but I hate to see profound works dumbed down for the masses. Not that efforts have not been made, but the results have turned out largely how you might expect: this collection of stories was made into a TV series in 1991, entitled "Kurt Vonnegut's Monkey House," which aired on Showtime, but, of course, that didn't last long. It's impossible to make these stories palatable to the masses, because there's just so much depth beneath the surface, which most people won't get. A few have met with critical success, such as the 1970 play, and a few of the stories, including "D.P." (displaced person) in 1985.
It's difficult to write at great length on this kind of collection, so I'll just sum up in saying that all of the stories herein in some way feature the moral lessons, or warnings, that Kurt's other writings have: they explore the mundane and often dark side of human nature, exposing the multi-faceted foibles and frailties of mankind for all to see, which is, perhaps the point. Our own natures are often our own worst enemies, but that's something which we all share and can relate to, resulting in a oneness that is perhaps sometimes overlooked.
Another prominent theme of this collection seems to be an uncomfortable, disquieting fear and perhaps loathing (or at least profound discomfort) of modernity, especially technological advancement, which is manifest in his numerous dystopic short stories which date from the 50s and 60s. I've always considered Kurt something of a Luddite, what with his love of life's simple pleasures, and it's pretty much confirmed herein. Considering that the post-war world was still coming to terms with the atomic age, that's perhaps not surprising for someone as profoundly affected with combat PTSD as Kurt was, who had to wonder with new horror at what future lie ahead - if any.
And I'm discovering now that this book wraps up my 2022 Reading Challenge... and what a way to end! I didn't get through nearly as many as in previous years, but hoping to make up some ground in 2023, with a book a week. That should be a reasonable goal for me and my new reading glasses!
-------------------
The public health authorities never mention the main reason many Americans have for smoking heavily, which is that smoking is a fairly sure, fairly honorable form of suicide.
I like to say that the 51st state is the state of denial.
-To The Associated Press, 2005
Who was it, Gore Vidal? Who said, "I don't care how original you think you are, somebody somewhere, at some point, has already said it better than you."
Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
