Monkeys

About Monkeys

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “Funny, wry, and profoundly moving” (San Francisco Chronicle), the “striking and original” (Chicago Tribune) first novel from the award-winning author of Evening explores the intricacies of family dynamics and the multifaceted effects of grief.

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

The Vincents are a large and awkward New England family. Augustus Paine drinks too much; his wife, Rosie, a high-spirited Catholic, holds the family together, towing her seven “monkeys” to church, to boat races, and picnics in Maine. When she dies suddenly in an accident, they are left to cope.
 
Monkeys beautifully mines the children’s tenderness for one another and their guardianship of what they salvage after tragedy has hit. In this time-honored story of American family life, Susan Minot again reveals her ability for illuminating the glances and gestures of affection and heartbreak.