Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Mister Monkey  By  cover art

Mister Monkey

By: Francine Prose
Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne,Nan McNamara
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $25.19

Buy for $25.19

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

The acclaimed New York Times best-selling author weaves an ingenious, darkly humorous, and brilliantly observant story that follows the exploits and intrigue of a constellation of characters affiliated with an off-off-off-off-Broadway children's musical.

Mister Monkey - a screwball children's musical about a playfully larcenous pet chimpanzee - is the kind of family favorite that survives far past its prime. Margot, who plays the chimp's lawyer, knows the production is dreadful and bemoans the failure of her acting career. She's settled into the drudgery of playing a humiliating part - until the day she receives a mysterious letter from an anonymous admirer and later, in the middle of a performance, has a shocking encounter with Adam, the 12-year-old who plays the title role.

Francine Prose's effervescent comedy is told from the viewpoints of wildly unreliable, seemingly disparate characters whose lives become deeply connected as the madcap narrative unfolds. There is Adam, whose looming adolescence informs his interpretation of his role; Edward, a young audience member who is candidly unimpressed with the play; Ray, the author of the novel on which the musical is based, who witnesses one of the most awkward first dates in literature; and even the eponymous Mister Monkey, the Monkey God himself.

With her trademark wit and verve, Prose delves into humanity's most profound mysteries: art, ambition, childhood, aging, and love. Startling and captivating, Mister Monkey is a breathtaking novel from a writer at the height of her craft.

©2016 Francine Prose (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about Mister Monkey

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    20
  • 4 Stars
    22
  • 3 Stars
    18
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    12
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    26
  • 4 Stars
    22
  • 3 Stars
    16
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    6
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    22
  • 4 Stars
    14
  • 3 Stars
    16
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    13

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Monkey Shines

“Mister Monkey” surprised me, chapter by chapter, with its charm, insights and warmth.

The novel focuses on a low-budget, low-quality off-Broadway production of a children’s musical play, “Mister Monkey.” Each chapter focuses on one character, sometimes an actor, sometimes a backstage worker, sometimes an audience member. Francine Prose weaves all these small lives together in a way that makes you feel for their efforts and their longings. Many of the characters were obnoxious on the surface, but sensitive and concerned in their thoughts. And there are serious themes throughout, never overplayed, including thoughts on Darwin and evolution, colonialism, animal rights and global warming. One amusing scene involves a kindergarteners’ debate over the roles of monkeys and dinosaurs in evolution.

“Mister Monkey” reminded me of other enjoyable books that slide among the points of view of weird but likeable characters in interrelated chapters, like the wonderful “Skippy Dies” (kids and teachers at a Dublin boarding school) and “Capital” by John Lanchester (residents of a London street in the financial crisis).

Kirby Heyborne is a favorite narrator who often captures the voices of younger characters with a sense of wonder. Nan McNamara also read well.

Overall, a remarkable book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful journey of humanity set in theatre

Mister Monkey is a life journey of carefully-crafted characters. Each wandering through their own humanity, love and growth.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

William Shakespeare

The author’s name is not by chance , she writes the best prose I’ve ever read or listened . This is her 3rd book , not easy but beautifully complicated . Give it a good try , then stop & think .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Took me by surprise

Much more depth to this book than I expected. Really liked it, liked all the well-drawn characters and the way they were woven together. Plus, I especially loved the exploration of what it means to be a monkey! Big plus for all the (admittedly random) references to Russian literature. I mean, wha????

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!