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Mister Monkey: A Novel Audiobook
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Publisher Description
The acclaimed New York Times bestselling author weaves an ingenious, darkly humorous, and brilliantly observant story that follows the exploits and intrigue of a constellation of characters affiliated with an off-off-off-off Broadway children’s musical.
Mister Monkey—a screwball children’s musical about a playfully larcenous pet chimpanzee—is the kind of family favorite that survives far past its prime. Margot, who plays the chimp’s lawyer, knows the production is dreadful and bemoans the failure of her acting career. She’s settled into the drudgery of playing a humiliating part—until the day she receives a mysterious letter from an anonymous admirer . . . and later, in the middle of a performance, has a shocking encounter with Adam, the twelve-year-old who plays the title role.
Francine Prose’s effervescent comedy is told from the viewpoints of wildly unreliable, seemingly disparate characters whose lives become deeply connected as the madcap narrative unfolds. There is Adam, whose looming adolescence informs his interpretation of his role; Edward, a young audience member who is candidly unimpressed with the play; Ray, the author of the novel on which the musical is based, who witnesses one of the most awkward first dates in literature; and even the eponymous Mister Monkey, the Monkey God himself.
With her trademark wit and verve, Prose delves into humanity’s most profound mysteries: art, ambition, childhood, aging, and love. Startling and captivating, Mister Monkey is a breathtaking novel from a writer at the height of her craft.
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“Voice talents Nan McNamara and Kirby Heyborne seamlessly find the sweet spot between satirical and sympathetic in this richly observed tale…Whether it’s Heyborne giving voice to a five-year-old boy’s fear of switching schools or McNamara reflecting a ‘serious’ actress’ mortification at finding herself onstage in a multicolored clown wig—the book is consistently funny and heartbreaking throughout. An achingly gentle, smart, and satisfying listening experience. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
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“[A] madcap, razor-sharp comedy.”
— People -
“A sophisticated satire, a gently spiritual celebration of life, a dark and thoroughly grim depiction of despair, a screwball comedy, a screwball tragedy…It’s gorgeous and bright and fun and multifaceted.”
— New York Times Book Review (front cover review) -
“Masterful…a lovely tribute to the transformative value of imagination.”
— Washington Post -
“In this strong, humane, and funny novel, Prose has treated us to an enthralling entertainment both on and off stage.”
— Boston Globe -
“Beautifully crafted, incisively written…[with] Prose’s ability to let us see into the heart of each character, to render each so vulnerably human, so achingly real in just a few short paragraphs.”
— Minneapolis Star-Tribune -
“[Francine Prose] is the Meryl Streep of literary fiction, convincingly shifting between multiple voices and points of view—not just from book to book but within a single work.”
— NPR -
“In a novel that’s both hilarious and keenly observant, Francine Prose traces the results of this off-Broadway disaster through the voices of stage workers, audience members, and the cast, including Mister Monkey himself.”
— BookPage -
“Exceptionally keen, artistic, funny, empathic, and intricate dance of longing and coincidence.”
— Booklist (starred review) -
“Wickedly funny and sharply observant, in the author’s vintage manner, with a warmth that softens the satire just enough.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Awards
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Longlisted for the 2017 Carnegie Medal for Literature
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A BookPage Top Pick in Fiction for November 2016
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A Los Angeles Times Pick of Best Audiobooks of 2016
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
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About Francine Prose
Francine Prose is the author of many bestselling books of fiction, including A Changed Man and Blue Angel, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and the nonfiction New York Times bestseller Reading like a Writer. Her novel, Household Saints, was adapted for a movie by Nancy Savoca. Another novel, The Glorious Ones, has been adapted into a musical of the same name by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, which ran at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre at Lincoln Center in New York City in the Fall of 2007. She is the president of PEN American Center.
About the Narrators
Kirby Heyborne is a musician, actor, and professional narrator. Noted for his work in teen and juvenile audio, he has garnered over twenty Earphones Awards. His audiobook credits include Jesse Kellerman’s The Genius, Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother, and George R. R. Martin’s Selections from Dreamsongs.
Nan McNamara has performed on stage, television, film, and behind the microphone in voice-overs for over twenty years. Her passion is to tell good stories—no matter what the medium. Originally from St. Paul, Nan received a BA cum laude in theater.