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Welcome to the Monkey House

By: Kurt Vonnegut
Narrated by: David Strathairn, Maria Tucci, Bill Irwin, Tony Roberts, Dylan Baker
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Publisher's summary

Kurt Vonnegut is a master of contemporary American Literature. His black humor, satiric voice, and incomparable imagination first captured America's attention in The Sirens of Titan in 1959 and established him as a "true artist" ( The New York Times) with Cat's Cradle in 1963. He is, as Graham Greene has declared, "one of the best living American writers".

Welcome to the Monkey House is a collection of Kurt Vonnegut's shorter works. Originally printed in publications as diverse as The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and The Atlantic Monthly, what these superb stories share is Vonnegut's audacious sense of humor and extraordinary range of creative vision.

©1950 -1968 by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (P)2006 HarperCollins Publishers
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Featured Article: The Most Stellar Sci-Fi Authors of All Time


Science fiction is a genre as diverse as you can imagine. There are stories that take place in deep space, often depicting teams exploring or running away from something; stories that focus on life at the most cellular level, such as a pandemic tale; and stories that take place in times that feel similar to our own. Depicting themes of existentialism, philosophy, hubris, and personal and historical trauma, sci-fi has a cadre of topics and moods.

What listeners say about Welcome to the Monkey House

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One of the best authors [FULL STOP]

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

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Quirky fun!

Loved all the short stories and will listen again. The narrator’s were entertaining as well.

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Incredible stories and performances

The incredible quality of both the short stories and the reading/performances by an all star cast of actors makes it one of the most memorable audio books I have ever had the pleasure to listen to.

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Variety of stories

I had never listened to this author before. I will continue to search for his work.

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I love this book, have for years, but the audio co

I love this book and have for years, the narration could have been much better.

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He was a real master of the short story

It's interesting to listen to a classic sci-if short story collection knowing that these stories helped inspire the newer ones. I kept getting into my head and playing Wallace Shawn from Princess Pride about predicting the endings. Everybody should read this collection. It will make your skin fireproof and indestructible.

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Great revisit to my youth

Growing up, my mom kept a library including Kurt Vonnegut & Ray Bradbury. I used to read them but it’s been 50 years. I enjoyed the revisit to his wit & some of his prophetic passages were accurate, at least in government’s overreach & the people’s gullibility in the absence of a relationship with God. “Harrison Bergeron” was especially so.

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Everything From Sci/Fi to RomCom At Its Best

Any additional comments?

This as an absolutely AMAZING collection in one single book.
"Welcome to the Monkey House" proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Vonnegut is truly a master of the medium when it comes to the short story.
And although this book is under the "Sci-Fi/Fantasy" category on Audible, its genres span almost everything out there. A story set in the distant future will be followed by a playful romantic comedy, in turn followed by dark social satire. It's fantastic.

I honestly cannot recommend this book enough. It is a perfect introduction to Vonnegut as an author for those who aren't familiar with him.

Nearly every one of the many stories in the collection is pure gold, and those that aren't are still good enough that they don't detract from the book's overall impact.

Get this book.

9.43 / 10.00

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Delightful

It takes great skill to craft a narrative that is at once amusing, relatable and cerebral. In this collection of short stories, Kurt Vonnegut does it 25 times in a row with seeming effortlessness. This was a delightful read performed perfectly.

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cool blast from the past

I enjoyed some stories more than others. The voice work was excellent by all readers.

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