Monkey See

FredBujolleft a comment

It's funny. And I've been quoting a lot of the lines to my friends, which makes me look funnier than I am.

fujiwarkleft a comment

Part instructional manual, part personal asides, and part coming-of-ape story, "Monkey See" is an entertaining experiment in prose!

SarahRaeleft a comment

What author Walt Maguire has created cannot justifiably be called a novel. “Monkey See” is an evaluation of human life, a social satire, a how-to guide for creating talking monkey children, an advice column for dealing with teenagers, an analysis of cultural values, and a collection of recipes all bound together. Whether your interests lie in learning the proper etiquette for a job interview with an ape overlord, or if you were really only searching for a user-friendly chart to help you find the perfect name for your newly created monkey mutant, “Monkey See” is a highly informative and a truly laugh-out-loud read. Mixed in with guidelines to follow for your own fiendish at-home lab experiment is the story of Ed the Talking Monkey, created accidentally by power-obsessed scientist Dr. Cogitomni, and Gigi, the Doctor’s newest experimental plan for world domination. Ed attempts to find a suitable place for himself in a society, which is either human, or evil monkey army. He is also confused by his romantic attachment to Gigi, the soon-to-be sixty foot tall monster with spikes and killer breath. Being the first stage of talking ape, Ed is neither equipped to understand the social world of humans, nor is he of the same intellectual capacity as other talking ape spawn. It seems he is truly the only one of his kind, and must therefore struggle with his place among primates. A similar situation exists also for Gigi, who is designed to be the ultimate diabolical monster, and yet cannot get on board with the idea. Reading “Monkey See,” I laughed from start to finish. This “novel” is full of scientific information regarding primates, ridiculous footnotes that keep surprising you with their absurdity, and genuinely witty writing. It’s impossible not to laugh after reading parenting advice for your ape child’s proper development that urges you to hire a trained professional to do the job: “…if you are the sort of person who had taken the time and effort to create a talking ape, you are unlikely to have the parenting skills necessary to do anything except emotionally cripple those around you.” Don’t let your new life as mad scientist, parent to mutant apes, and prospective dominator of the world overwhelm you. Let Walt Maguire walk you through it.

tisbutehnameleft a comment

If the movies “King Kong” and “Young Frankenstein” had a book for a child, Monkey See would be that book. It is a wildly schemed, crazy literary experiment involving monkeys, which is, not surprisingly, inventive and unpredictable and completely hilarious. The protagonist (if you will), Ed the talking monkey, is created accidentally by a mad scientist and know it all, Dr. Cogitomni. Although there is a plot of sorts in Monkey See and we find ourselves reading about Ed and Dr. Cogitomni in a world that has seen the appearance of business savvy apes and war mongering orangutans, it’s what author Walt Maguire does once he has created this world scenario that makes the book stand out. It’s part recipe book for monkey meals, has chapters that answer important questions concerning how to throw successful parties with monkey, ape, and human guests, is fifteen percent “Mad Scientist: for Idiots”, and just for flavor it’s a parenting guide when you’re having trouble raising that evil genetically engineered teenage girl spider monkey. Don’t be surprised if at some point during the reading of Monkey See you turn it over to examine the front cover, making sure you didn’t pick up the wrong book and continue reading on the same page by mistake. Each chapter leads to an even weirder chapter, the weirder the funnier, the funnier the better, nonstop. Read it, you’ll see. Walt Maguire has written (and illustrated) something here that is so very different from an everyday novel, and if he has to subject his characters to cataclysmic property damage, broken monkey hearts, and (purposefully) poorly chosen last words, inhumane or not, damn the ethics and let him work!

bibleeohfileleft a comment

I know it's early, but I think that "Monkey See" by Walt Maguire is going to be the book of the summer for me. It's got everything I, or any other reader, could want. Genetic experiments on primates who will one day rise up and crush humanity; heart-tugging moments of baby monkey cuteness; a twisty plot that goes from story A to story B to story 8 without stopping; and, my personal favorite part, a do-it-yourself guide to making your own monster. (At home: just add water! And dangerous chemicals! Totally safe for all ages!) "When Ed the Talking Monkey moves out of his cage at the lab and finds an apartment convenient to public transportation, he has to face not only the stares of confused humans but the snobbishness of the more advanced experiments that follow him into the new social scene. In the space of a few days, he must decide if his best interests lie with the humans, or with a group of the enhanced apes who think the humans are hogging all the best parking spaces at the malls. Meanwhile, he falls in love with a new young monkey at the lab, both of them unaware that one of the researchers has brought her in for an enhancement that is far beyond what any of them can imagine . . . or want." There are three separate, yet not-separate, plots running throughout this novel. The first plot has to do with Ed the Talking Monkey and how he deals with his new life after being genetically enhanced by Dr. Cogitomni--who was actually researching a cure for asthma. Ed the Talking Monkey is stuck trying to decided where, in this new world, he actually belongs. Is it with the humans--who don't understand or really like Ed--or the other enhanced primates--who alternately try to befriend and look look down on Ed for his "friendship" with humans? While trying to decide, Ed the Talking Monkey befriends Gigi, Dr. Cogitomni's newest "guest" at the lab. The two hit it off, once Gigi has undergone enough genetic manipulation to actually speak, that is. Alas, their love is destined to die because Gigi is not only Dr. Cogitomni's newest experiment, but she's also his secret weapon in his evil plan to rule the world. (What, you didn't see that coming? Sorry.) Spliced throughout the whole, twisted story of Ed the Talking Monkey's journey and Gigi's metamorphosis, is an intricate, step-by-step guide to 1) creating your own monster (so you too can rule the world), but 2) a detailed plan on what to do afterward, including great lines (for the other scientists, your monster, and the cops--should you fail), and a handy key to coming up with a suitable name for your monster. Oh, and there's a whole other plot about the upcoming monkey uprising. You know, the other the other primates are planning because they hate the humans and want to crush us and enslave us, and that one maybe wants to eat us. Ed the Talking Monkey may or may not be joining them. You know, keeping his options open incase things with Gigi don't work out. (You should maybe worry about that.) Like I said: hysterical. It's a very tightly written novel, taking all sorts of jabs at political and social issues, while never letting the laughs stop. I highly recommend it and I urge you to read it. Now. Before the monkeys get you. PS: Let me know if you too catch the Cylon reference.