Welcome To The Monkey House and Palm Sunday: An Autobiographical Collage

Description

A selection of the best sci-fi shorts from an American genius of the genre, collected alongside his most personal essays. A diabolical government asserts control by eliminating orgasms from sex in the title story of Welcome to the Monkey House - setting the tone for a collection shot through with Vonnegut's acrid wit, and his bewilderment at the corruption of humanity. From riffs on country music, George Bush, and his mother's midnight mania, to a bittersweet tribute to a dead friend, Palm Sunday demonstrates why Kurt Vonnegut is equally well known as an essayist and commentator as he is a novelist. This caustic, funny and poignant collection resonates with Vonnegut's singular voice.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was born in Indianapolis in 1922 and studied biochemistry at Cornell University. During the Second World War he served in Europe and, as a prisoner of war in Germany, witnessed the destruction of Dresden by Allied bombers, an experience which inspired the canonic war novel Slaughterhouse-Five. He is the author of thirteen other novels, which include Cat's Cradle, Jailbird, Deadeye Dick, Galapagos and Bluebeard, two collections of stories, and three non-fiction books. He died in 2007.

Vonnegut's sharp wit and intellect are tempered but not blunted by his honesty and humanity * Independent * These taut, concise stories show us the roots of a great Rube Goldberg literary career * Los Angeles Times * Wonderfully wicked * Washington Post * Twisted, funny, sci-fi and high-concept. It's a great, great book -- Rebecca Romijin-Stamos * Independent * A brilliant wacky ideas-monger * Observer *