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Monkey Grip

By Helen Garner
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Monkey Grip by Helen Garner vividly explores the complexities of love and addiction through the eyes of Nora, a single mother immersed in Melbourne's vibrant counterculture of the 1970s. The novel delves into her tumultuous relationship with Javo, a heroin addict, capturing the emotional highs and lows of their entangled lives. With raw honesty, it paints a picture of communal living, personal struggles, and the search for connection amid chaos.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're drawn to stories of complex human relationships and urban life. With vivid detail and emotional depth, it explores themes of love, addiction, and the struggles of finding one's place within a changing community, providing an intimate look at inner city existence and the connections that bind people together.

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Monkey Grip is a masterpiece—the novel that shines a light on a time and a place and a way of living never before presented in Australian literature: communal households, music, friendships, children, love, drugs, and sex. This iconic design now available in a smaller and competitively priced format.

Helen Garner's gritty, lyrical first novel divided the critics on its publication in 1977. Today, Monkey Grip is regarded as a masterpiece-the novel that shines a light on a time and a place and a way of living never before presented in Australian literature- communal households, music, friendships, children, love, drugs, and sex. This iconic design now available in a smaller and competitively priced format.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Helen Garner’s gritty, lyrical first novel divided the critics on its publication in 1977. Today, Monkey Grip is regarded as a masterpiece—the novel that shines a light on a time and a place and a way of living never before presented in Australian literature: communal households, music, friendships, children, love, drugs, and sex.

When Nora falls in love with Javo, she is caught in the web of his addiction; and as he moves between loving her and leaving, between his need for her and promises broken, Nora’s life becomes an intense dance of loving and trying to let go.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Helen Garner is praised as a natural storyteller with a sublime use of language. Her novel Monkey Grip captures the essence of a vibrant era, authentically portraying the complexities of love and addiction. Her writing is known for its precision and the ability to distil profound experiences, leaving a lasting impact on readers.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781922268358

Publisher: Text Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 05 November 2019

Country: Australia

Imprint: The Text Publishing Company

Contributors:

  • Introduction by Charlotte Wood

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 352

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Helen Garner Literary Fiction Penguin Books

About the Author

Helen Garner writes novels, stories, screenplays and works of non-fiction. In 2006 she received the inaugural Melbourne Prize for Literature, and in 2016 she won the prestigious Windham–Campbell Prize for non-fiction and the Western Australian Premier’s Book Award. In 2019 she was honoured with the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature. Her books include Monkey Grip, The Spare Room, This House of Grief and Everywhere I Look.

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