Saint Monkey: A Novel

Fiction & Literature
Cover of the book Saint Monkey: A Novel by Jacinda Townsend, W. W. Norton & Company
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jacinda Townsend ISBN: 9780393242959
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Publication: February 24, 2014
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company Language: English
Author: Jacinda Townsend
ISBN: 9780393242959
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication: February 24, 2014
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company
Language: English

"[A] compelling debut…Townsend's writing [is] full of fresh turns of phrase and keen insights." —Ayana Mathis, New York Times Book Review

Fourteen-year-old Audrey Martin, with her Poindexter glasses and her head humming the 3/4 meter of gospel music, knows she’ll never get out of Kentucky—but when her fingers touch the piano keys, the whole church trembles. Her best friend, Caroline, daydreams about Hollywood stardom, but both girls feel destined to languish in a slow-moving stopover town in Montgomery County.

That is, until chance intervenes and a booking agent offers Audrey a ticket to join the booming jazz scene in Harlem—an offer she can’t resist, not even for Caroline. And in New York City the music never stops. Audrey flirts with love and takes the stage at the Apollo, with its fast-dancing crowds and blinding lights. But fortunes can turn fast in the city—young talent means tough competition, and for Audrey failure is always one step away. Meanwhile, Caroline sinks into the quiet anguish of a Black woman in a backwards country, where her ambitions and desires only slip further out of reach.

Jacinda Townsend’s remarkable first novel is a coming-of-age story made at once gripping and poignant by the wild energy of the Jazz Era and the stark realities of segregation. Marrying musical prose with lyric vernacular, Saint Monkey delivers a stirring portrait of American storytelling and marks the appearance of an auspicious new voice in literary fiction.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

"[A] compelling debut…Townsend's writing [is] full of fresh turns of phrase and keen insights." —Ayana Mathis, New York Times Book Review

Fourteen-year-old Audrey Martin, with her Poindexter glasses and her head humming the 3/4 meter of gospel music, knows she’ll never get out of Kentucky—but when her fingers touch the piano keys, the whole church trembles. Her best friend, Caroline, daydreams about Hollywood stardom, but both girls feel destined to languish in a slow-moving stopover town in Montgomery County.

That is, until chance intervenes and a booking agent offers Audrey a ticket to join the booming jazz scene in Harlem—an offer she can’t resist, not even for Caroline. And in New York City the music never stops. Audrey flirts with love and takes the stage at the Apollo, with its fast-dancing crowds and blinding lights. But fortunes can turn fast in the city—young talent means tough competition, and for Audrey failure is always one step away. Meanwhile, Caroline sinks into the quiet anguish of a Black woman in a backwards country, where her ambitions and desires only slip further out of reach.

Jacinda Townsend’s remarkable first novel is a coming-of-age story made at once gripping and poignant by the wild energy of the Jazz Era and the stark realities of segregation. Marrying musical prose with lyric vernacular, Saint Monkey delivers a stirring portrait of American storytelling and marks the appearance of an auspicious new voice in literary fiction.

More books from W. W. Norton & Company

Cover of the book The Ayatollahs' Democracy: An Iranian Challenge by Jacinda Townsend
Cover of the book Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II by Jacinda Townsend
Cover of the book The Dynamics of Disaster by Jacinda Townsend
Cover of the book The Outer Lands: A Natural History Guide to Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Block Island, and Long Island by Jacinda Townsend
Cover of the book Anthill: A Novel by Jacinda Townsend
Cover of the book Lamb by Jacinda Townsend
Cover of the book The Culinary Imagination: From Myth to Modernity by Jacinda Townsend
Cover of the book Virtually You: The Dangerous Powers of the E-Personality by Jacinda Townsend
Cover of the book Relational Suicide Assessment: Risks, Resources, and Possibilities for Safety by Jacinda Townsend
Cover of the book One Hundred Names for Love: A Memoir by Jacinda Townsend
Cover of the book Affect Regulation and the Repair of the Self (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology) by Jacinda Townsend
Cover of the book Missouri: A Bicentennial History (States and the Nation) by Jacinda Townsend
Cover of the book Becoming a Doctor: From Student to Specialist, Doctor-Writers Share Their Experiences by Jacinda Townsend
Cover of the book Economics Rules: The Rights and Wrongs of the Dismal Science by Jacinda Townsend
Cover of the book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Jacinda Townsend
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy