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The Cheese Monkeys

3.73 of 5 stars 3.73 · rating details · 3,523 ratings · 481 reviews

After 15 years of designing more than 1,500 book jackets at Knopf for such authors as Anne Rice and Michael Chrichton, Kidd has crafted an affecting an entertaining novel set at a state university in the late 1950s that is both slap-happily funny and heartbreakingly sad. The Cheese Monkeys is a college novel that takes place over a tightly written two semesters. The book i...more

Paperback, 288 pages

Published September 3rd 2002 by Harper Perennial (first published 2001)

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Apr 03, 2007 Billy rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm a little rattled at the moment. I just finished reading this not more than 5 minutes ago and the shift in mood that takes place near the end of the book took me by such horrified surprise that I still haven't completely recovered. The last forty pages belong to a much darker novel.

Previous to those gloomy pages I'd been enjoying myself considerably. As an art student myself, it was very easy to relate. Some of the most enjoyable moments are the various critiques, where the students present...more

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Sep 03, 2007 Danielle rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: art school kids, lovers of graphic design, david sedaris fans

I read this years ago but I've still got my copy sitting proudly on my bookshelf as it is signed by Chip Kidd himself, whom I met at a reading he did in Dallas shortly after the book hit the shelves. Kidd is best known for his work as a graphic artist, specifically book cover art. His biggest client is John Updike, even though I'm pretty sure Updike says he hates Kidd's writing. Chip Kidd's best-known cover is probably for Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park, the logo of which ended up on the movie...more

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Jun 03, 2008 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

I just glanced at some earlier reviews from readers to make sure I didn't miss something on this one, and the second review I saw (from Billy) perfectly described my reaction to this novel. It's about 270 pages, the first 220 or so of which are incredibly entertaining and among the few times I've enjoyed an author's attempt at rendering life in the college scene.

Then, as things are rolling beautifully along, the bottom falls out of this book, and the whole plot spirals out of control. Indeed, be...more

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Jul 29, 2008 Phill rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: humor, cult

Next on my list out of the four books I spontaneously bought was Chip Kidd’s ‘The Cheese Monkeys’, subtitled ‘A Novel in Two Semesters’. For those not familiar with the author’s name, you’d probably be familiar with at least a few pieces of his work, given he’s basically designed every worthwhile book cover on the planet (or at least that’s the impression his wiki gives). It’s kind of obvious that this is a book telling of design, as the book itself has a few quirky features, the most startling...more Next on my list out of the four books I spontaneously bought was Chip Kidd’s ‘The Cheese Monkeys’, subtitled ‘A Novel in Two Semesters’. For those not familiar with the author’s name, you’d probably be familiar with at least a few pieces of his work, given he’s basically designed every worthwhile book cover on the planet (or at least that’s the impression his wiki gives). It’s kind of obvious that this is a book telling of design, as the book itself has a few quirky features, the most startling of which is the optical illusion that covers the whatever-the-technical-word-for-the-bit-opposite-the-spine-is-where-the-pages-come-out. Basically the edges of the pages look they’ve had a big smudge over them until you bend the book one way, whereupon those smudges resolve themselves into the words “Do you see?”. And then, ever the intrepid explorer, you bend the book the other way to see that they now form the words “Good is dead”. If you are anything like me, this has already made the book a worthwhile purchase.

Anyway, the subtitle is appropriate, as this is essentially an exaggerated autobiographical account of Kidd’s days taking art classes at college. More specifically the first semester is Kidd taking generic art classes and befriending the unstoppably quirky and independent Himillsy Dodd. Himillsy is difficult to describe, but if you take the teenage Juno, beat the irritating “Look at me I’m indie” out of her, grow her up a little, hurt her a bit to encourage the cynicism, then chuck her in a world of pretentious art world and let her develop the sense of hatred for stupidity and trends. That’s Himillsy (Hims, Mills, Millie).

From here, the narrator (already relatively unimpressed by the courses he’s been offered) is thrown into a design course in the second semester of the book. Specifically a design course with a sarcastic, highly intelligent, sadist design professor (who, apparently, invented the Wrigley’s gum wrapper double arrow) named Winter Sorbeck. As far as I can tell, Winter is essentially Kidd’s voice of design speaking through the book. He is an utter bastard, willing to rip off his student’s work, burn their assignments, berate them into leaving, and set them impossible tasks in order to get them to really appreciate the purpose of ‘design’. He sees graphic design as an elite art of translating ideas ans associations captured constantly from the world into concepts that leap at their audiences. Sorbeck is the art teacher that you’ve always wanted. The kind that abuses you for mediocrity, but has the expertise to back up the beratement, and the eventual humanity to award you.

There are lessons to be learned from this book. It is uplifting, even throughout the utterly insane scenes of penile blackmail. If nothing else it serves as a very light introduction to methods involved in modern design. Personally it did make me sit back and wonder what might have been, and what still could be, if I made a serious effort in the creative arts. It also made me wonder what on earth I’ll be doing at the end of my degree, but I believe that’s idiosyncratic to my reading of it.

Ultimately I’d recommend this one to anyone that’s interested in doing, or has done anything in design to get a friendly reminder of why you are doing (or have done) what you are doing (or have done). Good stuff, and accessible on a few different levels.(less)

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May 24, 2007 Zan G rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Graphic Designers, Art Students

This is a quick read and mostly enjoyable. The cover and title pages have really great design work, as Kidd is known for, and the book is worth picking up for that reason alone.

I've heard a lot of critics say that it's extremely predictable and it sort of is in that "crazy teacher that students hate and then bond with" kind of way. What it has that movies and books of this tired genre lack are a few good twists, a lot of good dark humor and a teacher whose inspirational speeches have less happy...more

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Oct 07, 2012 oriana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2011

Apparently I'm in one of those phases where I don't trust anything new and am only rereading things I know I loved. And if this is 1/8 as good as Bogeywoman , I will have several more very happy days.

***

Good, but not as good the second time around. It seemed too short & much less complete. The main girl was awesome awesome, but the main guy was pretty inconsistent and kind of hard to believe. And the writing style started to grate after awhile. But the plot was still super, and the design ad...more

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Sep 19, 2008 Sadie rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Illiterate people

Something on the book "jacket" mentioned that the author is actually a graphic designer and that this is his first attempt at actually writing. That fact is painfully apparent.

Every paragraph feels like a high school descriptive writing assignment. Kidd's overuse of metaphors, in particular, is so distracting that I frequently lose track of the novel's action (if you can even call it that).

The jacket design is engaging and unique, but the same cannot be said of the story itself.

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Jan 19, 2009 Emily rated it 1 of 5 stars

I did not like this book because it was witty. It was so witty that I was utterly confused the entire time because instead of saying what was actually happening, the author would say it “wittily”. I am a sharp person, but sometime extreme wit takes me days to process, and even then I can only process small doses. Several hundred pages of wit is overwhelming. Also, the plot was not hilarious, like so many of the reviews on here promised, unless you think rape and molesting is funny. However, like...more I did not like this book because it was witty. It was so witty that I was utterly confused the entire time because instead of saying what was actually happening, the author would say it “wittily”. I am a sharp person, but sometime extreme wit takes me days to process, and even then I can only process small doses. Several hundred pages of wit is overwhelming. Also, the plot was not hilarious, like so many of the reviews on here promised, unless you think rape and molesting is funny. However, like I said, the book was so witty that maybe I completely misunderstood and no one was violated.

I would like to share a story of why you should just say what you mean without fancying it up (or lying or being witty):

When I was in college I fell in love with a boy named Dan. We were in the same ‘Physics 122: Electricity & Magnetism’ class. After class (which I always imagined that we were attending TOGETHER) we’d go to the physics lab to work for hours on our homework. I think Dan had some concept of what the class was actually about, but all I knew was that I sure felt a lot of electricity and magnetism with Dan.

So, there was no class one day and all I could think of was my beloved Dan. I worked up the nerve to call him and ask if he wanted to go on a hike. I didn’t really want to go on a hike, nor did I have a clue where a good one (‘good’ = I would not get sweaty or out of breath), but I thought he’d like it. So I looked him up in the college directory and called. He wasn’t home, so I left a message and went on a hike (around the mall) by myself. When I got home I anxiously asked if Dan had called. My roommate hesitantly let me know that he had indeed returned my call…and his message was “I have no idea who you are. I don’t even know anyone named Emily.” Oh my gosh. D-E-V-A-S-T-A-T-I-O-N!!! Was this a rejection or was I really that un-memorable?

So the next day in class I was a bit cautious when I saw Dan. He seemed totally normal. The jerk! How could he have so callously denied me and then pretended like it never happened?! I was mad at him, but still totally in love. Just because he didn’t know my name didn’t mean that what we felt for each other wasn’t real! I eventually just said, “So, Dan, did you not want to go hiking or what yesterday?” And he said, “Huh?” Turns out that he had moved from the apartment that I had called, but another guy named Dan had moved in. So, the Dan I called really didn’t know who I was! (I have to admit that I wondered why that Dan he didn’t call me back, pretend to know who I was, say yes to the hike, and then ask me to marry him when we came upon a sparkling waterfall. That would have been such a great story to tell our kids! But apparently boys are not that romantic!)

Ok, here’s where not saying what I meant really got me in trouble: Dan said that if had he gotten my message he would have totally gone on the hike. I knew then that the secret to this relationship was establishing that I liked all of the exact same things that he did. So, I would casually ask him questions about himself and then point out that I liked that EXACT SAME STUFF! Like, his favorite band was ‘Toad The Wet Sprocket’. I said, “Me too! Totally! I like to fall asleep listening to them!” To this day I cannot name for you a single song by that band. So when he asked what my favorite song was, I sort of gasp and said, “Every one. They are all so awesome, especially the one about...the...frog. You know, the one with guitars?! Yes. I love that one!” I remember Dan giving me a funny look.

A few days later, I was digging for more of Dan’s/my favorite things. Either travel or tv came up. That lead to a discussion of the ‘Lonely Planet’ tv show, which I had never seen, but had always intended to watch. He started telling me his favorite characters and such. I instantly felt weird because I thought it was a travelogue show without characters. But I couldn’t disagree with Dan…we were in love for heaven’s sakes! So I totally agreed about how Estelle seemed so weird with Willie and how Dean and Shelly were really on the outs lately, etc. In my mind I was thinking ‘Is he testing me? No way! He loves me! Wait, wait…this could be a test. No, maybe I there actually is a plot on that show.” After several minutes of agreeing with him, he gave me a really long, awkward stare and walked away. He never spoke to me again.

My story could also be titled “Desperation Is Obvious”.
(less)

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Jan 20, 2011 Grace rated it 2 of 5 stars

infuriating. hated every single page of it. way too pretentious for its own good, and not nearly as clever as it thinks it is. with every pop-referencing metaphor, heavy handed with over-the-top "get it? get it?" irony, you get the feeling that it would go so far as to wink at you if it weren't so busy patting itself on the fucking back. terrible, shrill, trite, egomaniacal characters worshipped by the pathetically insecure and earnest narrator. i didn't care much for these three characters to b...more

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Dec 29, 2008 christa rated it 4 of 5 stars

"The Cheese Monkeys" is, for more than 250 pages, one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long time. Our hero is a freshman at State, enrolled in art classes. He meets an older sassy wild card named Himillsy Dodd who is full of fun and big ideas. They spend time drinking, eating ice cream, drunk driving and talking about art. (Himillsy also has a very serious straight-laced, straight edge, non cluttered boyfriend who rarely interrupts the flow of their friendship). Second semester finds t...more "The Cheese Monkeys" is, for more than 250 pages, one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long time. Our hero is a freshman at State, enrolled in art classes. He meets an older sassy wild card named Himillsy Dodd who is full of fun and big ideas. They spend time drinking, eating ice cream, drunk driving and talking about art. (Himillsy also has a very serious straight-laced, straight edge, non cluttered boyfriend who rarely interrupts the flow of their friendship). Second semester finds them taking a graphic design class from an unpredictable professor, who assigns projects like: Design a poster, so that upon seeing it, the viewer will feel strangely compelled either to start an action or cease one.

And here is the fun of this book. A project is assigned. The students discuss it. The students present it. Professor Sorbeck shreds it and someone leaves the classroom in tears. Another student presents to a similar end. This is a total kick, filled with fun dialogue and interesting ideas. Conversations between the main characters are littered with pun-filled sentences. They are totally wrangling for best fictitious duo.

[It's fun to read about this sort of set up in an art classroom, rather than a classroom filled with writers, which seems to be a cliche of novels for obvious reasons. The art aspect gives it freshness. A recognizable concept, but in a different environment.:]

Unfortunately, no class lasts forever. And something's gotta give.

I'm beginning to notice a trend in most of the fiction I read: Passive male character is swept up by a carefree sidekick. There is witty banter and quirky side stepping of polite society. Momentum builds. Things can't stay like this forever. More heat. Whamo! An explosion that leaves everyone a little bruised. Life goes on in a new direction.

And it is usually at the explosion where the book falls apart for me. My favorite person in the whole world says that he only likes the first two-thirds of most movies; I'm starting to see that in the fiction I read. I mean no double entendre when I say: No one writes a good climax anymore.

Not even Chip Kidd.

His explosion is silly. Which is weird to say, because this book is pretty silly. But smart silly, not "rest your head on a baseball bat, spin in circles eight times and try to run to first base" silly, like the ending is.

On the other hand, in addition to the two-thirds theory of movies (and now books), I also have developed a Beavis and Butthead theory. In high school, I would watch an episode of B&B, find it funny enough. The next day during homeroom, my friend Tom would tell me about the same episode and I would laugh harder than when I was actually watching it. Something similar happened with this book: I went to sleep disappointed with the ending. Eight hours later, I was telling my favorite person in the world about the ending -- he had already read it, but forgotten. He was laughing his face off. Hearing myself talk about the climax, I realized I hadn't given it enough credit. This was golden.

So why didn't it work when I was actually looking at the words? One of the great mysteries of fiction, I guess. (less)

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Jul 18, 2008 Katie rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Hannah

Recommended to Katie by: the library's "surprise!" shelf

WHAT the?... I just finished this, and as soon as I finish reviewing it, I'm going to go search out all the reviews with SPOILERS so I can hear someone talk about the ending.

This book is kind of like if you took Donna Tartt, Thomas Pynchon, David Sedaris, J.D. Salinger, and all those episodes of Six Feet Under where Claire goes to art school and whirred them up in a blender... Not a bad concoction in the end. And I don't mean to suggest Kidd is derivative. He actually has a pretty fearless voic...more WHAT the?... I just finished this, and as soon as I finish reviewing it, I'm going to go search out all the reviews with SPOILERS so I can hear someone talk about the ending.

This book is kind of like if you took Donna Tartt, Thomas Pynchon, David Sedaris, J.D. Salinger, and all those episodes of Six Feet Under where Claire goes to art school and whirred them up in a blender... Not a bad concoction in the end. And I don't mean to suggest Kidd is derivative. He actually has a pretty fearless voice most of the time.

Lots of times I couldn't believe it took place in the fifties, even the bohemian, radical fringe of the fifties. Then other times I loved that it took place in the fifties, because "limitations are possiblities," right? So the book's darkest character says, and it was interesting to see the author wedge his characters into another time without making them feel at all like they were in a fifties diorama. And I realized that as bleakly funny and semi-nihilistic as the book gets, the characters are never quite postmodern. They teeter on postmodernism but never quite tip, despite the Eggers-y cuteness of the cover and title pages.

Three and a half stars, really, if you want to be exact. Almost four.

**
AND LATER, THE SAME DAY...

I just wanted to add a note, because I read some other reviews here, then I went to another site and read some movie reviews, and then I thought about that whole speech in "Ratatouille" about the role of critics vs. the role of artists... and I wanted to add to my review of Cheese Monkeys that yeah, I felt a little dead-ended by the ending of this book, and no it isn't in my desert island suitcase, BUT... if I had written even two pages of this, I would be damn proud of myself.

And though I did give it three stars, the things I liked about it I didn't like half-heartedly. I loved them.

In the grand scheme of things, Chip Kidd is pretty brilliant. And this book is pretty amazing.

Also, I think he should definitely write some plays.

(less)

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Mar 22, 2008 Ulf Kastner rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: drama queens, prima donnas and those who enjoy their company

Recommended to Ulf by: Blairrichardson

Quickness: Three weeks ago I watched and listened to the author field questions from one jovial local designer friend of his who'd joined forces with a local chapter of a graphic designers union for the purpose of said Q&A. Kidd was suitably entertaining without catering too much to the assembled five dozen, mostly adoring fans. A week thereafter a dear designer friend of mine gifts me Kidd's two published novels for my birthday. The next week and a half go to reading-waste as a result of SX...more

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Jun 29, 2008 Nate D rated it 3 of 5 stars

A brief interlude between longer, more involved selections. Has the distinction of the widest margins-to-page-size of anything I have ever read. Maybe a jokey reference to college students trying to make their term papers look longer? It would hardly be outside of the book's scope or tone to do so.

***

Well, I like to be entertained, and I was entertained. So no complaints there. It was a strange novel, though. Briskly frivolous, then oddly didactic, then positively Dantean. I'm not yet convinced...more

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May 03, 2011 Bohemienne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Most importantly, this book is incredibly readable. Little effort is needed to breeze through the carefully styled pages of Chip Kidd's first writing attempt. That being said, however, you get out of it what you put into it; 'The Cheese Monkeys' is not a destination to some great revelation but instead a fantastic, extravagant journey that ends on schedule without regard to recent developments.
One can feel empathy for the nameless narrator from the very beginning; his experiences entering the wo...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Andrea Mullarkey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Chip Kidd designs beautiful books and I figure anyone who can make books as pretty as his probably loves books enough to not make a mess when writing one. So when I saw a like-new copy of The Cheese Monkeys at the Friends of the Library store for a buck it came home with me. And I was right, Chip Kidd did not make a mess of it. In this story of young art students in a mid-century State College program, Kidd pokes fun at academia, design, and coming of age stories. It is the kind of good satire w...more

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Jun 02, 2012 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, career

At my university, graphic design majors didn't exist. There was a graphic design class, sure, but it was conducted by the school of art. I agree with Winter Sorbeck -- graphic design doesn't belong in any school of art.

It belongs under the school of communications or, lacking that, the journalism school (J-school). Why? Because it's not art. Art can be beautiful or pathetic, deep or meaningless; it can be made for a specific reason or none at all. Art doesn't have to do or be anything to be art....more At my university, graphic design majors didn't exist. There was a graphic design class, sure, but it was conducted by the school of art. I agree with Winter Sorbeck -- graphic design doesn't belong in any school of art.

It belongs under the school of communications or, lacking that, the journalism school (J-school). Why? Because it's not art. Art can be beautiful or pathetic, deep or meaningless; it can be made for a specific reason or none at all. Art doesn't have to do or be anything to be art. It just is.

But graphic design isn't. Sorbeck says, "Design is, literally, purposeful planning. Graphic Design, then, is the form these plans will take." It's a form of communication, a medium in the same family as a newspaper, magazine, book, or billboard. But art school majors don't get it. They consider it commercial, crass, beneath them and their Amazing Talents. This is why my art grad friends thought I'd enjoy the story -- I'm a communicator, and I work with graphic designers every day. They're an entertaining bunch, but I've never met the likes of a Himillsy Dodd, David David, or Maybelle Lee. And hopefully I never will -- I don't think I could keep up!

Chip Kidd's writing is as vivid and alive as any artist's imagination. Every detail is provided using unmistakeable visuals: "Her eyes gleamed bright with the fear that you Might Not Like Her. ... She stood relatively still, but her spirit was dog paddling."

Each sentence is painted with the best material and finished with a coating of wit, drawing readers into Hap's life and introducing them to people they'd be hard-pressed to forget: "[Dottie Spang's] scalp emitted a semicircular spoof of ivory hair -- Bozo's grandma gone gray. Her nostrils were on a mad dash to either side of her face and her spectacles, bottle-thick lenses and frames of gilt-edged plastic, were perpetually refereeing the outcome. Behind them, her olive eyes shone brightly. They rarely pointed in the same direction, but at least they sparkled."

Most people are either visual or verbal -- thus we have writers and designers (or, if they insist, Artists). But Kidd walks the street between the two neighborhoods, having written and designed one of the most original and refreshing books I've read this year. (less)

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Nov 03, 2011 trav rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

This book is worth owning if just for the book design itself. The author, Chip Kidd, is a bookcover designer with Knopf. This is his first book. And the secind book he designed cover to cover (the first being Watching the Body Burn).

The story tracks a fictional version of Kidd as he makes his way through design school. You can imagine the types of characters her runs into. the story is pretty good. But the story, tied in with this book's design is even better. i.e. the font changes as the main c...more

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Mar 11, 2010 Corey Vilhauer rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: borrowed

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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$Radiantfracture$

Feb 14, 2013 Radiantfracture rated it 3 of 5 stars

This begins with energy, and it echoes a mid-century narrative voice without getting twee about it. However, there's something shopworn about many of its its elements -- the characters, their quirks, the actions, even the designs they produce and the stunts they pull.

The playful design elements are still effective, even after more than ten years -- which is saying something, because there was a lot of irritating design in the '00s. The structure of the book (by semester), the use of typeface, th...more

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Nov 25, 2011 Jenny rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read2011

Just another faux art school memoir. Seriously, how many of these are out there? I recently picked up Better Than Running at Night at the same used book store for the same price ($1). The issues are the same with both - not really very interesting, with characters that are manufactured to be deep but end up annoying, where the main character Learns about how Art is Life or some such nonsense.

I gave it one more star than the Frank book because there were a few stories that made me giggle, but I...more

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Aug 03, 2009 Becky rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009

I picked up this book solely because I liked the cover, which makes sense because it was written by an artist (unfortunately goodreads doesn't have the cover of this book that I read).

I can't decide at all what I thought of it. It was the story of an art major's first year at college. Some parts I loved and some parts I hated. I really liked the projects that the graphic design professor had the students do and seeing what they all came up with. Quite clever. However, I agree with other reviews...more

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Jul 23, 2012 Joanne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Cheese Monkeys: A Novel in Two Semesters is a weird one. The author, Chip Kidd, is a superb book designer and an incredibly gifted graphic illustrator. Many, many times when I picked up a book and thought the design was awesome, I found it was created by him. So, for that reason alone, I truly wanted to LOVE this novel. Well, it was a Love-Hate relationship. The Love part: I’m a fan of coming of age stories. All the good ones usually follow a protagonist who is struggling to find their way i...more

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Feb 16, 2011 AJ LeBlanc rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: cbr-iii

The fiction as memoir; fiction based on real life experiences; or fiction with a few things thrown in that maybe really happened in real life genre… Just enough to trip you up into thinking that this must be how it happened.

The Cheese Monkeys: A Novel in Two Semesters is a manic race through the narrator’s introduction to art classes in college. Parts felt very much like a memoir and it was clear that Kidd was drawing (no pun intended) on his college experiences. I related to the first few days...more The fiction as memoir; fiction based on real life experiences; or fiction with a few things thrown in that maybe really happened in real life genre… Just enough to trip you up into thinking that this must be how it happened.

The Cheese Monkeys: A Novel in Two Semesters is a manic race through the narrator’s introduction to art classes in college. Parts felt very much like a memoir and it was clear that Kidd was drawing (no pun intended) on his college experiences. I related to the first few days of chaos at college and the almost instant panic that you’ve made a terribly bad decision.

Our narrator, let’s keep his professor’s name for him and call him Happy, creeps into his first art class and soon meets the insanity driven hurricane that is Himillsy Dodd. The book suddenly becomes her book, or at least that’s what she wants you to think.

Hims doesn’t so much as take Hap under her wing as she drags him in bemused terror and adoration off the edge of a cliff, making sure they crack their heads as many times as possible on the way down. She seems to have everything and nothing figured out and he is at times pathetically desperate to please her. It’s possible he would have continued to trail after her until she graduated and left him groggy on the side of the road.

But then second semester starts and they meet Professor Winter Sorbeck. Winter is just as crazy/brilliant/destructive as Hims, but they are going in opposite directions. Hap finds himself between the two, struggling to learn everything he can from both without giving in to either.

Getting back to Hims taking over Hap’s book… Early on I thought this was going to be another coming of age, finding yourself at college story. Hims shows up to show Hap a way into The Real World and I figured he’d decide for himself what was true. But then I decided that he was simply along to record the path of Hims as she ran and screamed and flung herself through college, trying to take as much of it down with her as possible.

It wasn’t until the very end of the book that Hap decides this is his story and when he shows up… holy shit. Seriously. I said it out loud. I read a line three or four times, my eyes jumped back a few paragraphs, I came back to it and wow… Hap starts to appear a bit before this and my reaction was “Oh. Well… this is interesting” but it is nothing compared to the holy shit moment.

When I finished the book I immediately wished I was in a book club so we could all sit in someone’s living room to try to figure out what in the hell just happened. I looked at other Good Reads reviews to see what people had written and man, were they pissed.

Many felt like they had been tricked and they weren’t sure if they were furious or just angry but willing to forgive because of the first 200+ pages.

Me? I think I’m delighted, even though I’m still not sure what happened after the last sentence. I detest books with endings that are wrapped up in pretty packages with giant bows and everything is perfect and no one’s feelings were hurt and here’s a box of candy and a picture of a puppy and let’s hold hands and talk about our favorite ice cream flavors. The Cheese Monkeys is not that type of book. It leaves a lot open and yet it did shut a few doors. Or at least it almost shuts them and lets you decide if Hap is going to kick them closed the next time he walks by.

The writing is wonderful. I know people complain that Kidd tries too hard or is too clever or cute in places, but I loved it. There are a few descriptions where I wanted to high five the book because I bet Kidd high fived himself when he finished. The first person confessional narrative lends to the memoir feeling and there a few moments where you feel like Hap is sitting at a desk somewhere much later in his life, pausing to remember what this moment felt like and how to get the words down just right. He does a great job with the moments of pure emotion and when Hap is in a haze, I felt like I was staggering through the sentences along with him.(less)

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Jan 11, 2010 Christine added it · review of another edition

This is a random book I picked up secondhand in the Woodlands. I was won over by the cover design and what little I knew about the premise. This book also has a subtitle: A Novel in Two Semesters. Intriguing to me because the two semesters were largely focused on art classes.

I enjoyed this book more thinking it was actually a memoir. Having read more about the book, since I finished, I find it is by a book cover designer, but the contents are not necessarily autobiographical. Hmph. Even less app...more This is a random book I picked up secondhand in the Woodlands. I was won over by the cover design and what little I knew about the premise. This book also has a subtitle: A Novel in Two Semesters. Intriguing to me because the two semesters were largely focused on art classes.

I enjoyed this book more thinking it was actually a memoir. Having read more about the book, since I finished, I find it is by a book cover designer, but the contents are not necessarily autobiographical. Hmph. Even less appealing now.

The narrator goes off to a state school in the 60s or 70s as an art major. I relate to many of the sentiments conveyed regarding upcoming critiques (anxiety would be an understatement), not meeting assignment requirements (panic and impending-doom), and the colorful personalities that make up the class roster . I get it, and I can laugh…in retrospect. The best section is the description of the preparations going into the final critique for the Commercial Art (or General Design) class. He goes into the stages between excitement (at the start) to near-delirium as you try to finish it all up before critique takes place. They are so real to an art student slaving away, trying to complete a project with no time to fix the mistakes that inevitably occur with lack of sleep, food, and light of day.

The narrator meets an upperclassman who totes him around for no apparent reason in spite of the fact that she is seriously dating someone else. They go drinking (typically getting drunk), debate art history and theory, crash a frat party, escaping peril only just in time, and get into weird situations with the professor who is making their lives miserable. Possibly funny if I had no morals and went to a state school where all of that might be relatable as well. Thankfully, I was spared a lot of those uncomfortable situations, and I read about the scenarios with pity and repulsion mixed together.

One interesting tidbit from my perspective: This book references the Flatlands which I had just finished. I love that collision of ideas! I read a review online that says it is better to get a book with the cover design by Chip Kidd than the writing by Chip Kidd. I can’t say if that is true or not since I’m not sure who he designs for, but do not waste your time on this one.
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Jan 03, 2010 Abigail rated it 3 of 5 stars

I highly recommend this book for anyone in college or attended college, especially if you are a graphic arts major. It will bring back some interesting memories of the fun and stress in going to school. This is a story about a kid that is going to state college and majoring in Art. He has a teacher that is very tough, but also inspiring to the main character. The beginning of the story was very funny. It was interesting to see how each student in the graphic arts class completed their project as...more

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Dec 22, 2010 Sue Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-in-2010

Well this book was one of the most refreshing books I've read in a long time! There aren't too many out there that will make me snort with laughter when I'm reading it and this one did on more than one occasion! Let me clarify too, that the reason I found it so hilarious was the complete quirkiness of the characters and the fact that they were art students (That combination often goes hand in hand - in case you don't know that many art students)and the sheer qenius of the writing. Oh if I could...more

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Jul 01, 2010 Becca rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

I think this book marks the first time that upon completion my reaction couldn’t be clearly placed on the love/hate spectrum. I didn’t clutch it lovingly to my chest as I would have Jane Eyre. I didn’t want the hours back that I’d spent reading it like I did when I finished The Little Town that Stood Still (I still contend that something was lost in translation with that one). It was not a feeling of pride for having finished as with Dickens. It wasn’t passing neutrality as with chick lit. I pau...more I think this book marks the first time that upon completion my reaction couldn’t be clearly placed on the love/hate spectrum. I didn’t clutch it lovingly to my chest as I would have Jane Eyre. I didn’t want the hours back that I’d spent reading it like I did when I finished The Little Town that Stood Still (I still contend that something was lost in translation with that one). It was not a feeling of pride for having finished as with Dickens. It wasn’t passing neutrality as with chick lit. I paused, turned the tome in my hands and thought.

It’s a beautiful book, in the physical sense. Kidd, it turns out, is a well-known graphic designer turned novelist. So this story probably has some autobiographic touches. I want a copy just to look at the cover art and the arrangement of the droll, expected, skipped-over bits of the book (acknowledgements printed along the covers edge, the image-based titling). Normally writers are concerned with carefully piecing their plot points. Kidd took an extra step to tweak the layout of the age-old novel. The risk was worth it.

As for content, the enigmatically named book (he never does fully explain cheese monkeys but that’s not point) tell the tale of a nameless protagonist during his first year at a state university. He’s studying art, to the discomfiting chagrin of his parents and the disillusion humor of himself. Kidd made me laugh by page 10. He kept me turning the pages, sneaking away to find out what odd assignment or social snafu would happen next. I yielded my emotions to his words, cringed and cracked up on cue. He won.

It shows the extremes of art (and in that way…of life), from hare-brained conceptualism to harsh thought-driven design. Another critic called The Cheese Monkeys a ‘coming-of-age story’. I’m not sure it goes far enough to be that to me. The main character does come into the story a ‘wide-eyed’ youth and by the end is a little…well, experienced. But the book and its collection of characters and their lessons did make me think, they evoked emotion, horrified, thrilled and shocked me…the way art should.(less)

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Mar 18, 2009 Caroline rated it 3 of 5 stars

As far as literature goes, this book isn't anything extraordinary. There's nothing too complex about it to the average person, BUT if you're a graphic designer, this book magically takes on new meaning. For instance, only a designer would notice that the book begins in Garamond, but as the story progresses and the character evolves, the type is changed to the more elegant Bodoni. And the layout and design is unique and drool-worthy. Of course, this is because the brilliant book designer Chip Kid...more

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Aug 08, 2011 Tony J added it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

This was two very interesting books. And before you go correcting my grammar, let me explain...

The story begins with our protagonist arriving at State College, in the 1950s, for his first semester as an Art major. Through a series of quirky interactions, he pairs up with the rebel Himillsy, who flouts the departments rules and makes her own. It's a neat little coming-of-age type story, and has just enough that's 'different' to make it stand out.

Then they meet their match in the new Commercial...more

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Jun 20, 2012 Christine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

What a wonderfully weird book.

The design of the cover, typeface, and edges of the book are unique and add greatly to the amount that I was drawn into the book. Everything about it is intriguing and interesting.

The author seems like he will do anything and everything to attempt to amuse and surprise the reader. The writing of the first 200 pages is brilliant, interesting, and laugh-out-loud funny. The characters continue to surprise throughout the story. The author continues to attempt surprises...more

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About Chip Kidd

Chip Kidd is an American author, editor and graphic designer, best known for his innovative book covers.
Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, Kidd grew up in a Philadelphia suburb, strongly influenced by American popular culture. While a design student at Penn State, an art instructor once gave the assignment to design a book cover for Museums and Women by John Updike, who is also a Shillington native. T...more

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“Never fall in love with an idea. They're whores: if the one you're with isn't doing the job, there's always, always, always another.” — 50 people liked it

“Yes, Garnett Grey was an Architect. Were a psychoanalyst to approach him from behind, tap his shoulder, and say 'Humanity,' Garrett'd spin and respond, without hesitation, 'Solvable.” — 5 people liked it

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