The Monkey's Mask (A Mask Noir Title) [Paperback]

Dorothy Porter (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Mask Noir Title | Publication Date: November 1, 1997

The Australian publishing sensation: a lesbian thriller in verse.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Like Sam Spade, the archetypal hero of Dashiell Hammett's classic Maltese Falcon (1930), Jill Fitzpatrick, the lesbian private eye of Porter's mystery novel-in-verse, is torn between passionate love and professional ethics. On the trail of the murderer of Mickey Norris, a university coed and would-be poet, Jill falls hopelessly in love with Professor Diana Maitland, one of Mickey's former tutors-and a crucial piece of the puzzle. While sleuthing, Jill uncovers the hypocrisy of the poetry scene in Sydney, Australia, likening herself to a Medusa who will "turn those fraud poets/to marble." Porter (The Witch Number, International Specialized Bk. Svcs., 1993) writes short verse in a staccato, telegraphic style accented by salty language and graphic Australian slang, for which she provides a delightful glossary. A highly readable addition to larger poetry collections.
Daniel L. Guillory, Millikin Univ., Decatur, Ill.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail (November 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852425490
• ISBN-13: 978-1852425494
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,053,932 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An astoundingly readable mystery poem., April 3, 1998

By 

Rose Vines - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Monkey's Mask (Hardcover)

Dorothy Porter's The Monkey's Mask is stunning: a novel written entirely in poetry that is almost impossible to put down. Even if you usually run a mile at the sight of poetry, you're likely to find this book irresistable. Dorothy's heroine is a lesbian private detective, who uncovers as much about herself as the mystery as the novel progresses. Set in Sydney and the Blue Mountains, The Monkey's Mask is rich with Australian idioms and imagery. It's also, very simply, a great mystery tale and a great read.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A luscious thriller, July 29, 2001

By 

"blissengine" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Monkey's Mask (A Mask Noir Title) (Paperback)

Jill Fitzpatrick is a private investigator hired to find a missing student. When the girl is found murdered, Jill promises the girl's parents that she'll find who did it. The girl's former poetry professor, Diana, weaves an intoxicating spell of seduction that overwhelms Jill. Is Diana just a simple, thoroughly enjoyable distraction to Jill's mission, or is there something darker hiding behind the woman? After another professor is killed, Jill finds that she herself might be next. Porter's saucy thriller, told through a series of poems, electrifies the senses and rockets the reader to its shocking end. Not only is it a spectacular mystery, but it's also a taut, dazzling story of obsessive, flooding desire.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Questions stereotypes of genre and themes, November 20, 2001

By 

sidneygrl "surprisec27" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Monkey's Mask (A Mask Noir Title) (Paperback)

Dorothy Porter breaks the mold with 'The Monkey's Mask' - a lesbian detective poetry text which questions attitudes towards poetry, detective novels, gender, class and the myths of Australian society.
Interlaced with an investigation into the disappearance and later murder of Mickey, Jill the protagonist enters into unfamiliar terrority with her exploration into the world of poetry. She encounters people and situations which cause her to question her ideas about the identity of art as well as to begin to see beyond the surface in other aspects of life. Mixing Jill with characters of varying classes, Porter also asks the reader to examine their attitudes to the myths of Australian society, in particular the dominance of the idea that Australia is a classless egalitarian society. The much used themes of the Australian character as an unsophisticated, no-nonsense person in a society with limited acceptable roles available to it's people, (particularly in regards to gender)is questioned and the suggestion is that this view (or myth) may be outdated and overrepresented.
This text is a fast-paced, metatextual piece which captures the attention of the reader and takes the reader (well, this reader anyway) willingly along to emerge at the end with new ideas of current society, text genres and characters.
I highly recommend this text to anyone who is interested in delving into something innovative and thought-provoking.