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Kurt Vonnegut
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Sucker's Portfolio: A Collection of Previously Unpublished Writing Kindle Edition

by Kurt Vonnegut (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 out of 5 stars 1,722 ratings
Available to readers for the first time, Sucker’s Portfolio showcases a collection of seven never before published works from Kurt Vonnegut, one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. Short, sardonic, and dark, these six brief fiction stories and one non-fiction piece are consummate Vonnegut with piercing satire and an eye for life’s obscene inanity. Also available for the first time is an unfinished science-fiction short story, included in the appendix.

These stories trace trivial human lives and mundane desires, which is precisely where Vonnegut’s inimitable perspective as a humanist shines, illuminating his alternating hopeful and dismal outlook, although undoubtedly focusing on the latter. Here as in his greatest novels, Vonnegut’s writing takes us to the darkest corners of the human soul and with wit and humor, manages to remind us of our potential to be something greater.

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This book was initially released in episodes as a Kindle Serial. All episodes are now available for immediate download as a complete book. Learn more about Kindle Serials

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  1. ISBN-13
    978-1611091885
  2. Publisher
    Amazon Publishing
  3. Accessibility
    Learn more
  4. Publication date
    November 20, 2012
  5. Language
    English
  6. File size
    691 KB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) is one of the most beloved American writers of the twentieth century. Vonnegut began his career as a science fiction writer, and his early novels – Player Piano and The Sirens of Titan – were categorized as such even as they appealed to an audience far beyond the reach of the category. In the 1960s, Vonnegut became closely associated with the Baby Boomer generation, a writer on that side, so to speak. Scholars believe that Vonnegut’s reputation (like Mark Twain’s) will grow steadily through the decades as his work continues to increase in relevance and new connections are formed, new insights made.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00A7HGHDK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amazon Publishing
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 20, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 691 KB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 158 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1611091885
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 1,722 ratings

About the author

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Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut

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Kurt Vonnegut was a writer, lecturer and painter. He was born in Indianapolis in 1922 and studied biochemistry at Cornell University. During WWII, as a prisoner of war in Germany, he witnessed the destruction of Dresden by Allied bombers, an experience which inspired Slaughterhouse Five. First published in 1950, he went on to write fourteen novels, four plays, and three short story collections, in addition to countless works of short fiction and nonfiction. He died in 2007.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
1,722 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book's short stories interesting, with one review noting how they flow in a mix of narrative and conversation. The writing is well-crafted, making it a good bedside read before sleep, and customers appreciate its thought-provoking nature and value for money. They praise the author's iconic status, and one review highlights how the pieces cleverly connect different stories. While many customers find the writing classic Vonnegut, some find it terribly boring.

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84 customers mention "Story quality"69 positive15 negative

Customers enjoy the short stories in this collection, noting that they flow in a mix of narrative and conversation and seem very believable.

"It's a nice collection of short stories. An interesting introductory dive into Vonnegut's work. Vonnegut has a nice qick flow to his writing...." Read more

"...I'm equally sad, though, because it is such a fantastic story that is cut off literally in the middle of a sentence, at what seems to be the key..." Read more

"...Every story was a unique gem of creativity. Surprise endings and irony lurked in every tale...." Read more

"...(strangely prescient satire, memorable characters, unexpected sci-fi turns)..." Read more

60 customers mention "Enjoyment"51 positive9 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable, particularly appreciating the short stories and Vonnegut's writing style, with one customer noting how he makes the mundane interesting.

"...C- Rome - Enjoyable story. Vonnegut manages to use concise writing to make each of the characters interesting in a short amount of time...." Read more

"...Husband has already finished this book and likes all but the last sorry...." Read more

"...Enjoyed reading and will consider reading other Vonnegut books." Read more

"...So even if you figure out how the story will end, it is still an entertaining read...." Read more

46 customers mention "Readability"46 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, with pieces that read like parables and are well written, making it a good bedside book for quick reading before sleep.

"...Vonnegut has a nice qick flow to his writing. Very stream of conscience." Read more

"...34;Sucker's Portfolio" is a must read as a Kindle book...." Read more

"A must-read for Vonnegut fans. That said, if you haven't read him before, I wouldn't start with this one...." Read more

"Great read for Vonnegut completists, and while I take issue with some of his points, his political/social commentary from 1992 is still entirely..." Read more

34 customers mention "Thought provoking"34 positive0 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking, with one customer noting how it relates to human perspective and another highlighting its stream of consciousness style.

"...Vonnegut has a nice qick flow to his writing. Very stream of conscience." Read more

"...if he's just writing as it comes into his head, but it is fantastic, smart, and relevant...." Read more

"...Surprise endings and irony lurked in every tale. For me, the book was an interesting read that was finished way too soon." Read more

"...These still manage to be a tremendously challenging, masterful, and insightful series of pieces that are a mirror of humanity and diligence as a..." Read more

28 customers mention "Value for money"28 positive0 negative

Customers find the book worth the price, with several noting it's a good bargain and praising Vonnegut's writing style.

"...B+ The Last Tasmanian - This non-fiction essay is worth the cost of admission for the entire collection...." Read more

"...I really enjoyed this book. Every story was a unique gem of creativity. Surprise endings and irony lurked in every tale...." Read more

"...a nonfiction piece entitled "The Last Tasmanian" is well worth the price of admission...." Read more

"...it stands up to his other works, but if you like Vonnegut, it is worth reading...." Read more

13 customers mention "Interest"13 positive0 negative

Customers find the book interesting, with one customer describing it as an unexpected treat and another noting that a single nonfiction piece stands out.

"...The single nonfiction piece stands out, though. Read it, skip the rest." Read more

"...many more stories I will receive, but the ones received so far are interesting...." Read more

"...The final story, which is incomplete, is also interesting. You won't be able to stop reading this book once you start." Read more

"any writing by this author is thought provoking and interesting to me. I recommend people check him out/library/kindle or...." Read more

12 customers mention "Author"12 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the author's work, describing him as iconic, with one customer noting he leaps and bounds above most other authors.

"...so even if it isn’t his best work, it’s still leaps and bounds above most other authors...." Read more

"...the best writers of the twentieth century, and easily ramped among the best American writers ever." Read more

"...Kurt Vonnegut is such a great writer and this was as top-notch as all of his other writings. Try it, you'll like it." Read more

"Great insights and fiction from one of the 20th century greatest authors. If you like Vonnegut’s insights and fiction you will like this." Read more

29 customers mention "Writing quality"16 positive13 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing quality of the book, with some praising its classic Vonnegut style and humor, while others find it terribly boring.

"...Some good laugh lines. B+ Eden by the River - Shorter than the other two. A very sweet tale about a boy and a girl...." Read more

"...No introduction. No table of contents. Some sparse remarks on the back cover. A short into by a Vonnegut scholar would be nice...." Read more

"...You can see all of his strengths of his short stories (strangely prescient satire, memorable characters, unexpected sci-fi turns)..." Read more

"...They're okay, but lack the complexity of the Kurt Vonnegut novels I know and love." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Jonny Magnum
    5.0 out of 5 stars Nice read.
    Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    It's a nice collection of short stories. An interesting introductory dive into Vonnegut's work. Vonnegut has a nice qick flow to his writing. Very stream of conscience.
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  • Boco_T
    4.0 out of 5 stars Six out of eight worth your time
    Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This is a collection of 6 fiction stories and 1 non-fiction essay that Amazon published in serial format under its "Amazon Serials" imprint. The appendix includes an unfinished science fiction story. It's complete now, so buying it gets you a finished book. Shorter than Vonnegut's other story collections, but as of this writing it's still $3 for 154 pages, so it's a good deal.

    I've rated each story in the section below, but overall I'd say there's enough strong material to be worth the asking price. Two out of eight things I really loved, another four I liked, and just two clunkers.

    Stories contained:

    Between Timid and Timbuktu - Okay, I guess. It was a fast enough read. It seems clear enough to me why it would make it this long without being published, it's a little rough and not quite fully formed. C-

    Rome - Enjoyable story. Vonnegut manages to use concise writing to make each of the characters interesting in a short amount of time. Some good laugh lines. B+

    Eden by the River - Shorter than the other two. A very sweet tale about a boy and a girl. A lot of good writing about feelings, and an ending that made me immediately go back to reread the beginning. A

    Sucker's Portfolio - The title story of the collection is another good one. Fascinating story told from the perspective of stock portfolio manager, which is not the kind of story you get all of the time. The mystery elements are good, but the ending is a little sloppy. B

    Miss Snow, You're Fired - This one's a miss for me. Plot by the numbers, characters that don't get the depth they did in the previous stories, and serious "of-the-time" sexism that just don't add up to something worth your time in 2012. D

    Paris, France - An interesting story about three couples of different generations that meet on a train to (and from) Paris. Interesting turns for everyone involved and a very sweet ending. B+

    The Last Tasmanian - This non-fiction essay is worth the cost of admission for the entire collection. Vonnegut moves through a series of topics as if he's just writing as it comes into his head, but it is fantastic, smart, and relevant. It's mostly about Native Americans and Germans and Columbus and garbage day. All seen through the prism of Vonnegut's amazing voice. A+

    Robotville and Mr. Caslow - I'm torn about this one. I'm extremely happy that I got to read even some of this tale. I'm equally sad, though, because it is such a fantastic story that is cut off literally in the middle of a sentence, at what seems to be the key point in the narrative. The second person doesn't do as much harm as you'd think, and even in the short contents the world-building is so detailed and fascinating. B+
    22 people found this helpful
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  • Michael S. Kraus
    5.0 out of 5 stars One Fun Read
    Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This book contains seven of Vonnegut's unpublished short stories. At the end, there is the beginning of an unfinished SciFi novel.

    Episode One: Between Timid and Timbuktu
    This is the story of a man who has become convinced that near death experiences are the secret to time travel.

    Episode Two: Rome
    A community theater group puts on a play casting a naive young girl as a streetwalker. Her father is a notorious criminal. Will the show go on?

    Episode Three: Eden by the River
    A boy and girl, alone in the forest, struggle to share their feelings with each other.

    Episode Four: Sucker's Portfolio
    A financial adviser tries to keep a young man from wasting his inheritance. What is he spending his money on?

    Episode Five: Miss Snow, You're Fired
    Eddie's new secretary is the most beautiful girl at the General Forge and Foundry factory. So why does he fire her?

    Episode Six: Paris, France
    Three couples have very different experiences on a trip to Paris.

    Episode Seven: The Last Tasmanian
    A stream of consciousness essay written on the occasion of the five hundredth anniversary of Columbus's 1492 voyage of discovery. Vonnegut meanders through history, ecology, religion, race, the treatment of indigenous peoples, slavery, television, and philosophy.

    Appendix: Robotville and Mr. Caslow
    The beginning to what would have been a very interesting SciFi story.

    I really enjoyed this book. Every story was a unique gem of creativity. Surprise endings and irony lurked in every tale. For me, the book was an interesting read that was finished way too soon.
    12 people found this helpful
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  • J. grantner
    3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty interesting, but not quite compelling
    Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I''d like to rate it 2-1/2 stars, but since I can't I'll round up to 3 because I like Vonnegut. We have some stories from before Vonnegut peaked, and it's cool to read something from his early, formative years. But then these can't compare to his work at his peak, so they are more interesting in terms of watching (in hindsight) the author's growth.

    And it was tantalizing to read the unfinished sci-fi story fragment "Robotville and Mr. Caslow". I would have loved to see the author of "Player Piano" flesh that out. It's in the Appendix, where Kindle automatically stops you, so be sure not to miss that.

    The 'nonfiction essay' "The Last Tasmanian" is witty (or course) but rambles. It's a riff written like journal entries over the course of a number of days (or it almost seems like it was an exercise for him) and so Vonnegut tends to repeat himself. I would have preferred it if he had edited and distilled it into a long continuous essay. Yet, I enjoyed it.

    "Sucker's Portfolio" is a must read as a Kindle book. If I'd bought it as a hard cover at a hard cover price, I'd have felt cheated because it's a little thin, both literally and figuratively.
    16 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Brent
    5.0 out of 5 stars 10/10
    Reviewed in Canada on September 15, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    100/10
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  • BruceMc
    3.0 out of 5 stars Mixture of tales
    Reviewed in Australia on December 12, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    This is a collection of seven previously unpublished short stories by one of America's best science fiction authors.

    1. Between Timid and Timbuktu - a young painter whose wife died recently tries to find a way to be with his wife again. He discusses the possibility of time travel with the town's doctor. Later he devises an experiment that requires the doctor's intervention. But tragedy results when the doctor doesn't arrive.

    2. Rome - three men and a girl rehearse a play that seems doomed to fail because of the girl's puritanical upbringing. The end is a complete surprise.

    3. Eden by the River - a boy and a girl take turns at kicking a stone to the river, where they spend a few minutes. She enjoys this Eden by the river, but he is restless. She asks for a kiss, which he gives reluctantly. They return to their house where they prepare for her wedding.

    4. Sucker's Portfolio - a man gets drunk in a bar and takes the hatcheck girl back to her place, where her husband turns up unexpectedly. The result is a scam.

    5. Miss Snow, You're Fired - Eddie Wetzel is an engineer. A pretty young school leaver is assigned to him as his secretary, and she is quickly voted the most beautiful girl in the factory. She spends so much time away from his office that Eddie decides to fire her.

    6. Paris, France - three couples at different stages of life share a train compartment on the way to Paris. They get very different experiences out of their stay.

    7. The Last Tasmanian - is a rant written in 1992, when the author was 69, at the wrongs done by the white peoples of the world to the others on the planet, but particularly to the native Americans since the time of Columbus.

    Appendix. Robotville and Mr Caslow - an unfinished SF story about a man who returns to his grade school to find a confrontation between the Principal and a committee run by the mayor. The robots are people who had brain implants during WW3 that were used to control them.

    The stories in this collection are a mixture - some are interesting tales with good twists, while others are commentaries on events of the day. Only the first story and the appendix are SF tales.
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  • Bernard A
    5.0 out of 5 stars Witty and wise
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 3, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    A very mixed bag. I'm glad I read it but I doubt I would recommend this to non fans of Vonnegut. Honestly the best part is the non fiction at the end.
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  • AK
    4.0 out of 5 stars Reasonably accomplished previously unpublished Vonnegut fiction and non-fiction short stories
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 26, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    As these have been published for the first time, one could reasonably assume them to be much rougher diamonds than the work the author sought to polish to publication perfection; however one cannot speak of a low quality Vonnegut here at all. This - a collection of six fiction short stories, the author's non-fiction 'anthropology' essay and an unfinished science fiction story - gives you all the author's wit and powers observation in a more bite sized format.

    I personally did not find the title piece the strongest, that title in my opinion going to the non-fiction essay, where he reflects on the profession he studied for but did not enter into - anthropology.

    In the end, if you are a fan of the author, I can only recommend the book. It has the qualities of his other works (even if one certainly cannot call it one of his best), and is probably the last of his works to be made available. If Vonnegut is not your thing, the book is unlikely to change your mind, either. In spite of the bite sized format, I would still probably recommend one of his other books for a first taste of the author for those completely new to him.
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  • Steven Cremer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Vonnegut, admixture of whimsical facts and folly
    Reviewed in Australia on July 17, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Entertaining but dark insights into the nature of man. A good read, especially if you find it bizarre that people could be so stupid or so cruel.
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