Monkey Beach
A Novel
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Monkey Beach
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Narrated by:
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Noelle Kayser
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Written by:
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Eden Robinson
About this listen
A young Native American woman remembers her volatile childhood as she searches for her lost brother in the Canadian wilds in an extraordinary, critically acclaimed debut novel.
As she races along Canada's Douglas Channel in her speedboat - heading toward the place where her younger brother Jimmy, presumed drowned, was last seen - 20-year-old Lisamarie Hill recalls her younger days. A volatile and precocious Native girl growing up in Kitamaat, the Haisla Indian reservation located 500 miles north of Vancouver, Lisa came of age standing with her feet firmly planted in two different worlds: the spiritual realm of the Haisla and the sobering "real" world with its dangerous temptations of violence, drugs, and despair. From her beloved grandmother, Ma-ma-oo, she learned of tradition and magic; from her adored, Elvis-loving uncle Mick, a Native rights activist on a perilous course, she learned to see clearly, to speak her mind, and never to bow down. But the tragedies that have scarred her life and ultimately led her to these frigid waters cannot destroy her indomitable spirit, even though the ghosts that speak to her in the night warn her that the worst may be yet to come.
Easily one of the most admired debut novels to appear in many a decade, Eden Robinson's Monkey Beach was immediately greeted with universal acclaim - called "gripping" by the San Diego Union-Tribune, "wonderful" by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and "glorious" by the Globe and Mail, earning nominations for numerous literary awards before receiving the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Evocative, moving, haunting, and devastatingly funny, it is an extraordinary listen from a brilliant literary voice that must be heard.
©2000 Eden Robinson, This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc. (P)2014 Audible Inc.You may also enjoy...
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One Sunday in the spring of 1988, a woman living on a reservation in North Dakota is attacked. The details of the crime are slow to surface as Geraldine Coutts is traumatized and reluctant to relive or reveal what happened, either to the police or to her husband, Bazil, and 13-year-old son, Joe. In one day, Joe's life is irrevocably transformed. He tries to heal his mother, but she will not leave her bed and slips into an abyss of solitude. Increasingly alone, Joe finds himself thrust prematurely into an adult world for which he is ill prepared.
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What listeners say about Monkey Beach
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2020-08-04
Wow
Loved this story and the narrator was great too! I would definitely recommend this book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- CheChePooks
- 2019-03-01
amazing connection to a traditional story
I found myself hooked onto the story of Lisa Marie.
love the connection of traditional stories and language. Contecting to the teaching from her Ma-Ma-Oo. I also found how much I count relate to her
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Budb
- 2020-02-21
Best story of the year so far!!
I can't say exactly why I love this book so much other than Eden Robinson is simply a masterful story teller.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story from beginning to end!! And the narrator was fantastic and made the story even more enjoyable!!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lori
- 2022-01-14
great book, wrong narrator
WOW good book - wish I had read it instead of listening though. The reader was far to cheerful for the first person narrative that goes to some dark places. I think some of the impact was lost because the tone was wrong. Also, the reader mispronounced "gyprock". I listened 3 times cause it made me laugh a little.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Roxie Gallinger
- 2018-03-06
great story
first time for this Author and it was a superb story with great character's that you learn to love and enjoy
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- DrZaius
- 2018-09-13
Good story, but doesn't quite measure up...
to Son of a Trickster. I enjoyed this book, but it was not as compelling a story as Son of a Trickster. The biggest problem I had was with the way the book shifted from present to past. There were no apparent clues that the time frame had shifted until a couple of minutes later. Then I'd realize I was lost & go back thinking I'd missed something, but no. I'm sure the author intended some effect, but for me it just pulled me out of the story. Maybe the printed book handles that differently?
I did love the story of the character's lives and portrayal of indigenous culture. For a guy like me, who was raised in a Canadian society that didn't really show us much about our native people's, except for the bad stuff, it's important to experience more indigenous writers' work. Eden Robinson (among others) is doing a great job of telling stories that I need to hear.
#Audible1
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ch1mÆn3 M4Rqū3ž
- 2021-06-15
amazing!
this is a surprising and authentic story amidst so many fake indigenous stories this is absolutely worth your time.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Krow Fischer
- 2018-08-14
Lived inside the story
I love books that take you right into the story and hold you captive like this one did. I could not wait to be doing something that allowed me to just listen. i could see, smell, taste the story and lost track of where I was in this world so caught up in the world she writes. It haunts, this one.. and I love it.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Samah Fadil
- 2020-02-02
Lovely and bittersweet story
I loved the narration here. the story is grounded in magical realism, and I appreciated the subtle approach.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- J
- 2022-08-13
This book … has pacing … proble … ms
If you’re reading this book after reading her Trickster series and hoping for lots of sasquatch, I just saved you ten hours of your life. Sasquatch barely makes an appearance. Instead, this book is story of Lisa, from her childhood to the age of 20. Lisa is an indigenous girl of the Haisla people. The story sometimes feels like it’s part fiction, part autobiography.
As I stated above, the book has pacing problems. Sometimes the story is excited and engaging, but other times it drags and gets a little boring.
Robinson spends a lot of time explaining Haisla culture, at times this was interesting, but sometimes she went into excruciating detail. For example, I learned all about oolichans. What other groups called them, where to fish for them, and about twenty different ways to cook them.
Something I found very odd about the book is that Lisa experienced a sexual assault – knowing this is not a spoiler. I say this because after the assault occurs it is only mentioned once in passing. Lisa appears to get it over it very quickly. I wondered why Robinson included it in the story if it wasn’t going to be significant in Lisa’s life.
Overall, the story was engaging enough to earn a three-star rating. Lisa was an interesting character her relationships with most other characters felt real. The book deals with residential schools, intergenerational trauma, bullying and family connections.
The narrator, Noelle Kayser, sometimes reminded me of Emily Woo Zeller – this is a huge compliment. Clearly, I was impressed by her.
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