| Scary Monsters: A Novel in Two Parts Contributor(s): de Kretser, Michelle (Author) |
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ISBN: 1646221095 ISBN-13: 9781646221097 Publisher: Catapult OUR PRICE: $16.16 Product Type: Paperback Published: April 2022 |
| Additional Information |
| Dewey: 823.92 |
| LCCN: 2021942061 |
| Physical Information: 0.9" H x 5.4" W x 8" (0.65 lbs) 288 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: A profoundly original exploration of racism, misogyny, and ageism--three monsters that plague the world--this novel from a beloved and prize-winning author is made up of two narratives, each told by a South Asian migrant to Australia. An affecting, suspenseful, and often witty novel, Scary Monsters is presented in two parts, which can be read in either order. The narrator of Lili is a young Australian woman whose family emigrated from Asia when she was a teenager. Having earned an honors degree in French, she is teaching in Montpellier in the early 1980s. As she makes friends and strives to be A Bold Intelligent Woman, Lili is also worrying about her creepy neighbor and observing the treatment meted out to North African immigrants. Lyle is set in the near future in a radically right-wing Australia. The narrator works in a sinister government department, where he maintains a low profile and lives in fear of repatriation. At home, he is preoccupied by his ambitious wife, his wayward children, and his flamboyant elderly mother. Islam has been banned in the country, the air is smoke-filled due to a Permanent Fire Zone, and one pandemic has already run its course. Is there a monstrous link between Lili and Lyle's stories? The reversible format of the novel conveys the discontinuity that migrants experience. As Lily notes, When my family emigrated it felt as if we'd been stood on our heads. Lyle shares her sentiment, observing that, The past was no longer a guide to the future, and asking, Which comes first, the future or the past? |