26 Monkeys, Also The Abyss

by Kij Johnson, Diane Severson (Narrator)

Winner of the 2009 World Fantasy Award
Winner of the 2008 Asimov’s magazine Readers Award for best short story
Finalist, 2008 Nebula Award
Finalist, 2008 Hugo Award
Science Fiction World has accepted Guo Jianzhong’s translation
Read by Diane Severson as a charming audio reading at StarShipSofa.com

Genres: Short Stories, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Magical Realism, Speculative Fiction, Short Story Collection

1 pages, Audiobook

First published July 1, 2008

About the author

Kij Johnson is an American writer of fantasy. She has worked extensively in publishing: managing editor for Tor Books and Wizards of the Coast/TSR, collections editor for Dark Horse Comics, project manager working on the Microsoft Reader, and managing editor of Real Networks. She is Associate Director for the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas, and serves as a final judge for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award.

Johnson is the author of three novels and more than 38 short works of fiction. She is best known for her adaptations of Heian-era Japanese myths. She won the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for the best short story of 1994 for her novelette in Asimov's, "Fox Magic." In 2001, she won the International Association for the Fantastic in the Art's Crawford Award for best new fantasy novelist of the year. In 2009, she won the World Fantasy Award for "26 Monkeys, Also The Abyss," which was also a finalist for the Hugo and Nebula awards. She won the 2010 Nebula Award for "Spar" and the 2011 Nebula Award for "Ponies," which is also a finalist for the Hugo and World Fantasy awards. Her short story "The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change" was a finalist for the 2007 Hugo, Nebula, Sturgeon, and World Fantasy awards. Johnson was also a finalist for the 2004 World Fantasy Award for her novel Fudoki, which was declared one of the best SF/F novels of 2003 by Publishers Weekly.

Reviews

[Marcia Letaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss is a magically real story, fascinating and clearly written by a person who lives her life consciously. In other words, this story is wise and deep and a pleasure to read. Many thanks to Kij Johnson for writing it.

[DivaDiane SM · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the honor of narrating this Hugo nominated story for StarShipSofa podcast in 2008. It was then resyndicated by EscapePod podcast in April 2009.

[Ruby Tombstone Lives! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly amazing. And truly frightening how close to my real life this story is. Except for the 26 monkeys bit, obviously.

[Kandice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never expected the story I got. It was beautiful, about love and comfort and just...perfect! I read it in a short story collection of my daughter's. I hope to read the rest when she comes home this summer.

[Kate Bond · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fucking love this story.

[Laura L. Van Dam · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best short stories i have ever read. Period.
Goes directly to my "favorites" shelf.

[Alex Gracia · Rating 5 out of 5]

No mames, qué historia tan bella. Me estoy haciendo muy fan de las micro.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Aimee’s big trick is that she makes 26 monkeys vanish onstage."

Amiee has a tour bus full of various trained monkeys and one chimpanzee, who is not actually a monkey. Amiee, the twenty-six monkeys, and her boyfriend, Geof, travel between state fairs, performing their show of assorted acts. It always ends the same way. The monkeys pile into a claw-foot bathtub, and disappear all at once. The thing is, they really do vanish, and how they do it or where they go is a mystery to Amiee. Not knowing worries her.

   Aimee has had the act for three years now. She was living in a month-by-month furnished apartment under a flight path for the Salt Lake City airport. She was hollow, as if something had chewed a hole in her body and the hole had grown infected.
   There was a monkey act at the Utah State Fair. She felt a sudden and totally out-of-character urge to see it, and afterward, with no idea why, she walked up to the owner and said, “I have to buy this.”
   He nodded. He sold it to her for a dollar, which he told her was the price he had paid four years before.

To say much more would spoil this very short, but wonderfully crafted story for potential readers. It unfolds organically as a flower opening. Ms. Johnson writes wonderfully fantastical stories, often flirting with the experimental. They are all solidly constructed, engrossing, and perfectly believable while you're immersed in them. Don't take my word for it. Go find this and read it and see for yourself.

I originally read this in a science fiction and fantasy short story anthology. This is also available in Kij Johnson's collection, At the Mouth of the River of Bees: Stories, and can be read for free at her website.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story link (reprint): https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/john...
Sample:
"Aimee has: a 19-year-old tour bus packed with cages that range in size from parrot-sized (for the vervets) to something about the size of a pickup bed (for all the macaques); a stack of books on monkeys ranging from All About Monkeys to Evolution and Ecology of Baboon Societies; some sequined show costumes, a sewing machine, and a bunch of Carhartts and tees; a stack of show posters from a few years back that say 24 MONKEYS! FACE THE ABYSS; a battered sofa in a virulent green plaid; and a boyfriend who helps with the monkeys."

Also reprinted in her collection "At the Mouth of the River of Bees". Excellent story. Won the 2009 World Fantasy award.

[Chi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read 4 October 2024

Curious, I read this again.

And just like before, it really hits that sweet spot between weird, and just utterly perfect.

---

I really enjoyed this story. I finished it with a smile on my face, knowing that the characters - particularly Aimee - have found closure.

[James Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little short story ... poignant, whimsical, magical realism. Made my day.

[Devon :~) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this yesterday and I don’t usually log short stories. But this was so good and I love it so much <333 might read a million more times and write a quote and a picture on my pants. It made me so happy :~)

Highly recommend if you want a short little read

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, brilliant, full of hope and magic and reality.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Aimee runs a magic act, the highlight of which is when she makes 26 monkeys disappear from a plain, old, everyday bathtub. But the trick is there is no trick. The monkeys really do disappear, and Aimee has no idea how, or why, or where they go. And this, quite understandably, is causing her a bit of an existential crisis.

Strange? Yes. Quirky? You betcha. Weird? Odd? And offbeat? Yep, yep, and yep. But also kinda sorta brilliant. Because it is, without a doubt, unlike any other short story you’ve ever read—and therein lies its genius. Plus, you can read it for free online here. What's not to like about all that?

[Rick Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is inhabiting my headspace, crowding out other thoughts. Are the monkeys and the entire life she leads a symbol of the chaos of life? Of the object randomness with which meaning and clarity often elude our searching?

That you cannot place meaning on events as they happen, but that meaning comes to you in time?

That all life is transitory, tragic, and treacherous, but also wonderful and whimsical.

That those who come into your life never truly leave it, and you will be seeing them or their effects for years to come.

I don't know. It could be all of these things and none of them. It could be much more than this.

You need to read it and find out for yourself.

[Eleanor Imbody · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't stopped talking about this story since I read it three months ago. I read it and thought, "This. This is what I want to write." It's magical and captivating and humorous and touching. With one story, Kij Johnson shot to the top of my list of favorite writers. I have spent my days since that first read voraciously consuming as much of her other writing as possible because it is delightful.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

"They like visiting wherever it is, sure. But this is their home. Everyone likes to come home sooner or later."

"If they have a home," Aimee says.

"Everyone has a home, even if they don't believe in it," Geof says.

So, so, so cute!

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tiene monos casi filósofos y ese no sé qué que hace que sea un cuento raro y adorable.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're not now, you probably never will. Great story, just roll with it...

[A.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful story of life, love, monkeys and magic. It’s about things we believe in even when we have no reason to do so. It’s about buying things for a dollar and finding your own home when the time is right.

Aimee's big trick is that she makes 26 monkeys vanish onstage.

I’ve been cleaning up my Evernote file and there’s a pile of short stories that I loved kept in there, but I want other people to read them, too.

"You're always asking why they go," Geof says, a bottle and a half in. His eyes are an indeterminate blue-gray, but in this light they look black and very warm. "See, I don't think we're ever going to find out what happens. But I don't think that's the real question, anyway. Maybe the question is, why do they come back?"

5 stars

Read it here:
http://www.kijjohnson.com/26_monkeys.htm
Or listen to it here:
http://www.starshipsofa.com/blog/2009...

Winner of the 2009 World Fantasy Award
Winner of the 2008 Asimov's magazine Readers Award for best short story
Finalist, 2008 Nebula Award
Finalist, 2008 Hugo Award

[Debi Cates · Rating 5 out of 5]

What? WHAT? WHAT???

What was this that I just read? It was pure soul magic, that's what it was.

I could laugh. I could cry. I could read it aloud to anyone who would let me. I could memorize it to always have it with me.

I can't think of any one of any age that wouldn't like this story, and for each person, age 3 to 133, there would be a universal meaning all to themselves.

The magic needs nothing but you.

If you are reading this review, go read the story. Be happy and astounded.

Thank you to new GR friend, Ken, for the recommendation. It was a gift that I'm off now to pass on to others. I won't even charge $1.

Here is where you can read it for yourself https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/john...

[Isabella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story combines burn-out, desperation, the great unknown, and wholesome home-finding--with monkeys! I'm a sucker for magical realism, and I appreciate Johnson's style as well as how she plays with/inverts both structure and tropes.

This piece is wholesome and relatable for the average person. It won't reveal the secret to the universe, but it will leave you with a message to take back to your home.

[Sierra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for my First Year Seminar- Imagining Possible Worlds. The last story we read this quarter! Pretty bittersweet, but I liked the story overall! Solid four stars. I really loved this class, and I'm super sad for it to be over. On to better things next quarter!

[Kim Aippersbach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, brilliant, so, so well written. Made me cry with happiness.

[Nighteye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good one, especially the ending part. At last solving the mystery of it all.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful, bordering on magical realism short story. Sometimes, in your life, you need to buy a carnival of monkeys and let them fix up your life.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! I love this 🥰

[Wen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really goooooood!!

[Janus · Rating 2 out of 5]

4

[Sargun Saddhar · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty interesting. i think i would have liked it more if i had more braincells.