Did You See The Monkeys?

Did You See the Monkeys? is a stream-of-consciousness narrative that invents itself in much the same vein as Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway. The protagonist, a young boy by the name of Tad, allows readers a look into his thoughts as he goes about the business of his daily life, much like Dalloway. However, unlike the matron, Tad brings into his narrative a series of secrets, relationships, and human bonds. Tad’s foil is his opposite in every way: strong, confident Tom, and the book follows the burgeoning friendship between he two via Tad’s florid thought process.

Did You See the Monkeys? is packaged as a fiction novel, separated by scenic chapters, but an ending section titled “Characters in the play” allow the readers past Tad’s (beautiful, but narrow) perspective through a summary of the major “characters” in the book. Readers who are highly interested in characterization, or who are frustrated by the monologue of Tad, may want to flip to the back for a little more depth on the other “players.” Despite the title of this section, the novel can still be characterized as such, as it lacks the formal scenery, blocking and dialogue necessary to be considered a dramatic act.

The revisionary purposes of the novel seem to be to touch and reach targeted readers with the strong bond and friendship between the two main characters, Tom and Tad. In addition, the author makes a statement about the kinds of plot, action and dialogue that is available in this type of narrative. The copy style can seem a bit purple at times, but the florid language is well done in certain chapters. In these areas, it draws the reader into the syntax-level beauty that is possible with this type of prose, but does so without detracting too much from the plot and story of our main characters.

The novel would be most enjoyed by those open to experimental prose and stream-of-consciousness styling; it delivers both, while also giving adequate attention to action and plot.