Monkey Grip

“The best-selling classic of a generation” says the blurb on the front cover. I was of that generation, but I have to say that I found this all a rather dull plod. Highly repetitive and may well have been better served by being half the page count. Would I have found it any better in my teens back in the day when I was part of that generation? I suspect not. My bookish sci fi youth seemed more interesting, and a 33-year-old girl falling head over heels for a useless smack addict (he had these wonderful blue eyes we were repetitively told !) may never have made the grade. And repetitively throughout, chapter after chapter, they fucked, and they fucked again, and then she fucked with someone else, and he fucked with someone else, and it went on and fucking on, her having her mind fucked over by those smack riddled blue eyes.

One thing that really really did, I mean really got on my nerves while reading this (other than the repetition of the theme and the repetitive use of the fuck word some may ask?) was the use of “Good day” as a greeting. “Good day” is said - g'day – It is the way Australians and New Zealander say it. Do not be mistaken, do not be misled, they say bloody g'day and that’s bloody it. g'day g'day g'day g'day. Editors need to get it into their thick heads that it is g'day and if the novel wants Australian authenticity, then to change any manuscript to “Good day” makes it sound like some upper class toff doing the greeetings.

Anyway enough ranting already, I am sure many loved this book but not me.

This book didn't grab my attention from the beginning, and I had a hard time staying engaged due to its slow pace and disjointed storyline. I couldn't connect with the characters, making it difficult to care about their journey. While the writing was polished, the lack of a coherent plot left me feeling disconnected. Though it's not a book I'd personally recommend or enjoy, readers who appreciate this style might find merit in it.