Monster, 1959

by Maine, David

• ISBN13: 9780312373023
• ISBN10: 0312373023
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-01-06
• Publisher: Griffin

Summary

The US Government has been testing the long-term effects of high-level radiation on a few select islands in the South Pacific. Their efforts have produced killer plants, mole people, and a 40 foot creature named K. Covered in fur and feathers, gifted with unusable butterfly wings and the mental capacity of a goldfish, K. is an evolutionary experiment gone very awry. Although he has no real understanding of his world, he knows when he's hungry, and he knows to follow the drum beats that lead him, every time, to the tree where a woman will be offered to him as sacrifice by the natives. When a group of American hunters stumble across the island, it's bound to get interesting. Especially when the natives offer up the beautiful wife of the guide to K. Not to be outdone, the Americans manage to capture him. Back in the States, they start a traveling show. The main attraction: K. Monster, 1959 is not just a portrait of what may have gone wrong inside the head of a monster like Godzilla, it isn't just a novel that follows the typical plot of a '50s monster movie. It's also a nuanced, detailed and exquisitely written view of a time that had a profound effect on creating the world we live in today. It captures David Maine's storytelling brilliance as it's never been seen before. David Maine was born in 1963 and grew up in Farmington, Connecticut. His previous novels include The Preservationist , Fallen and The Book of Samson . He is married to novelist Uzma Aslam Khan, and since 1998 has lived in Lahore, Pakistan. The US Government has been testing the long-term effects of high-level radiation on a few select islands in the South Pacific. Their efforts have produced killer plants, mole people, and a 40 foot creature named K. Covered in fur and feathers, gifted with unusable butterfly wings and the mental capacity of a goldfish, K. is an evolutionary experiment gone very awry. Although he has no real understanding of his world, he knows when he's hungry, and he knows to follow the drum beats that lead him, every time, to the tree where a woman will be offered to him as sacrifice by the natives. When a group of American hunters stumble across the island, it's bound to get interesting. Especially when the natives offer up the beautiful wife of the guide to K. Not to be outdone, the Americans manage to capture him. Back in the States, they start a traveling show. The main attraction: K. Monster, 1959 is not just a portrait of what may have gone wrong inside the head of a monster like Godzilla, it isn't just a novel that follows the typical plot of a '50s monster movie. It's also a nuanced, detailed and exquisitely written view of a time that had a profound effect on creating the world we live in today. It captures David Maine's storytelling brilliance as it's never been seen before. "Maine retains much of the imaginative boldness of his previous books, even inventing a new creation myth. According to island legend, K. is actually Kama Ka, the god of things living, who is locked in an eternal struggle with the god of things dead. That he is subsequently jeered and his divinity unrecognized may remind readers of another biblical story, but it is precisely the oddness of encountering a Passion narrative under the big top that makes the book so curious. Like its protagonist, ''a Daliesque construct of unexpected leaps and alarming juxtapositions,'' Monster, 1959 is both ungainly and oddly endearing, a throwback to a time when people weren''t afraid to embrace what they most feared."'” Josh Emmons, The New York Times Book Review "[When] Maine''s evocative prose takes control, as in the telling of the creation myth recited by the elders on K''s island, he creates something uniquely strange and beautiful . . . If you think you''ve seen this story before, you''re right, but never quite like this. Maine, whose previous novels were brilliant retellings of Bible stories, gets most of the details just right. His hero is a grotesqu

Author Biography

David Maine was born in 1963 and grew up in Farmington, Connecticut.  His previous novels include The Preservationist, Fallen and The Book of Samson.  He is married to novelist Uzma Aslam Khan, and since 1998 has lived in Lahore, Pakistan.

Table of Contents

"[When] Maine's evocative prose takes control, as in the telling of the creation myth recited by the elders on K's island, he creates something uniquely strange and beautiful...If you think you've seen this story before, you're right, but never quite like this."--Washington Post

"Like its protagonist, 'a Daliesque construct of unexpected leaps and alarming juxtapositions,' Monster, 1959 is both ungainly and oddly endearing."--The New York Times Book Review

“Maine’s achievement is to revisit an American myth with fresh eyes, creating an affecting parable for troubled times.”--O Magazine

"A ripping good adventure."--The Hartford Courant

“Discover Maine. If you haven’t heard the story from him, you haven’t heard it.”--The Oklahoman