Synopses & Reviews
This is vintage Vonnegut: short stories never-before collected or published in book form. They are from the era of the Golden Age of magazines: a pre-television time when publications such as
The Saturday Evening Post,
Collier's,
Argosy, and others reigned supreme as Americans' entertainment choice.
Before that Golden Age drew to a close half a century ago, a young PR man at General Electric sold his first short story to one of the publications. By the time he'd sold his third, Vonnegut quit GE to join the likes of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Faulkner to write short stories at fifteen-hundred dollars a piece.
Vonnegut himself has selected the best of these early stories for this audio collection, and has written a new preface and afterword for the occasion. Now listeners can relive the genesis of the master. Stories such as "Cruise of the Jolly Roger," "The Powder Blue Dragon," "Hal Irwin's Magic Lamp," and "Bagombo Snuff Box" return us to the beginning of a literary voice that's sure to endure forever. Bagombo Snuff Box, the missing pieces of the master's collection, is a ready-made classic for Vonnegut fans new and old.
Review
It's a Vonnegut fan's dream: un-collected gems of his early fiction in audio form. Vonnegut handpicked these rare pieces from his writings of the 1950s and 1960s. Already, his satirical sense of the absurd is present, not only in the bizarrely named title piece, but also in such stories as "The Boy Who Hated Girls" and "Thanasphere." Reader Alexander Marshall brings to the stories the perfect balance of a suave announcer's voice (listeners can easily imagine these stories being presented on radio) and a wide range of character voices that add incredible color to the zany characters only Kurt Vonnegut could create. Audiofile
Review
"Vonnegut's voice is one of the most original in popular American fiction."—San Francisco Chronicle
Synopsis
In the 1950s and early 1960s, before television reigned preeminent, Kurt Vonnegut's short stories appeared frequently in popular magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's and Argosy. Filled with unforgettable characters, humor and satire, these stories offer a rare glimpse into a developing master of fiction. Vonnegut himself selected the best of his early stories for this audio release, including "Thanasphere," "Souvenir," "Bagombo Snuff Box," "The Boy Who Hated Girls," "Lovers Anonymous," and more.
About the Author
While a young PR man at General Electric, KURT VONNEGUT (1922-2007) sold his first short story to one of the many literary publications that were thriving then. By the time he'd sold his third, Vonnegut quit GE to join the likes of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Faulkner to write short stories at fifteen-hundred dollars a piece, before his first novel, Player Piano, launched his remarkable career as a countercultural novelist.