The Wind Monkey: and Other Stories [Hardcover]

Leo Berenstain (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 17, 1992

Dramatizes the clash of Indonesia's native culture with the onslaught of Western society in stories featuring a woman travel writer caught in a web of occult mysteries and a Western scientist whose monkey is kidnapped for religious reasons. A first collection.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Eastern mysticism meets the West in an uneven but appealing collection of tales set mostly in contemporary Indonesia. "The Pact" portrays a Canadian travel writer, working on a guide book to Java, who learns about a mysterious legend concerning a holy grave site. A Javanese man visiting a California sequoia forest anticipates disaster in "Last Stand." The title story could be subtitled "Monkeys in the Mist": the character who resembles Dian Fossey is an American graduate student whose study of Indonesia's berangat monkeys is ruined by villagers convinced that the primates possess magical powers. Berenstain, who spent two years as a field ecologist in Borneo, writes about nature with genuine love. He opens a window onto Indonesian culture, in which poor families sell their daughters as "contract brides" to Western men and "dukuns" cast spells to protect villagers. If Berenstain's appreciation and understanding of the material were matched by a strong narrative gift, this collection would be extraordinary. Not quite at that level, it still manages to intrigue.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Berenstain's debut shows him adept at explaining Indonesia and the world of expatriates, but less skilled at writing fiction. In Berenstain's Java, Westerners pursue their ambitions while seeking ``escape in ancient, brooding dreams of enchantment'' and expecting to be lured ``into the heart of some timeless mystery.'' A travel writer intent on discovering an attraction never before included in a guidebook becomes unwilling to move on after witnessing a strange rite that, partly due to her presence, turns fatal. A zoologist in the Borneo jungle who feels ``a delicious thrill'' whenever he sights ``the magical creatures that his career depended on'' has his plans disrupted when his local assistants capture one of the study monkeys for superstitious reasons. A misanthropic Dutch botanist is threatened by forest fires and by the impending visit of a young upstart rival. In the only story set in the US, a California botanist sneers at the Indonesian colleague who talks to trees, but the Indonesian is able to hear the giant sequoias' desire for revenge. Throughout the collection, characters remain one-dimensional, and stories often end with supernatural twists or moral messages--as when a crippled puppeteer, by his sheer presence, causes a scruffy radical to treat the US ambassador's wife with civility. Berenstain lives part of the year in Java, has worked as a field ecologist and written for National Geographic; though a knowledgeable provider of information about Indonesian culture, he never brings that world to life. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1st edition (March 17, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394575571
• ISBN-13: 978-0394575575
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,555,433 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Reading, January 11, 1999

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Momto3 (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wind Monkey: and Other Stories (Hardcover)

Leo Berenstain's short stories reminded me of W. Sommerset Maugham's writing. Hopefully he will write more...