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Welcome to the Monkey House

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Welcome to the Monkey House
First edition cover
AuthorKurt Vonnegut
LanguageEnglish
GenreSpeculative fictionliterary fiction
PublisherDelacorte Press
Publication date
1968
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint
Pages352 pp
ISBN0-385-33350-1

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.

Contents

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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

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In 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]

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  • "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

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  • 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

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  1. ^ 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)
  2. ^ a b c Jerome Klinkowitz The Vonnegut effect pp.19-22
  3. ^ Comedy by Christopher Sergel, based on short stories by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
  4. ^ Monkey House at the Internet Movie Database
  5. ^ Displaced Person at the Internet Movie Database
  6. ^ "TV Review; A Vonnegut Story: Displaced Person" by John J. O'Connor
  7. ^ "Outstanding Children's Program". 37th Primetime Emmy Awards: September 22, 1985. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 22 February 2016.