by Cookie N Screen
I love getting new books thrust into my hand. Mainly because placing me in a book store is like placing me in a DVD store; my fingers will grab as much as I possibly can. Then my wallet will loudly sigh at me, I’ll hang my head and place them all back. Plus, which one am I really going to enjoy more? Which one should I dedicate my life too? How can I decide, ever? So it’s useful when someone just places the book in my hand and goes, “you really need to read this” as it cuts out a lot of the decisions that I am useless to make. Anyway, that is exactly how I came to read Bad Monkeys.
I love getting new books thrust into my hand. Mainly because placing me in a book store is like placing me in a DVD store; my fingers will grab as much as I possibly can. Then my wallet will loudly sigh at me, I’ll hang my head and place them all back. Plus, which one am I really going to enjoy more? Which one should I dedicate my life too? How can I decide, ever? So it’s useful when someone just places the book in my hand and goes, “you really need to read this” as it cuts out a lot of the decisions that I am useless to make. Anyway, that is exactly how I came to read Bad Monkeys.
The book by Matt Ruff, Bad Monkeys centres on Jane Charlotte; a woman who has been held in a mental institute and a doctor is there to assess her situation. After all, she had just murdered several people. However, Jane is insistent that this isn’t the case, that she has been hired by an unknown organisation to take down “evil” otherwise dubbed as Bad Monkeys. As an assassin, technically, Jane must battle against her past (one that is stepped in horrible mistakes,) and her rambunctious nature in order to prove that she has what it takes. But can she face her own demons as well as the ones running amok the world?
The style of Ruff’s writing has this unique flair that is absorbing from the beginning. Taking us through the story via the narration of Jane, Ruff’s character adds this flippancy and sarcasm to the tale that is brimming with hysterics. Bad Monkeys relies on this point of view telling to, not only take us on her journey, but be willing to follow her pursuits in, what may seem like, pure insanity. Jane is this comedic yet untrusting narrator which allows you to flip between like ability and annoyance with a wonderful balance between. As you devour her speech, mannerisms and theology, you become wrapped up in it because she is so allusive and intriguing.
The style of Ruff’s writing has this unique flair that is absorbing from the beginning. Taking us through the story via the narration of Jane, Ruff’s character adds this flippancy and sarcasm to the tale that is brimming with hysterics. Bad Monkeys relies on this point of view telling to, not only take us on her journey, but be willing to follow her pursuits in, what may seem like, pure insanity. Jane is this comedic yet untrusting narrator which allows you to flip between like ability and annoyance with a wonderful balance between. As you devour her speech, mannerisms and theology, you become wrapped up in it because she is so allusive and intriguing.
Jane’s style (which, by the way, is Ruff’s) is helped by being in co-juncture with an eccentric story. The idea is solely original, smattering of this fantastical world that Ruff has created. The Organisation, split into many fractures and it’s succeeding characters are so highly realised that you are absorb by Natural Causes guns and men wearing cheerleading outfits. Though you’ll battle between what is true and what isn’t (thanks to our unreliable narrator, you’re never quite sure) as she foams at the mouth telling it, you will be swept away by the Organisation and the fantastic imagery Ruff is conjuring. Ruff once stated that it is his Phillip K Dick novel (Jane Charlotte is even named after Dick's twin sister.) and it smatters of that futuristic realism and the line between hero and criminal.
There are a few issues, like Jane Charlotte, Bad Monkeys isn’t entirely perfect. For example, you can never pin point her age as it jumps between time points far too quickly. But the hyper activity, the intense imagination and the skill of Ruff’s writing will leave you brimming with delight. Light hearted and with a kinetic energy that bounces throughout, Bad Monkeys is a stellar book to read.
There are a few issues, like Jane Charlotte, Bad Monkeys isn’t entirely perfect. For example, you can never pin point her age as it jumps between time points far too quickly. But the hyper activity, the intense imagination and the skill of Ruff’s writing will leave you brimming with delight. Light hearted and with a kinetic energy that bounces throughout, Bad Monkeys is a stellar book to read.
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