The Monsters of Templeton in What's the Name of That Book???

Apr 26, 2008 Trin rated it it was ok

Shelves: american-lit, historicalfiction, fiction

Willie Upton returns in disgrace to her hometown of Templeton, New York (a very thinly disguised Cooperstown) and starts trying to unravel a family mystery that, seeing as Willie is a descendant of Marmaduke Temple, the founder of the town, is intimately intertwined with the history of the entire community.

I really thought I was going to like this book. History and mystery and research! Weird, magical realism touches like the discovery of a monster in the lake! Multiple points of view, including Willie Upton returns in disgrace to her hometown of Templeton, New York (a very thinly disguised Cooperstown) and starts trying to unravel a family mystery that, seeing as Willie is a descendant of Marmaduke Temple, the founder of the town, is intimately intertwined with the history of the entire community.

I really thought I was going to like this book. History and mystery and research! Weird, magical realism touches like the discovery of a monster in the lake! Multiple points of view, including samples of “historical documents”! And yet—I never believed in it: not the community, and not the characters. We’re told Willie is brilliant, and yet she not only goes about her investigation in a frustratingly slow way, she fails at basic math. (Not to mention becomes convinced she’s pregnant and yet NEVER GOES TO A DOCTOR OR TAKES A PREGNANCY TEST.) There are a slew of other ridiculous details the reader is expected to swallow, too: I mean, I will accept a prehistoric sea monster living in upstate New York (Champ is TOTALLY REAL, yo), but I simply cannot believe in a character named Ezekiel Felcher. Yes, FELCHER.

There’s also just something about the narrative that simply…lacks energy. Unlike the similarly-constructed The Rotters’ Club, which practically cracks and sparks off its pages, The Monsters of Templeton just sort of lies there. I felt no zip, no kineticism—no joy. Groff says in the forward that she’s in a sense writing a love letter to her town, but I never really felt that love. I can all-too-easily get caught up in small-town nostalgia—I grew up in one, and the right combination of words or sounds or smells can instantly make me forget all the bad things and remember instead some Ray Bradbury-esque version of the village green, the waterfall over the river, the old mill buildings, the big white church spire. But none of that was here. I got no sense of the layout or the character of the town at all.

Instead, I got Ezekiel Felcher. Yes, FELCHER. Excuse me while I fail to get over that. ...more

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May 26, 2008 Mir rated it it was ok

Shelves: cover-love, unfinished

I requested this book from the library loan service because it had a promising title and a cover reminiscent of a couple other recent books that I'd liked. The Sonoma County library system does not give one much by way of useful information such as a summery, cover blurb, genre, etc. As it turned out, this story as far as I read focused on dysfunctional families, unwanted pregnancy, and claustrophobic small towns, three tropes which I almost never enjoy. So back to the library it goes! There was ...more

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Jun 20, 2012 Kate rated it it was ok

Shelves: fiction, audiobook, 2012

Not sure if this is fantasy or not, yet. There is a monster, but it could be a true scientific discovery, and a ghost - but it's unclear if that is "real" or imagined in the story. This book started iffy for me. It seemed to take itself a little too seriously and I was wondering if Groff might be an MFA (she is, not that that's automatic condemnation, but they do tend to write in that weighty, omniscient style...), but there is enough levity and certainly enough intrigue that I am hooked and sta ...more

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Aug 17, 2020 Chrissie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: project-clear-out

I have somewhat complicated feelings about Lauren Groff books. On a micro level, they're beautiful. I love the way she uses language, and I find them very easy to read. But when I stop and think about the plot as a whole, my mind kind of reels. The overall plots never quite work for me, and I'm never sure what the bigger themes are supposed to symbolize. ...more

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Dec 11, 2008 Kate rated it liked it

I thought this should have been better. The set-up was fun, but the books seems to unite bad habits from both chick lit and pretentious literary fiction. I'm probably too negative about it, though, because you couldn't tear me away from the last 80 pages or so.

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Aug 24, 2008 Michelle rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction

This is our August book club selection.
The club was mixed in reactions to Groff's debut. Everyone enjoyed the historical chapters, but no one engaged with Winnie, the (self-absorbed & spoiled) lead character.
I particularly enjoyed Groff's descriptions of the fictional quirky, small-town life in Templeton. Reminded me of Cicely, Alaska. So I want to live in a fictional town...is that a problem? ...more

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Jul 13, 2008 KJP JACKSON-PETERSEN rated it liked it

Interesting story...a bit of the supernatural. A 28 year old woman returns to her home town disgraced. She spends the summer trying to find out who her father is. Meanwhile a monster is found in the local lake. The tale seems to be based on Cooperstown and is interlaced with voices of the town and her ancestors from the past.

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