3.5
The Monsters of Templeton
ByPublisher Description
"The day I returned to Templeton steeped in disgrace, the fifty-foot corpse of a monster surfaced in Lake Glimmerglass." So begins The Monsters of Templeton, a novel spanning two centuries: part a contemporary story of a girl's search for her father, part historical novel, and part ghost story. In the wake of a disastrous love affair with her older, married archaeology professor at Stanford, brilliant Wilhelmina Cooper arrives back at the doorstep of her hippie mother-turned-born-again-Christian's house in Templeton, NY, a storybook town her ancestors founded that sits on the shores of Lake Glimmerglass. Upon her arrival, a prehistoric monster surfaces in the lake bringing a feeding frenzy to the quiet town, and Willie learns she has a mystery father her mother kept secret Willie's entire life. The beautiful, broody Willie is told that the key to her biological father's identity lies somewhere in her family's history, so she buries herself in the research of her twisted family tree and finds more than she bargained for as a chorus of voices from the town's past -- some sinister, all fascinating -- rise up around her to tell their side of the story. In the end, dark secrets come to light, past and present day are blurred, and old mysteries are finally put to rest. The Monsters of Templeton is a fresh, virtuoso performance that has placed Lauren Groff among the best writers of today.
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3.5
bronwyn
Created 11 days agoShare
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“Not my most favorite Lauren Groff but still wonderful. (She's an author I hold to a problematically high standard and this was her first novel.)
Liked: the plot/story
Loved: the writing and the touch of magical realism; the historical exploration; blend of story-history; portrayal of Cooperstown!
Meh Factor: I didn't understand the Mother Figure and I wanted more of her, particularly in relation to her strange romantic interest...”Lindsey Tosh
Created 17 days agoShare
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tess
Created about 2 months agoShare
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“Honest thoughts, minor spoilers!
The Monsters of Templeton had a very exciting premise: a monster is discovered in the lake of a small, historic town. However, the monster ended up being a very small part of this story. Instead, we focus on Wilhelmina “Willie” Upton, a 28 year old grad student and descendant of the town’s founder. Willie has returned to her hometown on the tail end of an affair with her married professor which has left her pregnant. Willie herself is a child born out of wedlock, and her mother Vi shocks her by revealing that Willie’s father was not one of three possible former lovers of Vi’s hippie days (as Willie had long been told); Willie’s father is in fact a resident of Templeton, and also a descendant of the founding family. We join Willie as she aims to solve the mystery of her parentage (as Vi won’t simply tell Willie who her father is, she has instructed Willie to research it herself). Part of this book is set in Willie’s present day (around the end of 2001), part of it is told in letters and narration of Templetonians past.
So, here’s the deal. This is a GOOD book. It’s well written. The characters, though there be plenty, are all richly constructed. Every perspective was written with love. Uncovering the story of Willie’s family alongside her was an interesting journey.
That! Being! Said! I am a tad disappointed that the monster aspect was so lackluster. Maybe that’s a me problem! Maybe I misinterpreted the summary. But I expected more of the lake monster, and that fell flat for me. Though in defense of THAT, the ending sweetly wrapped it up.
All in all, if you’re interested both in character driven stories as well as historical perspectives, I do recommend this book. Groff crafted every page with care, not a word was wasted on her characters. If you’re looking for a monster story, look elsewhere.”
Dani Weyand
Created 2 months agoShare
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About Lauren Groff
Lauren Groff is the author of The Monsters of Templeton, shortlisted for the Orange Prize for New Writers; Arcadia, a New York Times Notable Book, winner of the Medici Book Club Prize, and finalist for the L.A. Times Book Award; and Fates and Furies, a National Book Award finalist. Her writing has appeared in the New Yorker, the Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, Tin House, One Story, McSweeney's, and Ploughshares, and in the anthologies 100 Years of the Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses, PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories, and three editions of The Best American Short Stories. She lives in Gainesville, Florida, with her husband and two sons.
Other books by Lauren Groff
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