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Utterly Monkey
A Novel
by Nick Laird
The first novel from Irish poet and now "lad lit" author Laird (also known for being Zadie Smith's husband) is about a corporate lawyer whose life is upended by the sudden arrival of a childhood friend.
Harper Perennial, 368 pages
01/03/2006
$13.95
ISBN: 0060828366
Fiction
General Literature & Fiction
All reviews are classified as one of five grades: Outstanding (4 points), Favorable (3), Mixed (2), Unfavorable (1) and Terrible (0). To calculate the Metascore, we divide total points achieved by the total points possible (i.e., 4 x the number of reviews), with the resulting percentage (multiplied by 100) being the Metascore. Learn more...
Kirkus Reviews
Raise a pint of Guinness to this debut novel of Northern Ireland that combines humor and heart with subversive intelligence.
The New York Times Michiko Kakutani
Part caper movie, part coming-of-age story, part urban satire, "Monkey" introduces a writer with a wonderfully original and limber voice--a writer who seems able to jump genres as easily as he shifts narrative gears.
The New York Times Book Review Tom Shone
Fans of the BBC sitcom "The Office" will find much to enjoy in Laird's dry portrayal of humdrum middle-management life, with its balding apparatchiks and photocopied ennui. But his vision is even sharper when he takes to the streets.
Library Journal Christine Perkins
This is an utterly engaging modern social satire with an unpredictable, violent edge. [1 Jan 2006, p. 98]
The Guardian Rachel Hore
With its laidback antihero, wry humour, beer-soaked milieu and strong dash of traditional romance, Utterly Monkey will sit happily on the shelf alongside the likes of Nick Hornby and Mike Gayle. The author's nice turn of phrase and ear for dialogue, however, make it a cut above much of the lad-lit genre.
The Independent Stephen Knight
It is to his credit that he has confounded the stereotype of the poet's novel, though in his determination to avoid an image-heavy, plotless, ruminative work he has produced a book which... is more intent on passing our time than making us reflect.
The Independent Brandon Robshaw
What lifts Utterly Monkey above the common run is the sheer energy and inventiveness of the writing.
Entertainment Weekly Timothy Gunatilaka
Imagine Office Space meets Layer Cake by way of Nick Hornby.
Daily Telegraph James Walton
Laird has already published a collection of poetry, and his prose shows an obvious skill at phrasemaking. He may have made the classic mistake of trying to cram too much into his first novel - but I still look forward to his second.
Booklist Allison Block
Laird's writing is consistently lively... But his plot is overcrowded including a bomb threat, a tepid sex scene, and a scatological incident readers best discover for themselves. [15 Nov 2005, p. 22]
Wall Street Journal Dan Slater
To be sure, witty, pretty prose may render a novel readable, but style fails to rescue [the] book from the tarnish of worn-out plotting devices.
Publishers Weekly
The novel is well intentioned, clever and occasionally quirky--but the whole feels like less than the sum of its parts.
Daily Telegraph Mark Sanderson
This callow debut suggests [Laird] doesn't take the novel form as seriously as verse. Alas, it's not just a question of length. What Utterly Monkey lacks is depth.
PopMatters Thomas Scott McKenzie
There is a tremendous amount of power hinted at within these pages, but in the end, it fizzles like a bad fuse.
 The average user rating for this book is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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