THE MONKEY-PUZZLE TREE

by Nona Coxhead ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 25, 1967

For years Nona Coxhead has been writing novels in the general vicinity of Rona Jaffe but this time she's slipped part way down into the Valley of.... even though this is by no means as drastic, and most of it is just a calculable combination of perfunctory writing and obligatory sex. On the one hand there's Griff and Marcie and their two little girls: Griff is a publisher; Marcie is an absentee mother and wife--actually she's a slut. Somehow the children love her and want ""Mummy on the job"" even though she spends most of her time in bed, hers or elsewhere. On the other hand there's Lisa who works for Griff, has another kind of mother hang-up, and remains spiritually pristine.... On and on this goes until Marcie finally disappears to be picked up for vagrancy and solicitation. Early on one of her youngsters has said ""I'd rather be a bore than a whore."" The trouble with Marcie is that there's no rather; and the trouble with books like this is that we have nothing to say about them which kind of puts us hors de combat.

Pub Date: Jan. 25, 1967

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Geis

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1967

Categories: FICTION