This is an oldie but a goodie! In this day and age, we’re no longer constrained by the limited book runs at book stores. Ebooks have made everything current, so I thought I bring up a book I found to be a rollicking good read and have read several times since I bought it. That book is Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff.
First off, I still have the original book with it’s ultra cool cover. It was curved, plastic covered and very fun…you can see it on Goodreads here, but that one is faded. The original was quite vibrant.
Okay, enough about the cover…what about what’s inside, Ann?!
Right, well, Jane Charlotte is our main character and she is currently being questioned in a psych hospital after being arrested for murder.
Hmmm, so what? Sounds like every other book out there. Ah, but there’s the rub. Jane proceeds to explain to her questioner that she works for the Department for the Final Disposition of Irredeemable Persons (Bad Monkeys). Oh yes, all sorts of crazy town there. But it gets better.
Within that same organization are other departments. Those include Panopticon (Ubiquitous Intermittent Surveillance), Malfeasance (Internal Affairs), Cost Benefits (Personnel) and even more cleverly named departments, and they all play a role in her tale. And those are all topped off with The Scary Clowns department. Jane works for them getting rid of evil-doers, hence the murder.
It just gets better from there.
I loved this book! If you look at the reviews, you’ll see that people are very torn by it. Love and hate for the ending vie with each other in the reviews. I’m firmly in the love camp. This is such an inventive book, told in such a readable style with just the right amount of tension, irreverence and wish fulfillment.
Give this one a read. It’s worth it. And let me know what you thought of the ending. You may find yourself looking askance at the faces on your dollar bills after you read it. That’s okay. It will make you smile when you do.
Caveat: As always, I only put books by authors I don’t know in the Read and Loved section.