Welcome to the Monkey House
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
- "Where I Live"
- "Harrison Bergeron"
- "Who Am I This Time?"
- "Welcome to the Monkey House"
- "Long Walk to Forever"
- "The Foster Portfolio"
- "Miss Temptation"
- "All the King's Horses"
- "Tom Edison's Shaggy Dog"
- "New Dictionary"
- "Next Door"
- "More Stately Mansions"
- "The Hyannis Port Story"
- "D.P."
- "Report on the Barnhouse Effect"
- "The Euphio Question"
- "Go Back to Your Precious Wife and Son"
- "Deer in the Works"
- "The Lie"
- ""
- "The Kid Nobody Could Handle"
- "The Manned Missiles"
- "EPICAC"
- "Adam"
- "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow"
Adaptations in other media
In 1970, Christopher Sergel adapted the collection of stories into a play, also called Welcome to the Monkey House. 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."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, meeting with critical success. 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.
"Deer in the Works" was made into a 25-minute short film in 1980 by Barr Films. It starred Dennis Dugan as David Potter as well as a cast that included Richard Kline, Gordon Jump, Bob Basso and Bill Walker. It was written by Brent Maddock and S. S. Wilson and directed by Ron Underwood.
Other short story collections
- 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.