The Monsters of Templeton

by Lauren Groff

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Conversations
1,089	66	3,661	(3.76)	80

Work details

Book details

Title	The Monsters of Templeton
Author	Lauren Groff
Rating
Tags	fiction, novel, fantasy, monsters, read, readin2008, new york, family, epic, verified
Collections	Your library, Fiction, Books I've Read
Your review	Both quiet and compelling, Groff's imperfect but lulling multi-generational tale of a neurotic family in small-town upstate New York is charming if not a masterpiece. And the sea monster is sweet, if not profound (expect some bang-you-over-the-head symbolism). Despite frequently-updated family tree diagrams throughout the book, keeping the generations of the Temple and Averell and Upton flocks of protagonist Willie's family sorted out is not a minor feat. It's easy to get lost in the branches. But for readers who are suckers for multi-generational family affairs (I am looking at myself here), the book is formulaically digestible: emotional secrets, historical ephemera woven in with mythology, madness, sadness and love. Groff is clearly enamored with her own personal setting and background: she explains in the preface that patriarchal writer Joseph Temple is based on John Fenimore Cooper and goes so far as to bring Cooper's characters back to life (Natty Bumppo, Chingachgook) and reworking his hometown of Cooperstown into the novel's eponymous Templeton. This trick is more clever than integral to the novel's core meaning. We are introduced into Templeton's sphere by way of Willie, a late-twenty-something grad student who is simultaneously too precocious to be believed and woefully naive. Her own personal crisis leads her to investigate the realities of her own family, realities that suddenly become more complex. Told in many voices and through many generations, "Templeton" is not without its flaws--slightly unbelievable 19th-century stylizings, a bit too clean and peachy at times, and clearly a first novel--but it is enjoyable and worthwhile. A noble first effort from Groff. Hope to see more.
Other authors 1
Publication	Hyperion (2008), Hardcover, 384 pages
Publication date	2008
ISBN	1401322255 / 9781401322250
LC classification
Dewey	813.6
Subjects	Sea monsters › Fiction Single women › Fiction Women genealogists › Fiction
Primary language eng	English
Secondary language	(blank)
Original language
Date acquired
Date started
Date finished	2008-07-28
Summary 1	The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff (2008)
Comments
BCID	XXX-
Number of copies	1
Citation	MLA, APA, Chicago/Turabian, Wikipedia citation
Data source	amazon.com