Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Pg. 99: Corey Redekop's "Shelf Monkey"

The latest feature at the Page 99 Test: Corey Redekop's Shelf Monkey.

About the novel, from the publisher:
Thomas Friesen has three goals in life. Get a job. Make friends. Find a good book to curl up with. After landing a job at READ, the newest hypermegabookstore, he feels he may have accomplished all three.

All is not peaceable within the stacks, however. Discontent is steadily rising, and it is aimed squarely at Munroe Purvis, a talk show host whose wildly popular book club is progressively lowering the I.Q. of North America.

But the bookworms have a plan. Plots are being hatched. The destruction of Munroe is all but assured. And as Thomas finds himself swept along in the maĆ«lstrom of insanity, he wonders if reading a book is all it’s cracked up to be.

If you’ve ever thrown a book against a wall in disgust; if you’ve ever loved a novel that no one else can stand; if you obsess over the proper use of punctuation; this may be the novel for you. A weirdly funny story about bookish addictions, Shelf Monkey is the ideal novel for anyone who loves good books. Or hates them.

Among the praise for Shelf Monkey:

"There are entire scenes that are so funny, I wish I could reprint them in their entirety. This is not all the book has going for it, though, as Redekop displays a surprising literary depth in this brutally witty slice of wickedness.... Either way, there’s no mistaking Shelf Monkey’s subversive brilliance."
--Bookgasm

A "crackling plot and quirky characters."
--Winnipeg Free Press

"[T]he book's dark comedy and witty language play directly into its themes to make the satire sting."
--Quill & Quire

"[H]owlingly funny ... if you love books and really need a good laugh in your life, track it down."
--The Sun Times
Read more about the novel and author at the Shelf Monkey blog and listen to podcasts of two excerpts.

The Page 99 Test: Shelf Monkey.

--Marshal Zeringue