Customer Reviews

While Mortals Sleep: Unpublished Short Fiction

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Kurt Vonnegut died in the early part of the twenty-first century, but he belonged to the twentieth century. He could have easily died in that conflict that split the century in two; he could have perished in the flames and rubble of Dresden. He didn't, and American culture is better for it. It is better in the same way that American culture of the nineteenth century is better because a young Confederate soldier lived through that conflict that split the country in two - young Samuel Clemens.

I have always maintained the parallel between the two men. They were writers, yes. But they were more than writers. They represented the slanted moral voice that could laugh at itself and the culture. These voices were in earnest though; they lacked the facile surface-grazing of the postmodern condition. They speak a truth where writers are afraid to talk about whether you can even capitalize that `t' now.

Kurt Vonnegut died, and his was the only celebrity death I have mourned in a long time. I had long been meaning to make a pilgrimage to his neighborhood. I wanted to intercept him on the street as he walked to the post office or the local bodega to buy his cigarettes. I wanted to stop him and just say "Thank you".

Vonnegut died and left a hole in the soul of America, but he lives on. Thankfully he was prolific and lived long. There have now been three books published since his death. These books are different, but they all show why I love Kurt Vonnegut.

First published was a book of the older stuff, work for websites and highlights of his art. We were able to see the full fruit and flower of a life that spanned an eventful century. Then they put out a collection of his earlier work, including the germ of the story that became _Slaughterhouse-V_.

Now we have this collection, _While Mortals Sleep_. Eggers, in the introduction, points out that these stories are somewhat formulaic and emblematic of the middle-brow conventions of a time where middle-brow magazines published fiction. This collection is not _Dubliners_, but it doesn't need to be. We see the human, antic voice develop in this somewhat uneven batch of stories. I am glad I read it, but I am biased. I would read this man's old grocery lists - and if we wait long enough, they just might be released in hardback.

As a lover of short stories, I am always on the lookout for new collections that I haven't read. I was surprised to see that Vonnegut was an author of short stories, but also that a good number existed at his death that had never been published. I had never read Vonnegut, although I was supposed to in high school, but they changed books in that class and so we missed out on his writing. I have meant to read one of his works, but have just never gotten around to it. For those who haven't, you are missing the work of a wonderful author and I would recommend getting some of his writing.

This short story collection covers a wide range of stories. All were told with great skill and honed to be finely crafted stories. From the robot in the beginning to the money that talks near the end, these stories are carefully written to draw you in and then surprise you at the end. I would recommend this collection of stories to all, especially those that have never experienced Vonnegut's work!

These stories are recognisably Vonnegut, but they are not equal to the short stories he did sell, let alone his more mature novels. You can see the same themes and style, but also that he hasn't quite perfected his art yet. Charming, in a way, like footage of a great athlete or musician when they were just starting out.

For dedicated fans or scholars only.

Hapless, I was walking past my local bookstore, and I saw "While Mortals Sleep". I felt like it could be the right thing to get me reading again, to inspire me, and to learn from (in regard to short story craft). I was right. It's not for everybody. If you're expecting brilliance, perhaps look elsewhere, but if you're looking for insight into the human condition from a young Kurt Vonnegut, writing stories that are more there to entertain than to inform, this book is for you.

I enjoyed it thoroughly, and I think there were flashes of brilliance in these stories. I learned from these stories, in that cathartic way only a good short story will bequeath you. It was the right thing for me at the right time. I could've saved half the cost if I bought on amazon, and I could've saved a sawbuck on top of that for the kindle edition. The artwork is wonderful. The artwork is great and presented in black and white and the odd gray, which is perfect if you have a kindle. Definitely don't hesitate to buy this for the kindle if you have one.

I have a Kindle DX. I'm going to open my moleskine cover and get started on Cat's Cradle.

Those who come to this collection expecting it to have the style and satirical tone of later Vonnegut will likely be disappointed. But if you love the plain sentiment of his early stories (as I do) then this is a treasure box, and fans will get a kick out of seeing many of his familiar themes in their early forms. The better ones here certainly stand up to many of those familiar to readers of 'Welcome to the Monkey House'. None of the stories are his very best, but hey, a lesser Vonnegut story still whips the pants off of most anything else.

Kurt Vonnegut passed away in April of 2007, but his short story collection titled While Mortals Sleep was published posthumously in this year, 2011. When I saw this book lying on a table titled "New Fiction" at the book store, I immediately recognized it as being a Vonnegut work and was nothing short of elated. I fell in love with Vonnegut as an author the very first time I read him. I have shared him with my brother and I wear one of his warnings for society on my bag everywhere I go. My first Vonnegut read was The Sirens of Titan, which could not be more appropriate as it was also his first novel. While Mortals Sleep contains 16 short stories that were written early in Vonnegut's career, before he became a must-read novelist. Despite this, they are much related to his later works which were often classified as science fiction, satires, and social commentaries.

Picking up While Mortals Sleep was like taking a time machine back into Vonnegut's writing, and I would not have wanted to read him any other way. Reading his heavier novels and then picking up these more innocent stories showed a lighter, but still very subtly deep side of one of my favorite authors. For those who find themselves having a harder time getting into his complex science fiction plots, though, I do recommend reading his short stories. I guarantee that this is an easy way to fall in love with Vonnegut, and to see his efforts at advocating for people to make positive changes before we destroy ourselves and the world.

The stories range in length from eight to 22 pages, but in this short time, I, as a reader, felt extremely invested in his incredibly unique characters. Each story generally focuses on a moral lesson of one main character who Vonnegut introduces by throwing readers immediately into their lives and their moral dilemmas. By the end of the story, Vonnegut has solved the moral dilemma without even having to write it down in black and white. All of these stories are about the simple things in life, but more importantly, the stories never end without a sudden, imaginative, feel-good twist, and this book is definitely one that leaves its readers feeling good. I would normally not choose a short story collection over a novel, but Vonnegut's short stories are so captivating that they do not read like separate stories, but rather like a novel in which several different characters in different places at different times are all working toward some common goal. While Mortals Sleep is no doubt a fast read, but it is well worth a spot on the bookshelf. I also enjoyed the forward by Dave Eggers, also a lifelong Vonnegut fan. He discusses Vonnegut's life trials as giving him the right to be a moralist and to encourage people to be better through his writing. Vonnegut has been known for making very important social comments and points in a very straightforward manner, and these short stories definitely reflect this.

I especially recommend the title story, "While Mortals Sleep," which falls near the middle of the collection. It is about a man, Fred Hackleman, who is the editor of a newspaper. Hackleman is always interested in the next big story to print. He is a modern day Ebenezer Scrooge, hating Christmas as it reflects the influence of capitalism on the world and gets in the way of finding real news. He is forced to judge a Christmas light contest, and the narrator of the story, one of Hackleman's employees, tells readers the incredibly humorous and warming events that take place. It should leave you with goose bumps. Vonnegut has woven cynicism, commentary on capitalism, humor, and unexpected Christmas carols into this story quite successfully, and all in just 22 pages. All of the stories contain these elements, without Christmas carols of course, and with other things such as family matters and unexpected bravery. Some of my other favorite stories were "Jenny," "Hundred-Dollar Kisses," "Ruth," and "Out, Brief Candle."

What is even more satisfying about this book is that it is filled with Kurt Vonnegut's own illustrations, including the cover. Although the titles and illustrations do not always make sense, or fit into a tidy box, they are giftedly Vonnegut. They beg the reader to dig a little in order to find the deeper meaning and to use their imaginations and thinking powers; they also encourage a good laugh every now and again. These stories will stick with you long after you have read them just as Vonnegut has stuck with the world of literature four years after his death, and rightfully so.

I was elated when I discovered that another Kurt Vonnegut book was to be released, and of course, this collection of unpublished shorts is right up there with his other wonderful writing. The first story in particular,Jenny, is pure Vonnegut: about a brilliant inventor-type who creates a refrigerator in the form of a woman! So Freudian, and yet far more clever than even Freud himself. Man, if we just had 100 Vonneguts on this planet, we would be so much more sane.

What did we loose when we lost Kurt vonnegut, a moral voice.

"When you have fought in WWII, when you have survived Dresden, when you have supported your family and also taken in the four orphaned children of your sister (after she and her husband died only days apart), then you've got some credit in the moral-authority bank." -David Eggers While Moral Sleep Introduction

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was a great writer and an honestly good man who bargained in good faith with whatever came next and didn't blamed any of his tragedy or triumphs on anything other than luck good or bad. Good for him. My gods he's entertaining to read and his stories can also do a lot of good.

Purchased as Christmas gift for my son. He was thrilled with it. He's a big Vonnegut fan and had not seen this book before.

These sixteen extremely short stories were unpublished works by the late great Kurt Vonnegut written before his renowned novels. Although overall they display a tyro learning his craft, each shows the author's prime theme of ordinary people struggling to find a place in a cold cynical technological tundra. The title entry focuses on newspaper editor Fred Hackleman, who hates capitalistic Christmas who intrudes on big stories, but he is trapped into judging a holiday lights contest. In Kafkaesque Montezuma Forge and Foundry Company "Girl Pool" stenographer Amy Lou transcribes from her Dictaphone a dying killer's plea for help. George, the former researcher who is now a lonely traveling salesman at General Household Appliances Company, has converted a refrigerator into "Jenny" the robot with the face of his former wife. Earl the builder liked to have "His hand on the Throttle" of miniature trains until Ella causes a train wreck. Though not quite as polished, graveyard humorous or as dark as Cat's Cradle or Slaughterhouse Five, these entries are fun timely cynicisms of modern day life in which technology has made things easier (including war - as a POW Dresden was imprinted as an icon in Mr. Vonnegut's brain) yet devour the individuals who find the price of leisure being loneliness

Harriet Klausner