17
Apr
2009
Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff
The thing that endeared me most to Matt Ruff, was that in his “Acknowledgements” section at the end of the book, he cites Evil Willow. Let that be a foreshadowing of things to come in this book.
Jane Charlotte sits in the crazy wing of a prison, explaining her story to shrink Dr. Vale. She’s been accused of murder, but that’s not why she’s in the nuthouse, just why she’s in prison.
Jane claims that she is a dedicated member of a super secret organization: Department for the Final Disposition of Irredeemable Persons, who the sect glibly refer to as “Bad Monkeys.”
Jane explains that her organization has eyes and ears everywhere–including that portrait that hangs on the wall. They put little gadgety contact lenses on the eyes of the portrait, which transmit signals back to their computers. And it’s not just psychiatric facilities and jails that have these bugs. They are everywhere. They are on money.
It’s one of those SciFi things that if you can suspend disbelief that this technology exists, you will have to suspend said belief that there could be enough people actively watching this digitalized information.
Back to the point. What is Jane’s game? She says that the death of her brother when she was a kid left her with the resolve to fight crime. But what exactly happened to her brother?
Is the past catching up with her as she speaks?
The back cover of the book teases that the “doctor attempts to determine whether she is lying, crazy–or playing a different game all together.”
Maybe it’s a little bit of each.
And just who is this Dr. Vale anyways?
If you like this book, you might like:
(my reviews in blue)
Rant by Chuck Palahniuk
1984 by George Orwell
2666 by Roberto Bolaño
An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England by Brock Clarke
Soon I Will be Invincible by Austin Grossman
Little Brother by Corey Doctorow
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Dismantled by Jennifer McMahon
Other works by Matt Ruff:
Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls
Fool on the Hill
Sewer, Gas and Electric: The Public Works Trilogy
