The Big Trip Up Yonder And Other Works (1954) - Plot & Excerpts
I only scanned other reviews of this short story, but it looks like many did what I did, which was read this close behind "2BR02B." This comes across like a prequel to that, at least in terms of setting (during the overpopulation that has been resolved by "2BR02B"). Otherwise the characters are different, consisting of an old man and his future generations, all of whom compete for the best spot to sleep on the floor in his home. As satirical as the last, this impressed me again by its realistic portrayal of a seemingly implausible circumstance. This time, however, the characters came across better, even though these are more idea-driven than character-driven stories. I believe it was Vonnegut's appropriate use of adverbs that made the darkly humorous action easy to visualize, like "Everyone looked helpfully at Lou, who held up his hand resignedly." Subtle and effective. Someone else called it "lowbrow" and I decided I must not know what that means. Years of life left before us and lot of things to see and do. What if we all get the chance to see our great grand children?More specifically what if we have to live with our children and grand children and great grand children under the same roof?Well, even for an Indian for whom living in a joint family is a blasé phenomenon, this idea strikes queer. Vonnegut takes the same road as in 2BR02B and gives a family with the eldest member of the age 172. Gramps, as he is called lives with his complete family and with his senility and grumpiness, keeps all of them on their toes. The little transgressions of the family members can lead to amendment of the will which has the most important clause as who is going to get the most comfortable bed in the house and who will end up sleeping near the toilet. When our Gramps finds out that someone tried to play a little trick with his anti-aging medicine, the senility is promptly replaced by foxy conniving. A fun one time read !
What do You think about The Big Trip Up Yonder And Other Works (1954)?
I liked it, I just wish it would have gone on. It was way too short and ended abruptly.
—killer
It was okay. Not as good as Vonnegut other short stories thought.
—Igus
