Bring the Monkey
Bring the Monkey
A light novel
Free DownloadA spoof of the English country-house mystery/pot-boiler novel.
Book Excerpt
tween me and jumping-off this last week."
I was spread in a deep chair, my feet to the fire with Percy on my chest under my oldest woolly jersey, fast asleep. The lovable face showed complete abandon, the closed eyelids were an eggshell blue that left those of the painted ladies mere "mucky pups."
"You come too. I'll wire Clarice. She'll be delighted. She's a kind old pillow."
"I've just refused the party at Buckhurst because I cannot afford the tips in those private pubs--prefer the regular inns; besides, I've only got one evening gown spry enough."
"I haven't a stitch either; and imagine me in evening dress with Percy! He'd pluck every feather off me, and leave bleeding weals on my most important promontories. The odious little cow never cares a hoot about the side his bread is buttered, and favours all the wrong people. He'll most likely go for old Swith's nose."
"He evidently knows how to annex a faithful coolie," I said, tilting his chin the better to adore him. He made
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Readers reviews
3.6
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This is bad satire so bizarre that it should be read just to appreciate the wild plot and character names. Just about every cliche from 1900's whodunnits is crammed in - jewels, maharajas, sirens, love triangles and so on. There are spoof parts which are good and satirical bits which are OK and then lengthy and pointless conversations that belong nowhere.Agatha Christie ,Arthur Conan Doyle - Thank You. May your tribe increase.
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A fun story with an unpredictable ending. Sometimes hard to follow due to jargon used and character names, but the overall story stays on track and well written
11/02/2011
This is a rather entertaining spoof of an old fashioned country house mystery. There are a host of unlikely characters, not to mention a monkey called Percy, rooms suddenly plunged into darkness, a missing bracelet, and finally a dead body. A well written, quirky little novel, that is certainly unusual, Miles Franklin manages to have quite a nice little dig at social conventions of the time, class and snobbery. Her cast of characters include people of different races and social backgrounds and how they are percieved by one another and interact with each other is interesting in itself. I was amused by the outlandish names of some characters - including: Swithwulf George Cedd St. Erconwald Spillbeans (Lord Tattingwood), Zarla Osterly, Ydonea Zaltuffrie and Captain Stopworth. An amusing cosy read.
10/29/2011
I liked this book, a quirky little story, well written and quite amusing with a vast array of characters.An entertaining whodunnit ,I would recommend this book to read on a really cold miserable day, snuggled up in front of the fire with a large whiskey.
05/28/2011
Not bad, an amusing spoof with subtle and not-so-subtle humor. The narrator (female) trails after her glamorous and beautiful friend Zarla, who is "a siren not a spectacle" and whose great talent is to listen to people. Zarla decides to get a monkey to make up for not being able to trek to the steppes of Asia or similar places (written in 1933, so the far off places were still REALLY far off and exotic). Then her social life picks up as a result. Interesting observations about people of various classes and races, some of which are not as harsh or reactionary as you might suppose from that 1933 copyright date.
I suspect the two lead characters are somewhat inspired by Holmes/Watson, and Zarla sounds like a takeoff on Katharine Hepburn, or the sort of woman Hepburn played in the 30s.
I suspect the two lead characters are somewhat inspired by Holmes/Watson, and Zarla sounds like a takeoff on Katharine Hepburn, or the sort of woman Hepburn played in the 30s.
10/25/2010
