What do you think?
Rate this book
Munky
"There hadn't been monks at the abbey since 1600. Not living ones, that is."When the puckish spirit of a monk begins haunting the storied village of Pulborough, known for its ancient abbey, Maud Garner, manager of the Coach and Horses Inn, arranges for the famous ghost hunter, Walter Prince, to come investigate. And from there, things spiral out of control.Peopled with richly drawn Dickensian grotesques and filled with bizarre and comical incident, Munky is as compelling as it is antic. Catling transports the reader to an interwar England in the throes of change. Part bizarre ghost story, part whimsical farce, part idiosyncratic literary experiment, it could be described as P. G. Wodehouse collaborating with Raymond Roussel, with a dash of M. R. James, if it weren't so uniquely its own thing.
116 pages, Paperback
First published July 31, 2020
About the author
Brian Catling
28 books365 followersAlso publishes as B. Catling.
Brian Catling was born in London in 1948. He was a poet, sculptor and performance artist, who made installations and painted egg tempera portraits of imagined Cyclops. He was commissioned to make solo installations and performances in many countries including Spain, Japan, Iceland, Israel, Denmark, Holland, Norway, Germany, Greenland and Australia. He also wrote novels.
He was Professor of Fine Art at The Ruskin School of Drawing & Fine Art, University of Oxford, and a fellow of Linacre College.
Brian Catling was born in London in 1948. He was a poet, sculptor and performance artist, who made installations and painted egg tempera portraits of imagined Cyclops. He was commissioned to make solo installations and performances in many countries including Spain, Japan, Iceland, Israel, Denmark, Holland, Norway, Germany, Greenland and Australia. He also wrote novels.
He was Professor of Fine Art at The Ruskin School of Drawing & Fine Art, University of Oxford, and a fellow of Linacre College.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Want to Read
August 3, 2020This hardcover is numbered 82 of 100 and is signed by Brian Catling and Dave Nckean and also arrived with a series of numbered postcards, and bookmark.
June 24, 2026
Set between the wars in an era still very much influenced by the great ghost story writers who were still producing books, the likes of M.R. James, Algernon Blackwood, and E.F. Benson, this is a tale that is an absolute pleasure to read, as much because of Catling’s style of writing, as the strange goings-on. Those fine writers of the supernatural and weird may have been an influence, but the book also puts into the mind the writing of PG Wodehouse and Dylan Thomas; it has good humour with splendidly drawn characters.
Pulborough Abbey is a magnificent old historic building and though the nearby village maybe quaint, it has a set of residents that are behind the times, to say the least.
The arrival of a monkish ghost triggers a chain reaction that causes such a kerfuffle that some in London get wind of it. Indeed, a celebrated investigator, Walter Prince, aka the 'Ghost-Finder General' by the tabloids, comes to see for himself. Prince settles himself in the Coach & Horse, owned by the spherical and salacious William Penney, who manages it ‘like the surly captain of a dubiously credited ship’.
Other characters are a treat also.. such as the dastardly Verger Chyne, who treats the Abbey as his fiefdom, and despises visitors who are not visiting for worship, as they are usually looking for a public convenience.
This absolutely isn’t in the mould of the nostalgic ghost stories that may have initially influenced it. Rather it is clear-sighted about the 'good old days', especially in its depiction of the harassed barmaids of the dreadful pub. This is not an affectionate portrait of the English, but a depiction of grotesque vanity, selfishness, and ignorance, with just the occasional moment of warmth in the midst of a very wintry tale.
Pulborough Abbey is a magnificent old historic building and though the nearby village maybe quaint, it has a set of residents that are behind the times, to say the least.
The arrival of a monkish ghost triggers a chain reaction that causes such a kerfuffle that some in London get wind of it. Indeed, a celebrated investigator, Walter Prince, aka the 'Ghost-Finder General' by the tabloids, comes to see for himself. Prince settles himself in the Coach & Horse, owned by the spherical and salacious William Penney, who manages it ‘like the surly captain of a dubiously credited ship’.
Other characters are a treat also.. such as the dastardly Verger Chyne, who treats the Abbey as his fiefdom, and despises visitors who are not visiting for worship, as they are usually looking for a public convenience.
This absolutely isn’t in the mould of the nostalgic ghost stories that may have initially influenced it. Rather it is clear-sighted about the 'good old days', especially in its depiction of the harassed barmaids of the dreadful pub. This is not an affectionate portrait of the English, but a depiction of grotesque vanity, selfishness, and ignorance, with just the occasional moment of warmth in the midst of a very wintry tale.
December 9, 2022
Delightfully quirky characters and strange appiritions written with a wonderful sense of place an humour. A perfect little winter-read.
May 30, 2025
Anyone familiar with B. Catling’s work—particularly The Vorrh trilogy—will know he writes in a surreal, darkly lyrical style. Munky is no exception. In this compact novella of just 100 pages, Catling continues to blur the lines between myth, fantasy, and the poetic. The story follows a monstrous yet oddly sympathetic protagonist, Munky, as he moves through a dreamlike landscape filled with strange rituals, fractured time, and haunting encounters.
Catling’s prose is dense, painterly, and hallucinatory. Every page drips with rich imagery and uncanny juxtapositions, offering more atmosphere than plot. Longtime readers will recognise his signature blend of weird fiction and allegory, while newcomers may find the narrative challenging but also hypnotic.
Munky won’t be for everyone—its meaning is elusive, and its story unfolds more like a fever dream than a conventional narrative. But for those drawn to the avant-garde and the unsettling, this is a short, strange gem that lingers long after the final page.
Catling’s prose is dense, painterly, and hallucinatory. Every page drips with rich imagery and uncanny juxtapositions, offering more atmosphere than plot. Longtime readers will recognise his signature blend of weird fiction and allegory, while newcomers may find the narrative challenging but also hypnotic.
Munky won’t be for everyone—its meaning is elusive, and its story unfolds more like a fever dream than a conventional narrative. But for those drawn to the avant-garde and the unsettling, this is a short, strange gem that lingers long after the final page.
June 9, 2026
Grotesque and funny! A story about Britain and its people (dead and alive), its ghosts and myths that are so linked with the buildings and the landscape. Although the story is rather short (and that's my only complaint) the writing is dense and the themes many. Highly recommended.
October 2, 2024
I adore B. Catling’s prose!
January 5, 2023
A short novella from the late, great Brian Catling. The plot concerns the ghost of a monk turning up in a small Home Counties village , and the various people this upsets, including the church's prudish custodian, the corpulent local pub landlord and a ghost hunter with, er, questionable proclivities.
That's basically all there is to it, as the plot doesn't really go anywhere, and it just sort of finishes quite abruptly after a hundred or so pages, making it more of a weird snapshot of a situation rather than a full story. There are a lot of elements that are mentioned once, and then never touched again, as intriguing as they are.
But at the end of the day, it's Catling, so naturally it's still a giddy delight to read, filled with grotesque Britishness, fabulous humour, dazzling prose, and a lot of vivid imagery. Munky is an oddly charming little curio, and even in a more spare and lightweight novella, there's nobody quite like Catling. I'm very sad he's no longer around to produce more.
That's basically all there is to it, as the plot doesn't really go anywhere, and it just sort of finishes quite abruptly after a hundred or so pages, making it more of a weird snapshot of a situation rather than a full story. There are a lot of elements that are mentioned once, and then never touched again, as intriguing as they are.
But at the end of the day, it's Catling, so naturally it's still a giddy delight to read, filled with grotesque Britishness, fabulous humour, dazzling prose, and a lot of vivid imagery. Munky is an oddly charming little curio, and even in a more spare and lightweight novella, there's nobody quite like Catling. I'm very sad he's no longer around to produce more.
August 18, 2020
My favourite read of the year! Vivid, grotesque and humorous, a delightful combination. Highly recommend.
September 15, 2020
I'm somewhat embarrassed to write this as I feel I missed something and perhaps a re-read would be more revealing. I really liked the story, the writing, and most of the characters, especially Maudy, but I feel the mystery was never satisfactorily revealed. It was hinted at and alluded to without being fully flushed out and I feel in the end that I "didn't get it" which is not where I like to be at the end of a story.
Regarding the book itself, it's beautifully rendered by Swan River Press. I love the wrap around jacket art by Dave McKean as well as the pictorial boards which have different artwork. 5/5 stars for book production.
Regarding the book itself, it's beautifully rendered by Swan River Press. I love the wrap around jacket art by Dave McKean as well as the pictorial boards which have different artwork. 5/5 stars for book production.
May 5, 2025
When a spectral monk appears in a local pub "The Couch and Horses Inn," the manager arranges for a famous ghost Hunter to investigate the supernatural phenomenon. What follows is an extremely English cavalcade of characters like something from P.G Wodehouse novel with a healthy does of M.R James and Raymond Roussel.
February 14, 2025
Almost as weird as it is well-written. Strange read but enjoyable!
July 21, 2025
Brian Catling, you are sorely missed 🥲
March 1, 2026
concentrated Catling. terrifying, sad and funny. more fart stuff than I expected.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews