I grew up on Vonnegut. I always loved his humor. Slaughterhouse Five is one of my favorite books. Having recently read a couple of collections of short stories, I now appreciate Kurt Vonnegut's brilliance anew.
This collection of short stories is consistent. Just about every story is clever and satisfying.
"Harrison Bergeron" is a great story about the ludicrous attempt to try to force everyone to be "equal" - not in regard to human rights or opportunity, but in regard to talent and skill.
In "Welcome to the Monkey House," a solution is devised to stop overpopulation through the invention of a pill that takes the pleasure out of sex. This is deemed ethical: "The pills were ethical because they didn't interfere with a person's ability to reproduce, which would have been unnatural and immoral. All the pills did was take every bit of pleasure out of sex. Thus did science and morals go hand in hand" (28). The moralists were afraid that "society would collapse if people used sex for nothing but pleasure" (35).
In "The Euphio Question" a euphoriaphone is discovered that transmits a signal that keeps people completely and blissfully happy. The problem: society falls apart as people indulge in happiness. To further prove Vonnegut's brilliance, I finally have a rhyme for "orange," that is, "door hinge." This is a great collection of short stories!
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