Monsters of Templeton: Take 2

Nitro’s review of Lauren Groff’s The Monster’s of Templeton was so convincing that there was little choice but to by the book at the first opportunity.   I suspect that my appreciation for the novel may be slightly less than Nitro’s but only by the thinnest margin.  Read her review for the gist of the novel, and I’ll just throw in my two cents along with some supplemental material that I’ve come across.

This is a charming book – in the least patronizing sense of that word.  It has a centuries old literary pedigree at its core, but the novel is neither twee nor precious.  The “monster” that occupies the imagination of the  town makes for some great symbolism.  There’s a lot going on in this novel.  Check it out for a nice read.

The Monsters of Templeton made me want to read all of James Fenimore Cooper’s books.  So hat’s off for that feat alone.  I also need to visit Cooperstown, NY – all the more so after Groff recently paired her book with Three Philosopher’s, which is brewed by Coopertown’s Brewery Ommegang.  Between a trip to the brewery and the Baseball Hall of Fame, I’d feel like I was one of the novel’s “Drosophila tourists”.  (Best description of tourists ever.)

I recently came across a weird trailer for the novel. It’s like Masterpiece Theater Presents: The Monsters of Templeton. And why are their accents so strange?  The cover gives the game away. It’s for the UK edition, and the actors in the trailer are apparently trying to sound American. “Marmaduke” gives them all away.