Customer Reviews

Monkey grip

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3 star:		(1)
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Maybe you have to be "of a certain age" and have lived through a certain time, with all its complexities, to appreciate this book. There was a lot of high and low life in the counter-culture, a lot of confusion, but there were some wonderful experiences to be had as well. I've read this book completely through about six times. I think of it as an old friend with which I will never part. I think her prose is breathtaking in its immediacy; it breathes life. Some of her descriptions of what she sees/hears/observes are so amazingly wonderful that I stop every time I read them to savor them a while before moving on. She is poetic in the true sense: not trying for an effect, but responding with her whole heart to a moment in such a way that your heart also is touched.

As an Australian living overseas one of the first things that I found attractive about this book was the manner in which Garner paints the suburban Australian landscape and lifestyle. The party scenes made me laugh out loud. I also enjoyed the realistic descriptions of shared houshold life. The troubled relationship which forms the central theme of the book rung true to me with its unresolved tensions, misunderstandings and developments. I very much enjoyed the rhythm and style of the dialogue and descriptions. In fact, I have marked many lines and quotes from my favorite parts so that I can find them to re-read again and again. I can see why other reviewers may have disliked this book for their own reasons. I vote it, however, as one of my favorite books of all time. This is my first review in Amazon, and I just felt drawn to writing something about this book in the hope that maybe some other readers around the world may find as much enjoyment in it as I did!

Helen Garner is scarcely known outside of Australia, but in Melbourne she's been regarded as one of the finest writers of the past twenty years. After a brief, botched career as a high-school teacher she moved to the skanky-bohemian areas of Carlton and Fitzroy near central Melbourne and wrote for a publication called Digger. Apparently she was also working on a novel during this time (1974-76). If Monkey Grip is not thinly disguised autobiography then it is a masterful piece of mimesis. It reads like a succession of arty, impressionistic, diary entries, mostly written on bright mornings under the influence of a bad hangover.

The story runs like this: our protagonist, Nora, lives with a group of other bohemians and their children in a succession of houses. Occasionally she works on a newspaper or chats about feminist issues at the pubs and cafes. She drifts from one male lover to the next. A burnt-out young man named Javo takes her fancy. We don't know what his game is precisely; he does a little acting, a little writing, a little drawing. He also does a lot of smack. This upsets Nora vaguely, but she doesn't mind so long as he's around for her. Javo, you see, is great in bed. He goes away and gets himself arrested in Bangkok. Nora pines for him. He returns and she is happy. He drifts away again, returns, leaves, hangs around, quits heroin for a few days, shoots up again. Sometimes they hitchhike to Sydney or visit Tasmania, where Javo's mother lives. Nora gets a part in a film about junkies. Javo gets a part in a play and another minor film. All the while they're surrounded by dozens of interchangeable and unmemorable characters.

Two things are immediately apparent about this book: 1) an editor's blue pencil could have improved it enormously by condensing the longeurs and repetitions; 2) the panache of the book is pure old avant-garde from the Paris of the 20s and 30s. The plot is there but instead of being strung between the two ends of the book it cycles over and over like the refrain of a song. If you want a straightforward story, you'll find this novel extremely irritating.

The book was made into a film a few years ago. A friend in the Australian film business gave me her copy after I'd returned from Melbourne (her own hometown) and raved about what a swell place it was. A tiny smile played at the corner of her mouth as she handed me the book. Was it all a great leg-pull or was she was really curious to know what I'd think of this dreary but fascinating little tome?

This is a novel for gaining insight into life on a number of levels- It portrays inner city life in Australia as it was in the 1970's in shared households- It shows what happens to addicted people and how their addictions can direct them to obviously self-destructive behaviour but their awareness of where they headed is not necessarily constructive. That is, those addicted to love, to drugs or to everything really are consumed by their addiction.

Beautiful, clear writing which rewards a reader with new ideas at every successive reading.

One of the most meaningful books this reviewer has embraced.

James Pope

Written partly through the eyes of Helen herself (I assume ?), this story takes the reader on a ride through life, living in Melbourne Australia during the 1970's. It presents the life of a girl and her infatuation with a drug induced loser. Throughout the entire book, I found myself just waiting for her to come to her senses, and get her life back on track. Unfortunately .. as is life I guess, she never does and the book just ends, like it began with no real conclusions. It left me personally with a feeling of utter frustration.