Monkeys

Loved this book - right up there as one of my favorites. A quick read - short stories that give snap shots into these kids lives. Very nostalgic - a wonderful summer read!

Wonderfully crafted story of a large (seven children), privileged family through the decades of the 50s through perhaps 80s. The work is roughly autobiographical, capturing quite believably the characters and interaction within this tribe.

compared to her next book, this one was not at transporting

I read Evening a while ago and so I expected a richer story from Monkeys. I should have realized from the length of the book that this was a different approach. There is a lot to which Minot alludes but too much is left out for me to care deeply for the monkeys.Others, though, have said that the story is a touching picture of one family.

This is a brilliant little gem of a book! If you like "Our Fault in the Stars" you will love this one. It's about a family going through turmoil, but the turmoil isn't apparent at first, it's bubbling just under the surface. It's narrated by some of the kids, so it's got a great fish-out-of-water feel to it - everything through the eyes of a child looks different. Loved it. Highly recommended.

Not a bad story, has a pretty good flow to it, is an interesting type of story as it combines multiple independent stories to make a whole story in the larger picture.

Life is too short for bad fiction. There is no character development, no plot, no sense of place or time and nothing to draw in the reader. Move on to something else.

At the front of the book are both a table of contents , setting forth a chronology from 1966 to 1979, and a list of characters. The book is slim and so the reader is surprised at the fussy treatment. Gus and Rosie Vincent have six children. Dad, (Gus), goes to church Christmas and Easter only. The rest of the family, Chicky, Delilah, Caitlin, Gus, Mum, Sherman, Sophie are regular attenders. Dad has weird taste, spam. He grew up in Motley, Massachusetts. Now the parents and six children live in Marshport, Massachusetts.Thanksgivings are spent in Motley with grandparests, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Ma smokes cigarettes and Pa cigars. The children sit at a children's table. Creamed onions are served. There are apple, pumpkin, and mince pies.The Vincents go to Maine in the summer. In Bermuda, on a real vacation, Gus, age 10, has horrible cabin fever. Caitlin, age 14, is the oldest. Sherman and Chicky are the youngest. Grass in Bermuda is scratchy and rough. The children are told not to bother their father too much. Dad feels the roads in Bermuda are death traps. On the last day his wallet disappears and Gus finds it in the hedge.In Maine Wilbur Kittredge, the owner of an estate in North Eden, is a special friend of Mum's. At age forty she gives birth to another child, Rosie, nicknamed Minnie. The Vincent parents met each other on a double date. Mum asks Sophie to postpone her suicide until age 18, hoping that by then Sophie would not wish to resort to such means. Sherman, by now age 12, has an appetite for pot.A train hits Mum's car and she is killed. For the Christmas after her death the girls buy presents for everyone. Minnie shows the others where the decorations are kept. Dad marries a new wife, Pat. Mum's ashes, for the most part, are dropped into a channel at North Eden. The child characters in the novel form an interesting group. Their circumstances are realistic.

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Delightful glimpse into family life - wry, sad, and delicate. Much enjoyed