Corey Redekop's Blog, page 49

Monkey droppings - Shambling Towards Hiroshima by James Morrow - "We can thank our lucky stars that Hitler never got the lizard."

Today, the monkey braves horrors that would terrify you, if you were a gullible teen in 1940s America. As it stands today, you'd probably giggle instead.

Still, great book ahead.


Shambling Towards Hiroshima
by James Morrow

There exists in my house a monolithic list of authors I admire intensely. I'd show it to you, but it's far too heavy to move, and is in danger of growing its own gravitational pull. It's currently functioning as a temporary retaining wall in my basement. It's a big list, I...

Monkey droppings - The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood:

Today, the monkey tackles either science fiction or speculative fiction. He's not sure which it is, but as the author herself isn't sure, the monkey doesn't feel too bad about it.





The Year of the Flood
by Margaret Atwood

"Then God says a noteworthy thing. He says, "And the fear of you" - that is, Man - "and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air...into your hand are they delivered." Genesis 9:2. This is not God telling Man that he has a right to...

Monkey droppings - Marvellous Hairy by Mark A. Rayner; "Think down. Think monkey."

*NOTE* - In the interest of exhibiting some form of blog honesty (oxymoron? perhaps), some of the following review has been cribbed from a blurb letter I wrote to accompany the release of Mark Rayner's novel. Nevertheless, I meant every word then, and I mean it now. I'm just a little lazy sometimes. If your opinion of me is lowered as a consequence, well, then, it couldn't have been very high anyway, right?



Marvellous Hairy
by Mark A. Rayner

Please allow me a moment to blow your mind:

Canada...

Just in time for Hallowe'en: literary horrors adapted for them newfangled moving picture shows!

It's the eve of All Hallow's Eve, and time for a few scares to wile away the night as costumed boogens egg your house. Damned punk kids!

In keeping with the more literary nature of this esteemed blog, I wrote a previous post on a good selection of favourite horror novels to keep you spooked until the morning light. This year, I thought I'd broaden that idea. Let's face it, when it comes to horror, most of us will rent a movie or two. But let's keep it somewhat in the same vein, and focus on...

Introducing the newest member of the tribe!

No, I have not been busy procreating, but I can see how the title might lead you to that conclusion. I am, however, as proud of my new 'son' as if he were my own progeny.

Introducing the official mascot of Shelf Monkey (the blog and the novel):

DARWIN!

Darwin came to me via a Thanksgiving visit from my parents, who are now officially the coolest 'rents on the planet. They came across him in a store in Winnipeg, and while the proprietor was reluctant to let him go, the blatant FOR SALE sign...

Monkey droppings - Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby

Today, the shelf monkey goes a wee bit British, and partakes of music, obsession, love, and sea-side townships.




Juliet, Naked
by Nick Hornby

If Nick Hornby can be said to have a thematic thread that weaves through all his novels, that thread would have to be 'perpetual adolescence.'

Best exemplified in his breakout novel High Fidelity, the British writer excels at crafting characters (mainly men) who steadfastly refuse to put away childish things. Hornby's obsessives take pride in their...

Critical Monkey entry #3: Jake and the Kid - prairie nostalgia

It's been a little while for me to sufficiently recover for my third entry in Critical Monkey; On my initial outing, Stephanie Meyer blinded me by throwing sparkly dust in my eyes, and then on the second, Chuck Norris roundhouse-kicked my medulla into paste.

So, I've decided to walk away from books I was pretty sure I'd hate anyway, and move on to something a little more high-end; a Canadian classic, one of those books you;re supposed to read if you want to call yourself an authentic Canadian ...

Critical Monkey! Update the 3rd

I was lazy this month. That, and terrified of another Meyer/Norris combo. There's only so much one man can take!

Check here for the rules if you're intrigued. And now, the third wave:

Acceptance (seven reviews)

Depression (six reviews)

Anger (five reviews)
Guilt (four reviews)
Bargaining (three reviews)

Steve Zipp
Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas PynchonSketches of a Small Town by Stephen LeacockA Brief History of Time by Stephen HawkingDenial (two reviews)
Corey Redekop
Twilight by Stephenie MeyerThe...

Monkey droppings - Generation A by Douglas Coupland

Today, we look at Canadian hipness, the fall of the bees, drug abuse, and pop culture references - all in the same book!

Generation A
by Douglas Coupland

"I wanted to tell them that what I would look for in a religion is an explanation of why life is so long...Forget religion, I want to mutate. I want so badly to mutate...I dream of the day we mutate into something better than the hyped-up chimps we are, chimps who eat Knorr Swiss cream of cauliflower soup while pretending not to notice that...

Monkey droppings - The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry

On today's menu: hard-boiled noir, served with heavy dollops of magical realism.

The Manual of Detectionby Jedediah Berry

Objects have memory, too. The doorknob remembers who turned it, the telephone who answered it. The gun remembers when it was last fired, and by whom. It is for the detective to learn the language of these things, so that he might hear them when they have something to say.
From chapter two of The Manual of Detection, "On Evidence."

Like pretty much everyone, I enjoy a good...