Alice's Review: The Monsters of Templeton

Summary:  "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 acontemporary story of a girl's search for her father, part historical novel, and part ghost story, this spellbinding novel is at its core a tale of how one town holds the secrets of a family. In the wake of a wildly disastrous affair with her married archaeology professor, Willie Upton arrives on thedoorstep of her ancestral home in Templeton, New York, where her hippie-turned-born-again-Baptist mom, Vi, still lives. Willie expects to be ableto hide in the place that has been home to her family for generations, but the monster's death changes the fabric of the quiet, picture-perfect town her ancestors founded. Even further, Willie learns that the story her mother had always told her about her father has all been a lie: he wasn't the random man from a free-love commune that Vi had led her to imagine, but someone else entirely. Someone from this very town. As Willie puts her archaeological skills to work digging for the truth about her lineage, she discovers that the secrets of her family run deep. Through letters, editorials, and journal entries, the dead rise up to tell their sides of the story as dark mysteries come to light, past and present blur,old stories are finally put to rest, and the shocking truth about more than one monster is revealed. ~amazon.com

Review:  I remember reading Julie’s review when she first read this novel. I know she was fond of it so I was excited she suggested I read this one as part of our List Swap Challenge. I have to admit, the beginning of this novel began in fits and starts for me. It took me a while to get into it but once I did, I got wrapped up on the story. I loved Willie from the word go.

Willie is the main character in this novel, the prodigal daughter returned shamed after a tryst with her very married college professor. And if that isn’t bad enough, she’s knocked up. She has a bun in the oven she (somewhat) lovingly refers to as The Lump. The thing about Willie is that she’s heartbroken (and I love the brokenhearted) and remorseful and so lost she doesn’t know what to do with herself. To help her recover, her sweet former hippie turned Christian mom tells her that her father is a “Random Templeton Man” and Willie’s mission is to find out who it is with minimal help from dear old mom. That sets Willie off on a crazy chase into her family’s past to find out who this mystery man is.

The next thing I loved about this novel is the darkness. About 7 or 8 years ago I read a book called Dating Big Bird by Laura Zigman. Although the pages where blinding white, the novel was shroud in darkness. This novel was the same. Even as I got to know Willie and her struggles, it felt like I was reading The Monster of Templeton in the dark. I guess it’s appropriate to feel that way because I’m sure that’s how Willie felt. She was in the dark about who her father was and what to do about the Lump.

This novel was filled with a crazy cast of characters from Willie’s crooked family tree. Their stories are told mostly in chapters dedicated to flashbacks. Of those wacky branches, my favorite had to be the correspondence between Cinnamon Averell and her best friend Charlotte Franklin Temple. I wish there was a novel dedicated to their story, especially Cinnamon. She was a spicy little gem full of moxie. Oh to sit with her for a cup of tea and hear her sordid little secrets.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Monsters of Templeton. Lauren Groff is a gifted writer with the ability to write in lyrical, poetic prose and expressive descriptions. I will admit by the end of the novel, I couldn’t care less who Willie’s father was. I guess it was the point to all this but really, it didn’t matter to me. My desire to know got lost in the pages and pages of the town and Temple family history. I am glad I read it and would recommend it but I wouldn’t read this novel again. I would, however, read Ms. Groff’s other novels. She has a gift, that much is true.

Final Take: 3/5

Giveaway: Delicate Edible Birds

We have two copies of Delicate Edible Birds to give away. Please leave a comment here by midnight EST time March 22, 2009 to be automaticaly entered. See my review of the short story collection. I enjoyed it.

For an even better chance to win, post about this contest on your own blog (linking back to this post) and your name will be entered twice! The winner will be announced on March 23, 2009.

Good Luck!

Lisa's Review: Delicate Edible Birds

Review:
I can't think of many people I know who seek out short stories or short story collections as consistent reading material. I can count on three fingers the number of short stories, I've sought out in the past few years, maybe even my post-college/adult life. Brokeback Mountain and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Lame. I know and as much as I would like to prove that I'm not that lame, I can't remember the name of the 3rd story.*

Suffice it to say I came to Delicate Edible Birds a little unsure what to expect, so this was an interesting read. As I read, I noticed a theme emerging tying the stories together. None of the stories are similar to another, even the tone of the opening paragraph of each story is very different. Each story revolved one main female character, each from a different walk of life, living in a different time period and their story told from a different point of view. These are some of the attributes that made me love the entire collection, with Lucky Chow Fun, L. DeBard & Aliette, and Blythe standing out as favorites.

And though each story on it's own isn't a winner, it's clear that Lauren Groff is exceptionally talented writer and this collection of short stories is all the evidence needed.

Final Take: 3.75/5

* Remember that 3rd short story I mentioned further up? In short, it's about a guy who is on some sort of journey and somehow comes to the realization he's dead. I'll give you a $20 gift certificate to Amazon if you can tell me the name of it.

A Review of Lauren Groff's new book:

Julie noticed a review of Lauren Groff's new book, Delicate Edible Birds, and we wanted to pass it along to everyone, so here's the link:

EW.com Review

If you're reading this book, be sure to come back and tell us what you think too!

A Note From Lauren Groff:

Author of The Monsters of Templeton

Dear Friends,

I am delighted to announce that my second book, a collection of short stories called Delicate Edible Birds, is in stores today. I'm skipping around the house like a madwoman in glee. In one short year, I had two books and a baby. Frankly, I'm pooped.

The good news is that there will be a launch party tonight in Gainesville, FL at Wild Iris Books (6-7:30--everyone is welcome) and I am going on tour tomorrow. On this trip I'll visit Madison, Denver, Seattle, Portland, Bellingham, WA. and Oakland and Corte Madera in California. At the end of the month, I'll be in Cincinnati, Louisville and Nashville. If you'd like to attend an event, or keep up with Groffian news, please go to my website: www.laurengroff.com for more information. I even have an RSS feed. Hello 21st century!

Thank you, and I hope you have a fantastic day.

With love and warm wishes,

Lauren

Lauren Groff's Schedule of Appearances

Continuing in our quest to promote The Monsters of Templeton, below is a schedule of Lauren's events from February through April. Too bad she's not making a stop in Chicago or I'd go and introduce myself. Hopefully some of our readers will go and meet her, but don't forget to mention us. :)

Saturday, February 9……………………………….………….…..COOPERSTOWN, NY
5:00 p.m. AUGUR’S BOOKS, 73 Main Street
Reading & Signing in connection with the Cooperstown Winter Carnival
6:30 p.m. TEMPLETON HALL, 63 Pioneer Street
Party for Cooperstown hosted by the Groff family

Sunday, February 10……………………………….…………...……..NEW YORK CITY
7:00 p.m. KGB BAR, 85 East 4th Street

Wednesday, February 13………………………………….……...……NEW YORK CITY
8:00 p.m. HAPPY ENDING BAR, 302 Broome Street

Tuesday, February 19………………………………….……………...…...JACKSON, MS
5:00 p.m. LEMURIA, Banner Hall, 4465 I 55 North, Suite 202

Wednesday, February 20……………………………………………..…….OXFORD, MS
5:00 p.m. SQUARE BOOKS, 160 Courthouse Square

Saturday, February 23 – Sunday, February 24…………………….COLUMBIA, SC
SOUTH CAROLINA BOOK FESTIVAL
Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, 1101 Lincoln Street

Thursday, February 28……………………………………………SOUTH HADLEY, MA
7:00 p.m. ODYSSEY BOOKSHOP, 9 College Street

Sunday, March 9……..………………………….……………………GAINESVILLE, FL
2:00 p.m. GOERINGS BOOK STORE, 1717 NW First Avenue

Thursday, March 13-Saturday, March 15…..FORT LAUDERDALE, FL
BROWARD COUNTY LITERARY FEAST

Thursday, March 27……………………………………………………...SARASOTA, FL
7:00 p.m. SARASOTA NEWS & BOOKS: Groff in Conversation with Stephen King
at University of South Florida/Sarasota-Manatee Campus, 5700 N. Tamiami Trail

Friday, April 25………………………………….……………………..…LOS ANGELES, CA
LADIES WHO LUNCH SERIES with MYSTERIOUS GALAXY BOOKSTORE

Saturday, April 26-Sunday, April 27……………………………..LOS ANGELES, CA
LOS ANGELES FESTIVAL OF BOOKS

Interview with Lauren Groff - Part Two

As promised - the rest of our interview with Lauren Groff. Enjoy!

Girls Just Reading: Templeton is based on your hometown of Cooperstown, NY but is the family lineage based on stories about the ancestry of the town or is just purely fiction? If fiction, how much time was spent on developing the detailed storyline and the details of the Temple Family Tree? If it’s based on non-fiction, how much research went into making sure the story was as accurate as the facts you could find?

Lauren Groff: The ancestry is fictional though some of the characters come from James Fenimore Cooper’s fiction and personal biography, though those of the latter source are so patently fictionalized that I was able to just have fun with it. My intention was to allow the people of Templeton who are generally not allowed to have a voice in history to speak—the wives and servants and slaves and regular people and obscure sons of big, important people. The family tree was the hardest thing to do, and even into the ARCs (Advance Readers Copy) there were some big issues with the genealogy—it gets so very tricky to weave all the separate strands, and I’m sure I’d horrify actual genealogists. For me, the characters were the important parts.

GJR: I (Lisa) knew immediately who Willie’s father was when I met him. What was your reasoning behind choosing this particular individual?

LG: Congratulations! As far as I’ve heard only a few people like you so far did know off the bat—and I’m not going to write much more about this, in the fear of spoiling the plot for those who haven’t read the book yet. Well done, in any case!

GJR: Willie has an interesting relationship with her mother, sometimes there seemed to be a lack of respect happening. Why did you feel the story was best served by having this sort of relationship between the two women?

LG: I think because even in very close relationships between parents and daughters, even when the children are grown, there are moments where there’s an apparent lack of respect! Willie loves her mother, but is massively frustrated and irritated and bemused by her, and has always had a sort of co-parenting role in the relationship anyway—she feels a little bit as if her mother, who was so very young when she had Willie, grew up at the same time that Willie herself did. Willie has a protective, almost sisterly relationship to her, and though she acts poorly at times she does, deeply, respect her mother. That aspect I think only comes clear the deeper you go into the book, though.

GJR: One of the things we enjoyed most was the fact that the novel is written in so many different voices and information comes in different forms (i.e. letters, diary entries, etc.) What compelled you to use these devices?

LG: Thanks! They only came clear on the fourth draft—I was trying to write a panorama of a town during the many eras in its existence, and the best way I came up with for doing that was allowing the actual voices of the town to surface.

GJR: Are you at work on another novel at the moment? Is it a going to be a new idea or will you base it off of a short story you’ve previously written?

LG: I do have a short story collection coming out next, which I’m thrilled about, and I’ve been at work on another novel (with a new idea) for about a year--which means I have about thirty “keepable” pages, alas. It’s due in 2010, which is starting to seem way too close for comfort.

Interview with Lauren Groff - Part One

If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you know by now that The Monsters of Templeton will be published on February 5, 2008. As part of the mini-promotional thing that we're doing here at Girls Just Reading, we asked Ms. Groff if she would answer a few questions for us - she graciously agreed. What follows is part one of our attempt at asking insightful questions about the cover, her writing process and hoping she would spill a few secrets (no such luck!)

Please enjoy!

Girls Just Reading: We know that most authors do not have much say on the cover art for their book, but it seems like yours ties into the book immensely. Did you have some input and can you tell us (without giving much away) who the pictures are of on the cover? We have an idea but would like to see if we are correct.

Lauren Groff: I actually had no say at all—and am so glad that everything worked out so beautifully. Throughout writing the book, I did have an image in my mind for what the book would look like (a stark white cover, with the lake monster half-emerged in black and white along the bottom edge). I was so surprised to see my color scheme replicated, but in such an intricate and storytelling way by the paper-artist Beth White. As soon as I saw the cover, it was the first time it sank in that the novel was going to be published. And though I’d love to confirm your suspicions, I’d rather not explain the cover! First of all, because I could be wrong, myself (the artist and cover designer were the ones to make those decisions)—second, because I love the idea that individual readers could interpret things the way they want to.
GJR: How long did it take you to develop the outline for the book? Is this something you’ve worked on over a few years or was it something that you sat down and wrote over a few months?

LG: It took me three years to write this book, and never from an outline. It was, instead, the work of historical research and multiple complete drafts that I subsequently abandoned, keeping only the good ideas. A few months would have been fabulous, but unless you’re wildly prolific, that usually doesn’t end up being the timeline of the creation of a book—since I write first drafts freehand and then revise as I transfer to the computer, I have something like 1,500 pages of Monsters of Templeton in the world.

GJR: Glimmey, the lake “monster” in the story seems to be a version of another lake being, did you get your inspiration from the Loch Ness monster tales? How much research did you put into developing this character for the story? What types of experts did you reach out to?

LG: Glimmey comes form an enigmatic story I’d heard constantly when I was little, and from Moby Dick a little bit. His details are only from a delighted idea of possibility—I did some research on cryptozoology online, and I knew I wanted to make him parthenogenic and carry a great deal of the metaphoric weight for the story, but the rest of the details come from idly clicking through the internet. I sometimes think that too-intensive research tends to kill some of the imaginative possibilities in fiction—I’m pretty sure a creature like Glimmey is anatomically impossible, but I couldn’t really resist the ability to give him some of the attributes he has—like supersonic ears.


GJR: On the subject of Glimmey, we felt the intent was to parallel Willie and how she felt about returning home, her search for her father and so on. Are we correct in our assumptions?

LG: So sorry—again, I think I’m going to decline being the arbiter of this one. Primarily because I think Glimmey could be read in a dozen ways, and I did intend for it to have a multitude of readings, all of which are correct in each reader’s mind. So, you’re absolutely correct—as are fifty other readings of the monster!

And The Winner is...

Congratulations "Julie P"! You've won a shiny new copy of The Monsters of Templeton.

Want to know how I did it?
I listed each commentor sequentially, with the second entry being the next in the sequence. Then I visited the handy dandy Random.org and voila!

Thank you all for participating in our first giveaway! Surely there'll be more books to giveaway, so please keep your eyes peeled to this blog.

Julie, just send us an email and we'll sort out getting your book over to you ASAP!

Win A Copy of "The Monsters Of Templeton"

You can win a copy of the book the Booklist calls "a fantastically fun read". I have a copy of The Monsters of Templeton to give away. Please leave a comment here by midnight EST time January 30, 2008 to be automaticaly entered.

For an even better chance to win, post about this contest on your own blog (linking back to this post) and your name will be entered twice! The winner will be announced on January 31, 2008.

I will also be posting a short interview we did with the author Lauren Groff and a schedule of her public appearances very soon. Stay tuned....

Related:
Julie's "Monsters" Review
Lisa's "Monsters" Review

Julie's Review: The Monsters of Templeton

Summary: "The day I returned to Templeton steeped in disgrace, thefifty-foot corpse of a monster surfaced in Lake Glimmerglass." So beginsThe Monsters of Templeton, a novel spanning two centuries: part acontemporary story of a girl's search for her father, part historical novel, andpart ghost story, this spellbinding novel is at its core a tale of how one townholds the secrets of a family. In the wake of a wildly disastrousaffair with her married archaeology professor, Willie Upton arrives on thedoorstep of her ancestral home in Templeton, New York, where herhippie-turned-born-again-Baptist mom, Vi, still lives. Willie expects to be ableto hide in the place that has been home to her family for generations, but themonster's death changes the fabric of the quiet, picture-perfect town herancestors founded. Even further, Willie learns that the story her mother hadalways told her about her father has all been a lie: he wasn't the random manfrom a free-love commune that Vi had led her to imagine, but someone elseentirely. Someone from this very town. As Willie puts her archaeological skills to work digging forthe truth about her lineage, she discovers that the secrets of her family rundeep. Through letters, editorials, and journal entries, the dead rise up to telltheir sides of the story as dark mysteries come to light, past and present blur,old stories are finally put to rest, and the shocking truth about more than onemonster is revealed. ~amazon.com

Review: It took me a while to get through this book and while much of it had to do with the busy Holiday season, I think some it also had to do with the fact that I didn't fall in love with or identify with any of the characters. The main character, Willie was flawed but seemed 2 dimensional to me. I never really felt any depth coming from her. Her mother Vi was trying to change her life by finding religion and all that Willie could do was mock her. While I do realize it went against everything Vi had ever done in her past, it was nice to see that someone could evolve into a different person and find a place where they felt they belong and I don't think it was right for Willie to judge her mother, especially since Willie wasn't exactly in a righteous place herself.

The real essence of the story to me is about finding out who you are through your family history. While I found most of this interesting, I also found parts of it confusing as she searches for her father and how he might be a part of the same blood line. Now as twisted as that sounds, Ms. Groff does wrap it up in such a way that it's not as twisted as it seemed at first.

The lake monster, Glimmey, I think is representative of what Willie is feeling when she gets there and when she leaves. I am curious to know what Ms. Groff based the monster on, was it Loch Ness or some other "known" beast? I have no doubt that she did her homework on this part of the novel. In fact, I think a tremendous amount of research went into novel as a whole. Any time you are exploring family history, whether it's fiction or non-fiction, you have to keep your facts straight and she did an excellent job of that.

I did figure out one of the twists in the book but the other one took me completely off guard and was just as surprised as one of the characters in the book when the revelation came.

For a first book, I have to say Ms. Groff weaves a very good story, even if at parts it was slow and dragged a bit. The best part for me was the last 1/4 of the book when the story started to come together. I don't know if it's a book I would have picked up off the shelf to read myself, but I'm glad to get the opportunity to read an up and coming author. And now that I've read her, I will keep my eye out for her other novels and I wish her success.

Final Take: 3.75/5

Lisa's Review: The Monsters of Templeton

Summary:
One dark summer dawn, at the exact moment that an enormous monster dies in Lake Glimmerglass, twenty-eight-year-old Willie Upton returns pregnant and miserable to her hometown of Templeton, N.Y. Willie is a descendant of the creator of the town, Marmaduke Temple, and she expects to be able to hide in the place that has been home to her family for centuries. But the monster changes the fabric of the village and Willie's mother, Vivienne, has a surprise for the girl that will send Willie careening through her family's history to dig up clues about her heritage. Spanning two centuries, the story is told through a panoply of voices, from Templeton ghosts to residents, masters to servants, natives to interlopers, and historical figures to literary characters. ~ Source: http://www.laurengroff.com/

Review:

I received The Monsters of Templeton from Barnes & Noble as part of their First Look Book Club program. This was the first selection. As I write, I am still not sure how I will rate this book. It took me a couple of weeks to read this one – now I was preoccupied with some work stuff but this book never really drew me in enough to make me forget about what was going on in my life. That’s never good. Secondly, this is a book about genealogy. I remember sitting at my grandfather’s knee, eyes glazed over, mind wandering as he told me all about my family tree. I believe the genealogy element of the book had the same effect on me at times. It was in fact interesting, Willie’s search for her father (I knew who he was the moment I met him, but I kept forgetting that I knew that – a mark of good writing I suppose). I enjoyed how the major players from the past rose up to tell their stories in their own voices, however, it was still confusing trying to keep track of all those people. That is probably why I will always live in mortal fear of marrying my cousin.

Lauren Groff did a good job of working the stories of the past and the present together in the same narrative. There is a slight supernatural element (a monster in the lake) that I am never fully sure why it was there, even after it told its story in the epilogue. It was a bit contrived having the “house ghost” help her find the last clue (a really good clue though). A bit of a cop-out I thought. Truthfully there were way too many times that I felt like I was in a college English Lit class and failing miserably. Yeah I’m getting the feeling I didn’t like it, which is sad, because I read Stephen King’s article about it in Entertainment Weekly and I was looking forward to it, not to mention ecstatic when I was able to get it early. Let’s all blame my preoccupation with work stuff – Agreed?

Monsters is due for release in February 2008.

Final Take: 2.9/5