{"product_id":"while-mortals-sleep-by-kurt-vonnegut","title":"'While Mortals Sleep' by Kurt Vonnegut","description":"\u003ch4\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA collection of sixteen previously unpublished short stories by Kurt Vonnegut, written early in his career. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWritten before Vonnegut's better-known novels, these stories already contain much of the humour, social criticism and philosophical unease that would come to define his fiction. In \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Epizootic\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, an epidemic of suicides becomes a grotesque commentary on wealth and economic desperation, while \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWith His Hand on the Throttle\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e examines the compulsive pursuit of expansion and control. Everything is set largely in the world of mid-century offices, small towns, factories and domestic interiors, the stories follow insurance executives, ambitious businessmen, frustrated workers and assorted eccentrics negotiating the absurdities of capitalism, conformity, love and personal ambition. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAccompanied by Vonnegut's own illustrations and a foreword by Dave Eggers, the collection offers an interesting look at a writer developing his particular combination of satire, tenderness and suspicion toward the American dream.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDelacorte Press, 2011. First edition hardcover with illustrated dust jacket. Very good condition, with minor shelf wear.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"bower books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67700124876883,"sku":null,"price":18.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0689\/0268\/2707\/files\/womenintranslation-2026-10-15T155503.107.png?v=1792040121","url":"https:\/\/bowerbooks.com\/products\/while-mortals-sleep-by-kurt-vonnegut","provider":"bower books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}