Kurt Vonnegut

The short story, "Harrison Bergeron", was the first Vonnegut I ever read. I was in 10th grade English class and, as a fast reader, I finished before my classmates. When I reached the end of the story, where Diana Moon Glampers bursts in with the ten-gauge double-barrel shotgun, I burst out laughing. I remember Ms. Meidema looking up sharply from her desk, ready to chastise me for the disruption, then, seeing the sparkle in my eyes, she realized that I had enjoyed the story, that I "got it".

Over the following years, I read The Sirens of Titan, Breakfast of Champions, Cat's Cradle and Slapstick, among many others by this greatest of 20th Century writers. If you have not read Kurt Vonnegut, please go to the library right now and pick up one of his novels or short story collections. You will laugh out loud and you may even cry a little. Yes, he's that good... and better.


(Click the link above or here to read "Harrison Bergeron" from Welcome to the Monkey House.)