Saturday, December 12, 2009

193 - New World Monkeys; Nancy Mauro







In  NEW WORLD MONKEYS, Lily and Duncan are a Manhattan couple, whose five year marriage has seen better days. Duncan is in Advertising, and working on a new campaign, and Lily is working on her dissertation. They are headed to upstate New York to a run down mansion that has been in Lily's family for years. On their drive along a darkened road, out pops a wild boar that runs smack into their car. If that isn't bad enough, the animal is not dead yet. So Lily does what Duncan won't do and take a tire iron to the creature to put an end to its suffering. They then move the boar to a ditch and continue on their way to the quaint village of Osterhagen (fictional). To the couple's surprise they find out the boar was actually the town's mascot: Sovereign the Deep Wool! The boar had a owner who isn't very happy that Sovereign is missing, and he is bent on seeking revenge. There are more offshoots to this story, but I did not think it was necessary to reveal all the details.

My Thoughts - I had some reservations about this story, but I love trying out new debut authors so I gave it a go. The story is quirky and, for me it was outright bizarre. Don't get me wrong, this author has potential; her writing style is terrific, and the characters were well developed. It is just that this novel had multiple story lines, and the characters, although well-developed were unsympathetic. Basically, it was a story that just did not work for me.

13 comments:

  1. Thanks-I felt the money was better spent on the kitties than a ticket. ALthough the cop was in love with my car-I was ready to let him take it for a test drive.

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  2. Hm, the basic story sounds interesting but I'm not a fan of too many plot lines.

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  3. The description does sound intriguing. That one plot line alone seems as if it would be enough.

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  4. Funny that you used the word "quirky". That's a joke with my husband and I - that strange movies are always described as "quirky"! Too bad this one didn't work for you. Thanks for the review -

    Sue

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  5. I've seen this book pop up in a few places, and it looks intriguing. I don't know if I'll pick this one up or not, but I will definitely be on the look out for this author's next book!

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  6. I had to wonder just based on the title of the book!! Thanks for the informative thoughts on this one!

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  7. From the description it sounds like it might be quirky, just as you described it. I am not sure this is something I would pick up, but perhaps the author will come out with something more appealing the next time that we'd both like!

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  8. It does sound a bit all over the place ... but it is always good to try new authors -- you never know when you'll find a good one.

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  9. I remember toying with the idea of buying this after it was the top pick somewhere, but when I read about Lily taking the tire iron out to finish off the boar I was kind of horrified. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this one!

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  10. I added this one to my list after seeing a rave review on either Book Page or NPR. Can't remember now. Hehe.

    I'm sorry this one was a bit bizarre for you. I hate it when I pick up a book and then end up confused over it.

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  11. I like quirky books, so this one sounds kind of interesting, but the fact that it has so many story lines and a lot of unsympathetic characters is a big detractor for me. I am going to have to think about this one and maybe investigate a bit further. Thanks for very honest and insightful review.

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  12. Thanks for the review. My bookclub is reading this one next month and I believe the author will be joining for the discussion -maybe I can ask her about some of the "quirky" plot lines :)

    Will let you know what I think when I read it and after our discussion with the author.

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  13. I'll have to try this, sometimes 'bizarre' really works for me.

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