Scary Monsters : : a Novel in two Parts

Locations
Call Number: Fiction / Kretser, Michelle , Adult Book / Fiction / General / Kretser, Michelle de
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Traverwood Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Kretser, Michelle	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Kretser, Michelle de	4-week checkout	On Shelf

The two parts of this novel are printed back-to-back and inverted.
"'When my family emigrated it felt as if we'd been stood on our heads.' Michelle de Kretser's electrifying book turns the novel upside down, just as migratin has upended her characters' lives. Lyle works for a sinister government department in near-future Australia. An Asian migrant, he fears repatriation and embraces 'Australian values.' He's also preoccupied by his ambitious wife, his wayward children, and his strong-minded elderly mother. Islam has been banned in the country, the air is smoky from a Permanent Fire Zone, and one pandemic has already run its course. Lili's family migrated to Australia from Asia when she was a teenager. Now, in the 1980s, she's teaching in the south of France. She makes friends, observes the treatment handed out to North African immigrants, and is creeped out by her downstairs neighbor. All the while, Lili is striving to be A Bold, Intelligent Woman like Simone de Beauvoir. Three scary monsters - racism, misogyny, and ageism - roam through this mesmerizing novel. Its reversible format enacts the disorientation that migrants experience when changing countries changes the stories of their lives. With this suspenseful, funny, profound book, Michelle de Kretser has made something thrilling and new." -- jacket flap.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Booklist Review
Publishers Weekly Review
Summary / Annotation
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

I liked one of the two stories submitted by TeacherN on June 15, 2022, 4:56pm This book has two stories - Lili and Lyle. Lili's story takes place in France in the 1980s. I wanted to like it, but found it difficult to follow and understand. (Maybe it would help if I knew some French?) The Lyle story takes place in Australia in a near future. The Lyle story is truly scary, in a Handmade's Tale or 1984 kind of way, but also darkly funny. Overall, I'm glad I read both stories, but I enjoyed Lyle far more than Lili.