Big Books of Spring
Mister Monkey

Questions About Mister Monkey

by Francine Prose (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (2)

I am curious what other readers think of the last line of this book...."Three are we. Three are thee. Have mercy." How do you think it ties into the story?
Nancy It goes back to the story of the three hermits (at beginning of chap. 11, Roger's story). The bishop comes by in a ship and finds them stranded on an …moreIt goes back to the story of the three hermits (at beginning of chap. 11, Roger's story). The bishop comes by in a ship and finds them stranded on an island, just praying "we are three, three are we, have mercy." He tells them they're praying wrong and teaches them a prayer, and sails off. They come running across the water after him because they've forgotten the prayer already. The bishop tells them that their "three are we" prayer will reach God and asks them to pray for him. They run back over the water to their island, but he can still see the light that glows from them. To me, coming back to that at the end of the book with Roger, Margot, and Mario is suggesting that these characters (and lots of other ones) actually have more access to wisdom and grace than the people who might judge them as lacking, and that our monkey selves are not really as lost as we think we are.(less)
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"Mr. Monkey" is said to be a chimpanzee. DOESN'T ANYONE KNOW THAT A CHIMPANZEE IS NOT A MONKEY? A chimpanzee is an ape. I'm waiting for the big satire about mistaking an ape for a monkey to be revealed, but it hasn't happened yet.
Dana Cordelia There was a lot of this...talking about monkeys in the same sentence as orangutans and chimps, talking about a chimp's tail (...they don't have tails.…moreThere was a lot of this...talking about monkeys in the same sentence as orangutans and chimps, talking about a chimp's tail (...they don't have tails...) and whatnot. After a while it stopped being a joke and started being "the author doesn't remember third grade science class and couldn't say the difference between apes and monkeys". For example, several characters are supposedly studying monkeys in great detail, and yet...apparently they're studying apes? No, sorry. I really like this book but if the author didn't know, someone reading an early draft should have pointed it out.

Didn't ruin the book for me. But it was conspicuous.(less)
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