William Giraldi

“The best literary present . . . has a delicate sweetness that shows through at just the right moments.”—Ron Charles, Washington Post Book World Echoing a narrative line that includes Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller, William Giraldi’s Busy Monsters has been hailed as one of the most exciting fiction debuts in years. Penned with a linguistic bravado that explores the diaphanous line between fiction and fact, this “very funny, very inventive début novel” (The New Yorker) has at last revived the great American picaresque tradition.

Busy Monsters: A Novel

Zoe Smolen

I received a copy of Busy Monsters for free in the Goodreads, first reads, giveaway section. The book follows Charles, a memoirist for a news paper, and his journeys after his fiancee leaves him to track down the mysterious Giant Squid. The book is well written, and reads as if you are reading Charles' columns in the newspaper. As a reader you get to follow Charles all around the country are various adventures which are somewhat absurd and quirky, but still just believable enough to seem possible, at least if you're willing to bend your reality a little bit. 

I found the plot highly intriguing, and I had no issue keeping my attention on the reading. The only downfall to me, as a reader, was the length of the chapters. I, personally, enjoy short chapters, ten pages of less is ideal to me. Busy Monsters however, had an average length of what seemed to be about 30 pages per chapter. Giraldi did however do a good job of giving several breaks within the chapters, so it was possible to read 3-12 pages and be able to take a break at what was intended to be a break in the narrative. Otherwise, I found the novel quite user friendly, and I managed to work my way through it over the weekend, while also going out and enjoying like for several hours over the days. The ending of the book wraps up quite quickly, which was nice, as it didn't feel like any filler was added to try to extend the end of the novel longer than it need to go. 

I would say the book is more of a comedy than anything else. It is a nice lesson in absurdity, as the main characters come into contact with all sort of humans and other creatures. I'd recommend it to adults looking of a fun, fairly quick, light hearted read.

Busy Monsters: A Novel

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