Book monkey grip5/17/2023 ![]() The story, which is set in Melbourne in the mid-1970s, is about a group of men, women and children living a Bohemian lifestyle in a series of share houses. I can’t say the same for Monkey Grip, which did not live up to my expectations. But of the books I have read - including Garner’s most recent novel The Spare Room and her true crime book Joe Cinque’s Consolation - I have thoroughly enjoyed. And her fiction also seems to attract equal amounts of bile and love. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised: Garner has a reputation in Australia for polarising readers, more notably for her journalistic work - The First Stone, an account of a 1992 sexual harassment scandal at the University of Melbourne, generated an avalanche of controversy. Last year I chose Dermot Bolger’s The Journey Home, which scored 5.5 out of 10, and this year’s choice, Helen Garner‘s debut novel, Monkey Grip, achieved the far worse score of 4 out of 10. I seem to have accidentally developed a track record in choosing books for my book group that are universally disliked. Fiction – paperback Penguin Australia 246 pages 2009. ![]()
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