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

(Paperback)

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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.

Reviews

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. Its a great, great book -- Rebecca Romijin-Stamos * Independent *
A brilliant wacky ideas-monger * Observer *

Author Bio

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.