Book review: Shelf Monkey by Corey Redekop

[E. Ann Bardawill]

Corey is a Canadian bibliophile, and Shelf Monkey is his first book. And it’s a damn good one.

Shelf Monkey is great read. Funny and deeply light - it’s like Douglas Adams meets Rex Murphy, rents a hotel room for the weekend and indulges in wild, uninhibited cunning linguistics. After such a satisfying tale, do not be surprised by the urge to light up a cigarette even if you don’t actually smoke.

Seriously though, this is a booklover’s book. Redekop’s gone where several authors would absolutely shudder at the mere thought of treading. Redekop lambasts, with savage glee, the popular & banal drek that passes for mainstream literature these days. Here, indeed, the pen is mightier than any sword.

Munroe Purvis is a talk show host and shameless publisher of bilious drivel. His power over the minds of his fans is an affront to those literate front line warriors in the trenches of the retail bookshelves. Their heart felt recommendations fall on deaf ears as the Purv’s consuming sheep care only to delve into books that carry a Munroe Purvis stamp of approval.

Something must be done.

Seen through the eyes of Thomas Friesen, a superb milquetoastian hero on the run from the law, the twisted tale of the Shelf Monkey’s revenge is a bookreader’s self-righteous romp through the aisles, peppered with delightful tips of the hat to great storytellers (and sly recommendations to various great works that I will add to my already toppling pile of Must Reads). Equally compelling is the Redecop’s Hannibal Lectorish verbal evisceration of those authors/paperbacks of less-than-stellar prose who somehow make it to the NYT best seller lists.

Corey... We who are about to die from laughter, salute you.

The only thing I would humbly ask is in the second edition you might conveniently list the Shelf Monkey’s Recommendations by title and author name in the back.

Please and thank you.