Susan Minot

‘Monkeys’ a novella by Susan Minot (released in 1986) was an, at times, sad and bustling look into the old-money, New England lives of a group of siblings and their quiet father and spirited mother. Told in vignettes at Thanksgiving, and after an accident, among other things, we watch the children grow and catch the subtleties between the parents as captured through the children’s perceptions.

This was such great writing. Deceptively simple and with an insight they I really enjoyed. This is my first Susan Minot and her debut, I believe. What a treat. So glad I picked this one up on a whim. I could definitely see myself loving her work!… (mais)

between 2 and 2.5 stars. this was really hard for me at first. the writing is something stream of consciousness, with no punctuation and incomplete sentences all together, and going back and forth in time. all of those things conspired to make this quite tough for the first while. then when it started to make more sense - both what she was saying and the time period she was saying it in - it became much more readable, interesting, and beautiful (in parts). i'm not sure how much i believe in the idea of a two day affair overshadowing a life, but i think that's because i didn't like harris, because i didn't believe a word out of his mouth and couldn't see how ann could fall for him.

i didn't like all of this but some parts were so beautiful and surprising, and even in the hard to understand sentences i found some real gems (of language, construction, thought). the parts i liked were really lovely, and maybe the rest, which wasn't lovely, reflects how we handle being in the room/house with someone as we twiddle our thumbs and wait for them to die. i think i'll like this more and more the further i get from it and the more i think about it. it's definitely not one to read through quickly, with only some attention.… (mais)

Monkeys was the term of endearment Rosie called her seven children. Cheerful and silly Rosie was the glue that held this large family together. When she is tragically killed the children are left to deal with their grief and an alcoholic father who can't focus on his responsibilities. As a stand alone novel of vignettes Monkeys seems disjointed and fuzzy; not very well thought out, but when you consider Monkeys as a transparent autobiography, it makes way more sense. Minot herself has six siblings. Her mother was killed at a train crossing, just like Rosie. The first story (told in first person) very well could be Minot herself, reliving her childhood memories. The rest of the stories are in third person and could be true events about her siblings.
As an aside, it would be interesting to read Monkeys along with with the works of her sister (The Tiny One) and brother (The Blue Bowl) for comparison.… (mais)