Monster Talk

by Michael Jarmer

Two hundred and sixty-four years after the first awakening, the family line stops momentarily, perhaps forever, in the body of a child. Victor is a second-grader growing up with a very unique family he is a direct descendant of the monster created by his namesake, Victor Frankenstein. Understandably proud of this distinction, his effort to share this remarkable fact with his classmates and teachers backfires, and he becomes a target on the playground. He is not without allies. With the help of his grandmother, Elizabeth, and his best friend, Michelle, he learns the origin of his family's strange history straight from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. He learns how that story continued with the surprising journey of the monster and his monster-bride to America. And finally, he learns about the end of making monsters on earth. But there are elements in this history about which even those closest to it are unaware. Wonders abound and dangers lurk for Victor and his loved ones in unexpected places. Monster Talk is a poignant tale about the power of reading, the complexity of love, the wonder and terror of growing up, and the moral ambiguity of the species, human and monster both.

Genres: Fiction

177 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2012

About the author

Michael Jarmer holds an MAT from Lewis and Clark College and an MFA in Creative Writing from Warren Wilson College. He teaches high school English and is the lyricist, singer, and principal percussionist in the Portland pop band Here Comes Everybody. Michael lives with his wife and son in Milwaukie, Oregon.

Reviews

[Lucy Cummin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll begin by offering my own name for novels which draw inspiration from classic works: Homage fiction. Recently there have been so many, and many of them marvels, from Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet to Michael Cunningham's The Hours. The best ones enrich understanding and appreciation of the primary work and offer intriguing possibilities and avenues of further thought. Enough. Here we have a what-if made real: What if the Frankenstein story was true, but also . . . crafted carefully by Mary Shelley to be ambiguous . . . (ok and does require a considerable ability and willingness to suspend disbelief and go with the flow). In our time there is a little boy named Victor and in 2nd grade he introduces himself as the great-grandson of the original 'monster' created by Frankenstein. This causes consternation and ridicule that follows him through 5th grade when he and a girl named Michelle become friends and begin reading the original book together. Frankenstein's creations live for twice as long as 'normal' human beings so Victor's grandmother, Elizabeth's father was the original 'monster' (who named himself Adam). She is a normal human, in looks, anyway, just insanely long-lived. Things happen, good and bad during the course of the story, but at the heart of the novel is a fine combination of wit, empathy for difference, a recognition of the propensity for violence in humans (born of not acknowledging, duh, the monster within) counter-acted by the pervasive and miraculous nature of love that the story brings to light. Jarman captures the simplicity of an eleven year old boy's understanding with great effectiveness. He also illuminates the emotional complexities of the original novel -- the betrayals, cruelties, mistakes, misunderstandings that underpin the awful occurrences. And I may just have to reread Frankenstein one of these fine days! ****

[Genanne Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A coming of age tale, an homage to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and a deeply humane adventure story about the intersections between humanity and monstrousness. Michael Jarmer has written a one-of-a-kind story with great depth of feeling.

[Allen Levi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A creative and heartfelt story that reimagines the legacy of Frankenstein in a fresh, meaningful way. Victor’s journey blends family history, imagination, and the power of reading into a touching coming of age tale. Thoughtful, unique, and quietly powerful.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, you know that the monster, consumed with remorse for all his, well, monstrous, deeds, drifts off into arctic waters, intent on suicide. Michael Jarmer's oddly touching novel, Monster Talk, starts with the notion that the monster had a change of heart out there among the icebergs, eventually finding his way to Arizona, of all places, where he put Dr. Frankenstein's dark arts to work. He created a companion. Children followed.

Fast forward 264 years to the suburbs of what seems to be Phoenix, where a seven-year-old boy named Victor is having trouble fitting in at school. He's proud that he was named after the famous Doctor Victor Frankenstein and that he comes from a line of monsters, and he can't understand why this makes him a target for taunting and bullying. He doesn't look like a monster, after all. He's just a boy.

Jarmer lets us feel Victor's confusion, the confusion of a child who is encountering cruelty for the first time, with tenderness and restraint. I love the fact that, despite the wacky premise--descendants of Frankenstein's monster are alive in Phoenix!--the narrative puts us inside a deeply human experience. The novel focuses not on the sensational aspects of the monster-story genre, but on the conundrums of human consciousness: Why do we shun those different from ourselves? Why must we all eventually die?

Shelley's Frankenstein, grapples with the rightness and wrongness of creating life to defeat death. It doesn't turn out well for Dr. Frankenstein. Jarmer picks up the theme from a different angle: if you knew the secrets to creating life out of death, when should you use them?

Victor and his best friend, Shelley (nice touch), stumble into these questions as they set about reading Mary Shelley's novel (regarded within Victor's clan as family history) together. As the kids work their way through the novel, events in their suburban world begin to collide with the narrative in ways that both pay homage to the original Frankenstein and tease new questions from it. I highly recommend this debut novel to readers who like a smart, literary read mixed with wonderful improbablities.

[Marian Szczepanski · Rating 3 out of 5]

I call novels like this "what if?" books. (I think the pub industry term is "high concept.") And I always admire the imagination of the author who writes them. In this case, the premise intrigued me from the get-go--what if a contemporary child is the latest in a line descended directly from Dr. Frankenstein's monster? What if Mary Shelley's tale isn't fiction? The classic novel underpins this novel's narrative, which centers around Victor, the young descendant, and several friends as they soldier through the reading of the classic, an understandable challenge for 10-year-olds. Of course, a lot more happens than children reading, but I found myself wishing that the story had started earlier. Much earlier, in fact. What if the story had started with the infamous original monster's flight--and proceeded from there? I would have preferred to read Victor's strange framily history in scene, rather than as back story. Is there a prequel in the works?

[Marjorie Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just read Michael Jarmer's novel Monster Talk and tweeted about it. It's extraordinary. Why isn't it a best seller? Everyone read this book! about love, childhood, the monster within, and Mary Shelly's Frankinstein. A young child, Victor, lives in Arizona, grows up with the family story that he is descended from 'the monster'-- the boy goes to school, gets bullied, falls in love with his teacher and when she dies, wants to bring her back to life. Adventures ensue. The writer has given us a meditation on loving, childhood, immortality, and Mary Shelly's great masterpiece that is worthy of it. If anyone is a Mary Shelly fan, they should read this modern twist on the story. Quite delightful. Jarmer is a new favorite writer.

Michael Jarmer

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impressive debut novel by Michael Jarmer.

It builds upon Shelley's Frankenstein, but in a modern setting. Intimate knowledge of Shelley's tale isn't necessary to enjoy what is at times a page-turner and at times a look at the interpersonal relationships of children, adults, and, yes, even monsters.

While the main character is an elementary school student, this isn't a kid's book. I'd recommend it for high schoolers and adults who can reflect upon the innocence and simplicity of youth, filter that reflection through an adult perspective, and process the story's dramatic events, as Jarmer has done perfectly.

Very enjoyable read that captures its characters emotions quite well while moving the plot along --with a few surprises mixed in-- at a great pace.

[iSpike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book! I love how Michael uses the Frankenstein myth to build a tapestry of characters that are unique, interesting and bubbling over with radiant verve! It was easy to get drawn into the narrative and become part of the world of monsters. I look forward to what will come out of his head next...
Viva la Monster Talk!

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. Michael is such a good writer (and reader). And Victor is a tremendously endearing and sympathetic character. Good work.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simply yet deeply written with moments of humor and horror Monster Talk is unsettling and unique.

[Beth Cavanaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty good--I like a good twist on a classic story and this YA version worked for me.