Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction

by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

American author, Kurt Vonnegut's career spanned over 50 years. Bagombo Snuff Box collects short stories initially written and published in post-war periodicals, almost all in the 1950s. Vonnegut re-wrote three stories, including "The Powder Blue Dragon" and "Hal Irwin's Magic Lamp." There are twenty-three short stories, plus Vonnegut's reflection over the time spent writing them.

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1999

About the author

Kurt Vonnegut, Junior was an American novelist, satirist, and most recently, graphic artist. He was recognized as New York State Author for 2001-2003.

He was born in Indianapolis, later the setting for many of his novels. He attended Cornell University from 1941 to 1943, where he wrote a column for the student newspaper, the Cornell Daily Sun. Vonnegut trained as a chemist and worked as a journalist before joining the U.S. Army and serving in World War II.

After the war, he attended University of Chicago as a graduate student in anthropology and also worked as a police reporter at the City News Bureau of Chicago. He left Chicago to work in Schenectady, New York in public relations for General Electric. He attributed his unadorned writing style to his reporting work.

His experiences as an advance scout in the Battle of the Bulge, and in particular his witnessing of the bombing of Dresden, Germany whilst a prisoner of war, would inform much of his work. This event would also form the core of his most famous work, Slaughterhouse-Five, the book which would make him a millionaire. This acerbic 200-page book is what most people mean when they describe a work as "Vonnegutian" in scope.

Vonnegut was a self-proclaimed humanist and socialist (influenced by the style of Indiana's own Eugene V. Debs) and a lifelong supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The novelist is known for works blending satire, black comedy and science fiction, such as Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), Cat's Cradle (1963), and Breakfast of Champions (1973)

Reviews

[Shan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* rounded up. Listened. Narrated terrifically by Alexander Marshall. The intro and note at the end was read by Kurt Vonnegut and they were surprisingly personal. The intro was so touching and appreciative. Seymour Lawrence you are, indeed, in heaven.
This is a collection of a of short stories written in the 50's and early 60's which were published in magazines. The stories reflect that time. IMO the first story "Thanasphere" about an astronaut sent to orbit earth on a secret mission but discovers that space is inhabited by voices of the dead and the last story "Bagombo Snuffbox" which I will not give away cuz there's a nice twist to enjoy - are the best. I'd be interested in what others liked best and why should anyone read this.
I love short stories. If you do to, give this book a listen. It can be done in a night if you speed up the narration. I cooked a little, cleaned a little and painted some birds and by the time I was done, the book was over. A nice little palate cleanser if you have been plowing through a long book or just need a little mind escape.

[Rolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

The central characters talk about how they feel about each other, and how they use distant places and exotic things (like the titular “Bagombo Snuff Box”) as representations of their own desires for something more.