Monkey Wars by Richard Kurti
Reviewed by M
Monkey Wars was a refreshing
read, quite different to many other novels that I’ve read recently.
At first glance, it is a
story about monkey troops in Kolkata, India. When humans feel threatened by the
mischievous Rhesus monkeys, they bring in the Langur monkeys to get rid of
them. Or so the story goes....From here on, it becomes a territorial war
between monkey troops. The story focuses on Mico, a young Langur monkey who is
small and thinks a lot about what he sees and thinks is going on. And at some
point, he has to decide which side he is on – and there are many sides.
At second glance, Monkey Wars
is a fable and explores many questions about power, politics and moral
decision-making. But it’s also an urban war story packed full of action, gore,
military strategy, loyalties and loves, spying and insurgency.
Being a fable, monkeys and
their behavioural characteristics (and ways of marking territory!) are part of
the plot but they are also humanised for the sake of storytelling. At times,
you recognise it’s a monkey (e.g. defecating to mark territory) but at other
times, I easily imagined it was human characters. It took me a couple of chapters
to get used to this idea but after that I was really into the story and it was
quite page-turning. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself rooting for any particular
monkey! Mico was one of my favourites, but also Papina and Hister.
Initially, the timescale of
the novel seems to be a matter of days but then I realised that it became
months and then most definitely years – at least a lot of monkey years (what’s
that in human years?). In this sense, it’s a long story told over much of a
lifetime.
The novel is divided into
three parts. Part two was my favourite. The ending, for me, was slightly
disappointing because it came together a bit too easily. However, it brought
most threads together – and there were quite a few. The ending definitely
leaves with you with a lot to think about where and how the characters who
survive might end up. It might make you think about wars and situations that
you know about in real life too.
Monkey Wars re-inspired me. As much as it is a story about power,
politics and war, it is also a story about how we create and use history – or rather,
histories. How much of our history do we really know? Which parts have we not
been told? Which parts have been colourfully embroidered or dulled? And of
course, who did the telling? In Monkey Wars, the narrator is omniscient
(third-person and all-knowing). I wonder if this was to give us the sense that
the whole truth was being told and not just the truth from Mico or Papina or
Tyrell’s point of view (author Richard Kurti tells me his reasons tomorrow)?
And of course, was there anything important that the narrator may have left
out?
Issues touched upon in the
novel include power, politics, tyranny, strategy, genocide, war and refugees. I
particularly liked the refugees aspect. I would highly recommend this novel to
teens. It would likely appeal to anyone who wants to read about war, action,
history, and/or ideas. And maybe monkeys. It is recommended for readers aged
11+ but I would say that younger, confident and mature readers would enjoy this
novel too (note, there are some graphically violent scenes).
Monkey Wars made me (as an adult) think about:
-
How many times and places
this story could be about
- How the lives of animals (or
even other groups of people) can go on around us/me and we don’t even notice. Or
if we do, we don’t see them as part of a whole intricate life and social
network.
- George Orwell’s Animal Farm
Publication details: 2 May
2013, Walker, London, paperback
This copy: uncorrected proof
received for review from the publisher
****
Watch out for M's interview with Monkey Wars' author, Richard Kurti.
