Monkeys

by Susan Minot Narrated by Julia Atwood

Overview

Minot's bestselling debut: A moving novel of familial love and endurance in the face of shattering tragedy

Monkeys is the remarkable story of a decade in the life of the Vincents, a colorful Irish Catholic family from the Boston suburbs. On the surface, they seem happy with their vivacious mother Rosie at the helm. But underneath, the Vincents struggle to maintain the appearance of wealth and stability while dealing with the effects of their father's alcoholism.

When a sudden accident strikes, their love for one another is tested like never before. Written by the bestselling author of Evening, Monkeys is a powerful story of one family's struggle to overcome life-changing tribulations and Minot's wrenching ode to the ties that bind even the most wounded of families.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

Minot chronicles the family life of Gus and Rosie Vincent and their seven children, dubbed ``monkeys'' by their mother. Rosie, or ``Mum,'' is the most vibrant character, creating a secure home for her children as she tries to mask her husband's alcholism and counter his withdrawal from the family. Minot has a fine eye for detail and a talent for creating tension through half-revealed clues in dialogue. However, because the book is very short, involves many characters, and spans roughly 13 years, the development of other characters is not satisfying. The chapters are rather disparate, the first, in fact, having a different narrator than the others. The final chapter, ``Thorofare,'' was included in The Best American Short Stories of 1984 and is perhaps the strongest section, providing a moving ending to an otherwise uneven novel. Lucinda Ann Peck, Learning Design Associates, Gahanna, Ohio

San Francisco Chronicle

"Minot’s funny, wry and profoundly moving novel of a large and gawky family in Massachusetts is full of quiet surprises.”

Chicago Tribune

Minot chronicles the mundane and miraculous moments that characterize family life…Few novels have so powerfully displayed the collective unity—and joy—of family life.”

From the Publisher

"Minot's prose possesses a thrilling eloquence, a heartbreaking clarity."—Newsday

"Not since J. D. Salinger has an American writer so feelingly evoked the special affections and loyalties that may develop among children in a large family."—The New York Times Book Review

"Striking and original.... Minot chronicles the mundane and miraculous moments that characterize family life, in prose that is exactingly realistic, yet delicately lyrical.... Few novels have so powerfully displayed the collective unity—and joy—of family life."—Chicago Tribune

"Susan Minot's funny, wry and profoundly moving novel of a large and gawky family in Massachusetts is full of quiet surprises.... Minot is masterful at showing us the chaos of a young family forming and reforming itself. But it is the absolute simplicity of her observation—always selective, often eccentric—that astounds us for its clarity time after time."—San Francisco Chronicle

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176678369
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	05/30/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged

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