Little Monsters

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That others found his ingenuity threatening was not his problem; perhaps they should be the ones consuming mood-regulating drugs. Readers will relish Adrienne Brodeur’s Little Monsters for its meticulous world building, gripping storyline, multidimensional characters, and utterly reasonable ending. Even as the novel builds to the revelations, the focus is kept fiercely on the aftermath and the recovery: Ken’s therapy, Abby’s artwork.

I loved that this book had a Halloween setting, I haven’t read many books set on Halloween, and the way that this story incorporated it into this story was really clever. The reader doesn’t get the details because the reader doesn’t need them… and the characters themselves don’t know all of them. At home, Adam tossed the pharmacy bags on the kitchen counter and made himself a cup of tea, which he took outside.

If he could practice patience and maintain equilibrium, Adam felt certain that every book he’d ever read, every piece of art that had ever moved him, every conversation, creature, curiosity, and concept he’d encountered in his lifetime would align like cherries in the slot machine of his mind. I am big on books where the characters have jobs that feel earned and make sense to their character development-- this delivers in spades. After the untimely death of his wife, he raised two children – Ken and Abby – by himself, and even though he was a remote father, both of them have displayed great promise in their fields. There was no character development and the individuals were all just as shitty as they were when the book started. Little Monsters was my first introduction to Adrianne Brodeurs work, so I didn’t completely know what to expect going in.

As Little Monsters progressed, the dynamics of the Gardner family became increasingly complicated, verging on being dysfunctional. It serves Ken to view life as made up of winners and losers, with concrete and tangible items making up the dividing line. Kotimatkalla surullinen ihmissusi kuitenkin tapaa joukon hirviöasuisia lapsia, jotka kutsuvat hänet mukaansa. The remaining painstakingly slow pages crescendo to Adam’s seventieth birthday party, and it is no surprise to the reader when all of the secrets have reared their ugly heads. I also love the author’s 2019 memoir Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover and Me, in which she bravely lays bare her childhood role as an involuntary accomplice to her mother’s illicit affair.It’s April 2016 and Adam Gardner is suffering from insomnia and trying to decipher the clues his mind is depositing. He’d vote for the woman, maybe, but he couldn’t stand either of them—the pronouncements, promises, platitudes. They keep the seething caldron of their history barely tamped down while warily staying in each other’s orbit, due in part to the remote artist’s studio tucked back on the sand dunes that their deceased mother Emily owned, in which Abby now lives and works, and which was left to Ken before Abby was born.

It combines themes the familiar themes of jealousy, narcissism, infidelity, pride and a desperate need to be seen by their sole parent, with ones that weren’t present in the original story. Possibly that’s intentional—that’s true in the real world as well as fiction—but I am so personally tired of pregnancy being such a major part of stories about women. Equally strong are the vivid descriptions of Cape Cod, giving you such a strong sense of place that I’m transported back to a fabulous holiday I spent there, including the inevitable whale watching! There seemed to be build up to SOMETHING, but it totally petered out, and there was no redeeming ending. This monstrously exciting new picture book from bestselling author David Walliams, brilliantly illustrated by Adam Stower is a bright, fun, laugh-out-loud book with a cool message about celebrating individuality.The men are less likeable than the women as some are certainly narcissistic although whilst Adam is judgy, he is also amusing in his non pc world and is also charismatic. words rushed out—'nitrates,’ ‘phosphates,’ ‘phytoplankton,’ ‘zooplankton,’ ‘photosynthesis,’ ‘chemosynthesis,’ ‘rotifers,’ ‘copepods’—and Adam explained the aquatic food chain from the base of the pyramid. Set against the backdrop of a very beautiful and familiar area of cape code, all of the characters are relatable, likeable, hateable in their choices. The writing is confident with sharp narrative tension and sharply observed episodes that lead to growth and understanding as the book proceeds. The setting, plot and dialogue are thoroughly developed; I found myself fully invested in the story from the outset.

Adult siblings Ken and Abby Gardner hold fast to the only family narrative they know: their parents had a happy life together until their mother’s untimely death, when Adam, their heroic father, stepped into the role of single parent and gave them an idyllic childhood in the Wellfleet Woods. Here you'll find an authentic reflection of how day-to-day life moves forward, often slowly because real life takes time and getting to know the characters always lead to a better experience.I didn’t get much from this story, as I struggled through it and didn’t feel any connection towards the characters.