‘Monkeys’ a novella by Susan Minot (released in 1986) was an, at times, sad and bustling look into the old-money, New England lives of a group of siblings and their quiet father and spirited mother. Told in vignettes at Thanksgiving, and after an accident, among other things, we watch the children grow and catch the subtleties between the parents as captured through the children’s perceptions.

This was such great writing. Deceptively simple and with an insight they I really enjoyed. This is my first Susan Minot and her debut, I believe. What a treat. So glad I picked this one up on a whim. I could definitely see myself loving her work! ( )

It was only 157 pages so I finished it in a few hours. It was a fast read but "chunky" since it went from year to year without explaining in between years but I enjoyed the Vincent family. What irked me was that although the author wasn't British I don't think and the family wasn't, they called their mom "mum." ( )

Monkeys was the term of endearment Rosie called her seven children. Cheerful and silly Rosie was the glue that held this large family together. When she is tragically killed the children are left to deal with their grief and an alcoholic father who can't focus on his responsibilities. As a stand alone novel of vignettes Monkeys seems disjointed and fuzzy; not very well thought out, but when you consider Monkeys as a transparent autobiography, it makes way more sense. Minot herself has six siblings. Her mother was killed at a train crossing, just like Rosie. The first story (told in first person) very well could be Minot herself, reliving her childhood memories. The rest of the stories are in third person and could be true events about her siblings.
As an aside, it would be interesting to read Monkeys along with with the works of her sister (The Tiny One) and brother (The Blue Bowl) for comparison. ( )

Uh oh. I started this before I saw the Goodreads description that includes the dread word "luminous."

Well it didn't live up to that (I'm not sure what would.) Vignettes of a large family over the years through various ups and downs. I feel a little bad that I didn't get more out of it but it was mostly bland. Maybe I'd enjoy it more if I had siblings, but most of the stories seemed to have moments of meaning that ended up not going anywhere.

Next up is In a Lonely Place. I'm in the mood for noir. ( )

good collection short stories

The seven Vincent children follow their Catholic mother to Mass and spend Thanksgiving with their father's aging parents who come from a world of New England privilege. As they grow older, they meet with the perplexing lives of adults. Susan Minot writes with delicacy and a tremendous gift for the details that decorate domestic life, and when tragedy strikes she beautifully mines the children's tenderness for each other, and their aching guardianship of what they have.