I felt so lucky as a reader to be able to read both Eden Robinson's short story and Monkey Beach. One of the most frusterating things for me as a reader is when I love a book and am forced to come to the realization that once it is done, it's done and I'm just left with questions that I know will never be answered. I really enjoyed Queen of the North and had these exact feelings of wanting to know more about the characters, know more about their stories and in reading Monkey Beach I was able to confirm and add information to fill in gaps I had after reading Queen of the North. Being able to look at different characters take on things and perspectives allowed for a more interesting and heightened understanding of all the characters lives and the story itself. That was such a treat that you generally rarely can do.
Both reads are really descriptive and I love how Robinson develops her characters you really start to feel like you know them and almost feel privileged to travel along with them, see what they're thinking and doing page after page.
A symbol I'd like to find more about is the crow or the crows. They appear in and out of the text quite frequently and I'd like to see if there's some connection to Haisla culture and crows (above any other animal). I didn't even realize, until after I finished the book, that there is a large crow right on the cover of the novel.
I'd like to hear about Eden's background and maybe if any of these character's she writes about relates closesly to her or people she knew...if she went through similar schooling as any of the characters. I'm very excited that she is coming and believe this just adds to the extent of knowledge and understanding I'll have for the story of Monkey Beach. First an added story with other character perspectives and now getting to actually meet the author! That's pretty rad and pretty rare. Nice.

Monkey Beach and Queen of the North are by far my two favorite pieces we have read in this course so far. Although fairly abstract, they were interesting and kept my interest held for there entirety. I can’t say that my first impressions really had much of an impact on my reading. I felt myself intrigued which just made me more excited to finish them both. Monkey Beach had more of an impact on me than Queen of the North. Throughout Monkey Beach, Robinson sporadically describes different aspects of nature which I found to be both beautifully written and a great attribute to the story. While not using millions of adjectives, she describes each scene thoroughly and with much appreciation for the natural world. As we discussed in class today, I also find the beginning epigraph to be a perfect pretext for the novel. The proverb has many themes which I think are symbolically included in the book.
I look forward to hearing Eden Robinson speak and to learn more about her novels on a more personal level. I am interested in the significance of the characters and also where her ideas for her stories come from.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Eden Robinson's "Queen of the North" and Monkey Beach. After reading "Queen of the North" I was delightfully surprised, and looked forward to Monkey Beach. What I like most about both stories is Robinson's style, simple yet eloquent and with some descriptive and abstract passages. Without telling the reader too much information she is able to get her point or a description across and the reader is satisfied without sensory overload. Everything is made real in a sense that you can picture everything that is happening without it being overdramatized.
I loved that Monkey Beach was a continuation of Queen of the North. I really like how she integrated the two stories from a different perspectives, answering some questions while leaving others completely unanswered and open ended. I think the way she used the same characters says something about the Kittimaat village, how it is a small community where the members communal bond and know each other's personal lives.
I'm looking forward to Robinson's visit next week. I want to know about her inspiration for short stories and novels. Are they completely random or does her personal history have a greater influence than the obvious Haisla influence?

My first reaction to Eden Robinson's novel was to keep on reading it. The way she told the story, drifting between present and her memories of her past, drove me through the novel in a way that felt like so little time had passed. She made me feel so strongly for the main character, Lisa, and with every loss of Lisa's, I felt a little something lost myself. Lisa was an outcast amoung kids her age, but bravely rose above that and seeked friendship in the outcasts within her family - her grandma and her unruly uncle. For her to be such a young child and forming such important, meaningful relationships, then to have both of these people die on her, made me feel so badly for Lisa. I love the stories told throughout the book, oral stories passed down through generations, which Lisa took seriously and respected. She didn't necessarily believe in everything her uncle and grandma told her in their stories, but she listened carefully and considered the sasquatch as a real being, allowing herself to believe in ghosts and in magic. I wish that I could better understand why Lisa is chosen to see the visions of the little man who brings with him death. The doctor's excused it as hallucinations used to deal with all the deaths in her life. I'm sure that this isn't the case at all, but that the magic and sprituality that lives in native american tradtion, had been passed down to Lisa because she was a believer who would listen to these messages and try to save who she could. Most people would react in fear and doubt themselves. Lisa never once doubted herself, and even started to blame herself for not saving more people by listening to her messages. I'd like to know how Robinson came up with this "condition" of Lisa's, whether it is something she learned from interviewing other native americans or if she felt some of these things as a child in Haisla. How much of what Robinson writes is from her own experiences, and how much of it is her imagination allowing to take hold within the stories she learned from Haisla elders? I really enjoyed reading this book, mostly because of the strong sense of place, close to the ocean with a constant smell and taste of fish. The stories and traditions that I had never heard of, were also fun to learn about. This book opened my eyes to the canadian native americans, their differences from US native americans and how place can create these differences. Awesome book. I'm sad it's over.

Adelaine Jones in Monkey Beach is Frank and Pooch’s cousin, and Jimmy Hill’s random hook up in “Queen of the North”. Described by Lisa in Monkey Beach as making “ripped sweatshirts over miniskirts” and “peter-pan boots” (page 227) look sexy, Adelaine goes onto interrogate Jimmy about his swimming as Lisa continues drooling over her. This is definitely the same Adelaine since she refers to Jimmy Hill as the one “with these medals for swimming” (p.193).

One similarity I see in addition to the same characters, between Eden Robinson’s “Queen of the North” and Monkey Beach, is the use of Adelaine and Lisa’s dreams to unconsciously reflect reality. How do these two characters and their dreams coincide with each other? On page 199 after Adelaine has had sex with Jimmy (Lisa’s brother), she describes that “In my dream Jimmy’s casting a fishing rod. I’m afraid of getting hooked, so I sit at the bow of the skiff. The ocean is mildly choppy, the sky is hard blue, the air is cool. Jimmy reaches over to kiss me, but now he is soaking wet.” I perceive this hook and bait dream as her feeling that she is being reeled in by Jimmy’s love, trying to resist but eventually giving in to her weakness. There are obviously numerous vivid dream descriptions in Monkey Beach, but they are Lisa’s not Adelaine’s.

The graphic dreams described by Lisa before having sex with Pooch (Adelaine’s cousin) is undeniably used as a symbolic mechanism to reveal something unconscious and rooted deep down that she too might not even understand herself (Freud’s id). Like Adelaine, Lisa has sex on a whim, waking up in surprise to see her unexpected partner lying next to her practically naked the next day. Lisa’s vulnerability and passivism towards her sexual relations with Pooch can be seen on page 258, prior to the actual description of the act on page 287. In a disturbing excerpt Lisa says that “The next piece I have [memory], I’m lying on the ground and I can’t see the sky because of the tree branches. I’m cold and someone is breathing over me. The last piece is pain between my legs, and a body on top of me, panting” (p. 258). The rocks and twigs that are stabbing into her back don’t seem to make this unsettling situation anymore comfortable for the reader. With innuendos to violence and discomfort, one can’t help but to question Adelaine and Lisa’s will power and self-esteem. Their dreams portray these downfalls more clearly than their actions in reality.

I enjoy picking the puzzle pieces apart in relation to these dreams, but would like to ask Eden if I am on the right track.

I absolutely adore Monkey Beach, so far I haven't been able to put it down. There's so much going on and I've just become so fond of the characters, I have to know what's going to happen next.
It mixes modern with a magical aspect that just draws me in. I love that the main character, Lisa, is so reachable and when she sits down on the porch and remembers, takes you right with her. She seems like the sort of person that I wouldn't mind talking with.
I also love the character Uncle Mick. His love of Elvis and 8 tracks, but also his devotion to the old ways and saving Native American rights.
The detail in this book is amazing. For example, the recipe for grease, even though the character never learns to make it herself.
What I would love to hear from Eden Robinson is how close this book is to her own life. Does she feel that she is Lisa? Did she know someone like Lisa?

Unfortunately, I am going to have to disagree with many people who have posted on the blog already. While I enjoyed both "The Queen of the North" and "Monkey Beach," I was not terribly crazy about them. I found Robinson's thought process a little confusing, and found many parts of the story difficult to connect. However, I did enjoy the interconnectedness between the short story and novel. The one line that struck me the most which was reocccurent in both plotlines was "It was yours, so I killed it." I tremendouly enjoyed the dark nature that was threaded through both stories. When the secert involving Adeline and Josh came out at the end of the novel, ultimately causing Jimmy to get revenge, was a very powerful moment. That being said, it was the ending I enjoyed the most. When Eden comes in to speak, I would most like to talk to her about Lisa and Jimmy's culture. The crows really intrigued me. While there were instances in which the crows did not seem bad, I was always taught by my grandmother that they are bad luck. I wonder if that's the case for Robinson. While I was not crazy about the novel, I'll be interested to hear what Eden Robinson has to say. Maybe I will enjoy it more the second time around, after getting a better insight from her.

I was a bit skeptical after reading Queen of the North about how I would feel about Monkey Beach, but without good reason. Monkey Beach absolutely blew me away. I liked the way Robinson seemed to talk directly to her readers, especially in the sections about the heart, which I found really interesting. I found myself making my hand into a fist when she told me to, looking at my wrist when she told me to, and picturing all of the organs in my body that she was telling me about. I also enjoyed all of her descriptions of the ocean and mountains and animals. Sometimes descriptions of places in books bore me, but these parts of the novel were just as interesting to me as any others. I thought Lisa was a great character, I felt like she was a friend of mine by the end of the book; she was very real.
I found the way in which Queen of the North and Monkey Beach were weaved together to be really interesting. I wonder how the experience of reading the novel would have been different for someone who had not already read Queen of the North. I feel that we had an advantage in having already read it; it put a really cool spin on reading the novel. On that note, I would love to ask Eden Robinson how these two stories came to be and if one is meant to be read in addition to the other. Traplines was published before Monkey Beach; I wonder if Queen of the North was written first and then she decided to take the story from a different perspective for Monkey Beach. I'm really excited to meet Eden Robinson and hear what she has to say about the book.

Eden Robinson is a extremely great writer. I remember from English 182 last semester when we read her book of stories, Traplines, that her writing style is very descriptive. Her material is very exciting to read and there never seems to be a dull moment. I enjoy how she intertwines her stories and characters like all her books are put together to be one giant novel. However, her books and stories are not the type I would pick up and purchase from a bookstore. I am looking forward to her visit to class and I am interested to ask her about her motivation behing her stories and characters.

How can one express the identity of a character without bludgeoning the reader to death with the details and opinions of the character? The “Queen of the North” shows a beautiful stream of conciseness, alternating back and forth from tranquil currents to gales and rapids and then back to smooth sailing. With this, a more cohesive character arises, like a pearl from where ever the hell those come from. Maybe the water analogy is going a little too far, or, not far enough, and lets say rather that Adelaine’s narrative reminds me of a snowball at the point it connects with an unwelcome school bus in an act of defiance, self-definition, and self sacrifice.
My favorite part was Cola and Pepsi (my cat is named cola) for I *love* punk/s, and it saddens me that the closest equivalent of punk at uvm are the skateboard/snowboard bourgeois… and yet I digress. The story stayed consistent to what I expected; violence, unclear narrative (although I say that loosely because I thought it worked very effectively), and the formation of a whole character through viewing her different extremes.

This is risky...because what struck me the most and what I liked the most in Robinson’s stories was death. I know that sounds very dark – and indeed it is. What does it feel like as a writer to create characters with so much depth and personality and then kill them off? Does the writer become attached to those creations and mourn their loss when they are gone? The characters mourn their losses – Lisa mourns the loss of Ma-ma-oo and Uncle Mick. Jimmy mourns the loss of his swimming ability. These characters are very affected by loss. Would it not make sense, then, that the writer would mourn the loss of a character? This then leads me to a bigger question – that of community. Communities can be broken down into very small parts. Often it is easier to examine the smaller parts, and add them together and then look at the complete package. In these stories, the individuals make up the communities. Certain groups may fit together better than others, but still, collectively they are all bound by something they have in common. Families lead to villages that lead to nations. I read Robinson’s novel with two different levels in mind. The first was that it was a story of an individual, Lisamarie. The second was that it was the story of nation of people with a history to be told. Both levels, I found to be fascinating. Both approaches suggest the need of support and acceptance, no matter if you are an individual or a nation. Death, in Robinson’s writing, often seems to be the gateway to much deeper meaning. It is easy to gloss over and simply recognize the surface feelings of sadness and loss. But being intrigued by those feelings, questioning them, and letting them lead you to deeper meaning is truly most valuable.

After reading both the short stories and the novel, Monkey Beach I definitely feel as though I enjoyed the short stories more. The novel itself was very entertaining and became a fast read, but her technique of changing plot and time every other page works better for her short stories. Maybe I just feel this way because I really really enjoyed The Queen of the North. I thought it was extremely intriguing and that it was something new that not everyone would have seen before. It did not remind me of any other Native American writing I have ever read, where Monkey Beach has many of the same aspects as other novels such as Native Son and Loneranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. All three include imense relations to nature and animals, espeically with fish and the water in Monkey Beach. Another aspect that I relate Monkey Beach to with other Native American writing is including all the "lesson-learning" stories that the characters tell. The detail that Robinson uses in her stories and novel are so amazing. When she descries the map in Monkey Beach I actually looked up a map to see what she was telling me and it dirceted me right to Kitimaat Village. I thuroughly enjoyed Eden Robinson and I am looking forward to her reading and her visit to class, it will be amazing!

Um, yeah I really enjoyed Monkey Beach. I really enjoyed this novel. I felt that Eden Robinson is a great writer who knows so much about Canada and the native people that live there. Her descriptions of everyday scenarios is amazing. I don't really know why i find this book so interesting but i really do. It was hard for me to put down. I just feel like i can see the characters and it just makes sense about what they are doing. I am looking forward to her coming to class and will enjoy meeting her. Thank you for this oppurtunity to meet a great author.

I would have to say that while I liked both pieces, "Queen of the North" was my favorite of the two. I enjoyed Robinson's style and her ability to control the readers emotions through her characters. I think she did this best in "Queen of the North" with her seemingly random descriptions of past fights. The reader has an instinctive reaction to the descriptions of brawls and is deeply drawn into the characters.

While I enjoyed "Monkey Beach" I quickly got bored with the dialogue. It seemed too simple. For example, "'You are the biggest pain in the butt in the history of pains in the butt' Jimmy shouted back" (346). However simple the dialogue may have been I was still able to enjoy the book as there are many other aspects with deeper meanings and are worth reading into.

My reactions to "Queen of the North" and Monkey Beach were similar. I really enjoyed both because they offered a unique style given to us by Eden Robinson. Upon reading both, I could really see the "gothic" side of her style. She incorporates a lot of death and other "darker" themes to her writing that give it an original and thought-provoking twist. I also appreciated Eden Robinson's ability to fully develop her characters. We didn't see too much of Lisa in "Queen of the North" as much as other characters, and in Monkey Beach she is the focus. Each character is described with careful detail and description, which made it easier to make connections with the novel. In Jamie Williamsons class I am also reading Monkey Beach, and we had a discussion on how Eden Robinson is able to capture the feeling of "community," and how she has a firm grasp of what its like to live in a small=town or in a confined community where everyone knows everyone (and everyone's secrets).
I have a lot of questions for Eden Robinson; I'd like to know where her style is derived from, and whether or not she incorporates her own feelings of her heritage and culture into her writing. I have marked a couple places in the novel where she leaves questions unanswered, so I'd like to ask her about that as well.

I enjoyed the fact that I was able to read the short story before I read Monkey Beach. Mainly, I liked the fact that I was able to make more connections between the characters that came from a different point of view. Karaoke was a character who I wouldn’t be able to identify without the Queen of the North story.
I didn’t at first make the connection between the two until they started talking Josh and Jimmy. The tone towards Josh was similar throughout the novel and was the same in the short story. Whenever we saw Josh you knew there was something he was doing that we didn’t know about. Whether he was drunk or molesting Karaoke, Robinson really never goes out there and says it. We have to figure that out ourselves, but with the help of the short story we see more into that side of the family.
I felt Robinson was very good at allow the reader to notice the transitions between different periods in Lisa’s life. I felt the flow between the past and present and how Robinson would give us a piece of information and it really explained why the characters were the way they were. It amazed how my opinion towards certain characters would change throughout the story because details would come at different points and we still do not always know what to think. Ba-ba-oo’s character was very ambiguous; I still am confused on his true character. I also believe Mick kind of got pegged as a screw up, but he was closest to Lisa. It really humanizes the characters and forces emotions in the reader. Finally, Robinson also is able to pass on her heritage and save some of the lost culture. It was like the reader was being taught at the same time as Lisa was.

"Quuen of the North" was definetly an adequate introduction to "Monkey Beach" because its very dark and fast paced as it trasistion from image to image that are darkly interconnected. Like how it jumps from dark scenes about Josh and then to snap shot of one of the many brutal fights that Karaoke finds herself in.One thing in particular that most people probably noticed is how both Lisa and Karaoke are both able to see the little leprechauns.Also of minor note is the emphasis on mild stimulants that both show some sort of significance in both novel. Lisa is always sucking down the ciggarettes sometimes until she can't physically take anymore and in the "Queen of the North" theres the passage where she is staying with her aunt and Karaoke talks about how much caffine shes been drinking and how she can tell that shes had too much Jolt and how she cannot physically drink anymore. From here she talks about how she is used to staying up for nights at a time but its only after shes up for a very long time does she see the leprechauns. Perhaphs both Lisa and Karaoke have the "gift" and but is only invoked by the mild stimulatns caffine and tabacco.

I thought both Queen of the North and Monkey Beach were both incredible accounts of the life of a teenage female as a first nation woman. Since I read Queen of the North first, it gave me a solid perspective of what to expect of Monkey Beach. Both of the texts fully reveal who the female character is. She is in your atypical female. She is more 'one of the guys' than a female. She is aggressive, inpolite, smokes cigarettes and often is offensive in dialect. I thought this was why the readings were so interesting because we were introduced to a female character who does not necessarily fit the role of gender typical females. It was a much more real account of her life and family. I liked how raw and detailed things were even if i didn't want to know about it, such as her changes as a female and the deaths she experiences to her family. Both of the texts also gave me a good interpretation of how First nation people are and the things they hold to be sacred. Many things were shown throughout the text from what I already knew, such as native americans problems with alcohol, but also other things arose such as their spirituality as a people. Things that I would like to ask Eden are how much of the texts were a true life account and what advice would she have for an aspiring writer?

I really enjoyed both Monkey Beach and Queen of the North. I found that reading Queen of the North had a big impact in how I approached Monkey Beach and the way that I came to understand and know characters. Queen of the North was enjoyable in its frank directness which was often exhibited through trauma. Knowing this, I went into Monkey Beach with this expectation of graphically displayed trauma, so that almost with every new chapter, like the little man that appears for Lisa, I found myself expecting the worst for these characters. And of course there is a lot of trauma within Monkey Beach, however because of the set up and length of the narrative the events leading up and the emotions which occur before, during and after these life changing points have the room to be explored and processed. So that the reader goes through a similar process as Lisa does in their understanding and acceptance of the events (of course in a much less emotional way) so that their impact is more distributed within narrative. This of course contrasts with Queen of the North, where the process of reconciliation for the reader doesn’t have a space within the short story.
Focusing on Monkey Beach in its singularity then, I found myself very interested in Robinson’s ability to paint the community around Lisa, so that while she remains the main voice within the text there is a larger sense of context to how the voice fits into her surroundings. We can picture Lisa at school, in Vancouver and at Ma-ma-oo’s because the description is there to understand how those around her might perceive and understand her. This added richness to the text because it highlighted for the reader how different ones perception of an individual can be so radically different from how they conceptualize and understand themselves. To give an example from within the book, Jimmy is clearly the popular student with a community of friends, while Lisa seems to be always acting out and a loner. We can see then how her teachers and peers place her as someone who is apathetic to the world and without deep connection. However because we as readers have access into Lisa thoughts and experiences we know in fact she does form very valuable and personally significant connections to a few individuals in her life and is much less apathetic to her culture and sense of history then what would meet the eye.
I suppose that is all for now, it will be great to talk through these texts with the author and gain even more insight to her understanding of how the two texts inform each other and the role of the individual vs. the community within the novel.

My first reaction to Queen of North was that it was extremely out there and did not try to hide anything. I like it alot for this reason. What I really like about the 2 stories is that they work well together. By reading Queen of the North the reader has a good introduction to what is about to happen in Monkey Beach. The two different perspectives between Karaokee and Lisa give two interesting sides to the story. Like I said before I like how real Eden Robinson is. She does not sugar coat anything. I really like the picture she displays about these teenagers and the every day struggles they deal with. Most people do not have a perfect life as some novels lead you to believe and this is a perfect example of the struggles teenagers may deal with. Finally I like how Robinson leaves the stories up to interepretation. At the end you may believe Jimmy is dead, but you question Lisa's credibility.

I would ask Eden about the struggles she personally dealt with as a kid and if this novel has any truth to her upbringing or others around her.

My honest first impressions of Eden Robinson's work was how incredibly dark it was - to the point that I had difficulty reading it. And some may say that its an accurate representation of the human experience - and unfortunatly in some casees it may be - but I think its a little cynical and dark to be 'true.' I did enjoy the way she wrote; I felt it was an oral history rather than a written novel. I'm going on assumption here that this is a tactic used from her First Nation roots, so it makes sense. My only experience prior to these pieces was several pieces read in Sarah Turner's Eng.57. In that class I felt the same about First Nation writing, that it was dark and perverted. This raises a couple questions I would like to ask Eden Robinson. First and foremost, are her stories developed from her experiences or those of her friends/family? And if so, how has it been for her to write knowing that her audience is reading something so true and difficult? And if not, how does she approach these stories and where does she get her influence? What is her muse?

After reading "Queen of the North" I was excited to jump into Monkey Beach. I love Eden Robison's writing style, with the short vignette scenes that whisk you away to another time in the characters lives. It’s horrible to say because of the world we live in today but I love the action and the violence she adds to her novel. For example, when Lisa Marie is young and she stood up for herself by biting the little boy in the butt because he was bullying her, I was so happy that she did that. I also found myself laughing along with the characters, as well as morning their losses. It look me a little while to get used to her writing style but as I became comfortable with understanding and tracing Lisa’s memories I felt like I was right beside her with all of her travels and adventures. Eden Robinson uses a lot of description when she is talking about nature and animals. When she’s describing how to make oolichan grease, I was very confused it was a little busy with the description, which resulted in my boredom and I wanted to put the book down. I believe that she has great metaphors for describing the texture, sight or taste of certain things. As far as the ending, I feel that I was left hanging. I wanted it to have more to it, but yet I was satisfied with what happened. Overall I was pleased with the book, and would read it again when I have free time.

A question that I would ask Eden Robinson is, how much of her work has personal experiences, such as characters, travels, and living?

My initial reaction after reading “Queen of the North” was that Eden Robinson’s style was not one that agreed with me. I didn’t care for the tempo much less her delivery. I found it was rather confusing. Learning that there was more to come from E. Robinson in “Monkey Beach” left me feeling quite negative about the story before I truly started it. Nonetheless, I dove in and started in on it. This experience was much different then my initial in that I was intrigued with the flow of the characters and become caught up in how the characters were being developed. For me, I felt like I was given more insight into the cultural aspects then I have from any of the stories that we have read up to this point. That alone made the story that much more attractive.

On a side note, my cat was named Pepsi.

So, my first reaction to Monkey Beach was, "Wow, did I really read it that fast?" I couldn't believe how interested I got in the novel and it just flew by. I found myself thinking about it when I was not reading it or doing something completely unrelated. The storyline intrigued me. I did, however, get frustrated with the bouncing back and forth between times in Lisa's life. It became somewhat confusing but I got it all cleared up more toward the end. The end also frustrated me. At first I felt that I missed something, like I skipped a page or two somewhere. I did not feel as if the novel came to a soild conclusion, and it did not. The ending was so ambiguous and I had a hard time deciding what to think. I feel now that the ending was perfect. I discerned that Jimmy did in fact die and that Lisa was sent back from the spirit world by the grace of her grandmother, left in the land of the living to master her gift. I enjoyed this novel very much.

I was really surprised at how much I was into reading Monkey Beach. From when I first opened the book until I finished it, I had a hard time putting it down and every spare moment I had I wanted to read more of it. At first I had a hard time getting used to her jumping around from the backflashes of Lisa's life to what was going on in the present, but I think that was why I was so interested; because I felt like I was right there with her and knew her life. I have to admit though, I was kind of dissapointed at the ending. After thinking about it more, I thought it was an interesting way to end the book and although I didn't really appreciate not having an actual ending, I thought it was a pretty good way to end the book. It made you think about the book even after it was done to interpret what had happened in your own thoughts.

After I read Queen of the North I realized how much I like Eden Robinson's writing style. It takes a little while to get used to because she jumps around a lot, but I think that is why I get addicted to reading her stories because it always has me thinking. I also really like how both stories are dealing with teenagers who party, and do drugs and things that are very real in the world today and she doesn't try to sugar coat any of it. I think it makes it easier to relate to and makes her stories even more real. I also enjoy how she tells her stories under different narratives, it lets you really feel like you are the character who is telling the story and you look at the other characters in the same light as the narrater.

I think I would like to ask Eden what her childhood was like. If she got these stories and characters based on her own life or if they are characters that she just made up totally out of thin air and thought they would make a good novel.

My initial reaction to Monkey Beach was amazement of how real the book seems to be. Throughout the novel it seems as though you are in Lisa's shoes and sometimes can not tell what is reality and what is dreaming. I was astonished by Eden Robinson's ability to provide detail and significance. For example, her use of black birds and water is incredible as they often have ambiguous meanings or are a representation for something greater in meaning.

As for Queen of the North, I am also astonished by her blunt tone and grasp for reality. Her main character is assaulted in so many ways and yet, the one connection she has, which is so caring and dominate in her life turns on her when she needs the most support. It seems like brutality in its rarest from emotional abuse to physical abuse. As we learn about the narrator she obviously lives a hard and troubled life which gets out of control. Overall, however, I enjoyed Eden Robinson's writings as I had to think a lot about what she meant and what she was trying to establish within her writings. I can usually appreciate a book that leaves you feeling impacted in some way at its conclusion.

Eden Robinson's Monkey Beach was a fanastic novel which pulled me into a world unlike any I have encountered. One of the first ways you can tell how talented an author truly is is when you pick up a book and without thinking do not put it down until you are hundreds of pages into the novel. Eden Robinson captivated me through her pages with her articulate sentences and grasping plot. The connection this novel shares to the short story Queen of the North made this novel particularly interesting for this class. As readers, our class already had a grasp on some of the characters, especially the absent Jimmy, whom we know much about from the short story.

This novel is quite enlightening regarding the plight of the First Nations peoples of the great white north. Much of these cultures seems lost in modern society and it is amazing to realize that not so far away these people still live the lives of their ancestors. The poverty and strong presence of tabacco, alcohol, and various other drugs allows the reader to sympathize and feel a great deal of mixed emotions about the First Nations people. The beauty of their world mixed with the tragedy of their poverty places this novel in an entrancing environment.

It would be wonderful to learn about Eden Robinson's life and the influences she has had from growing up on a reservation. There are many conflicts in this novel revolving around family life and it would be truly remarkable to understand how Eden's first hand experiences affected her writing of this novel.

My first impressions of Queen of the North were how the writing really impacted you straight away. The power and matter of fact style that Eden Robinson writes made reading each piece extremely engaging. It was hard to put down each work that she wrote. What made Monkey Beach unique from other literature that I have read is the interplay between the past and present. Lisa narrates between the past and present in a way that flows so it makes it easy for the reader to stay with what she is saying.

Another part of Monkey Beach is the issue of tradition of a First Nations novel. The way that spirituality and rememberance of the past effects the future has an enormous effect on Lisa and the story of the loss of Jimmy. But Robinson keeps everything the reading clear and not cluttered. The ambiguity of the end was there with such purpose that it fit perfectly into the book.

Questions that I would have for Eden Robinson would range with what first got her started into writing? also I have to hop on Amanda's questions of where she came up with the stories and characters and if it tied into her childhood? Also I am interested in her ties with spirituality and how that influences her writing.

I definately enjoyed the Novel Monkey Beach. It was a quicker read then Alias Grace, however I don't think there was as much complexity in the characters. The book is much more straight foward in the intent and motives of the characters. Also the format of the book makes it difficult to get hooked into right away. For example, it starts in the present with Jimmy missing, then we are brought back in time in the form of a day dream, and are left lingering in the past without any update on Jimmy's situation. This was effective in getting a sense for the characters. Especially in Jimmy's case I can see the importance of this. His character greatly influences his survival skills and what is to be the out come of disappearance.

As to the questions to ask Eden Robinson, I am curious with any writer where they get their inspiration to write? Are they moved in a personal encounter with something or someone to write about it? Does it start as just a thought of wanting to start a new project and finding things to write about? Also how long does it typically take, and do they plan the whole book out before they write it or do they develope and get to know their characters and then work their way through the story to find the conclusion while writing the end? This sort of starting point question interests me with any kind of art; paintings, writing, music, etc.

Eden Robinson has got me hooked on discovering more about First Nation literature and culture. The symbolism and tradition that comes through the characters of Lisa Marie and, more particularly, Ma ma oo and Mick is so rich and intriguing that I need to know more and understand it better.

Ms Robinson juxtaposes this brilliantly with the raw 'here and now'hell faced by some teenagers of any background to make Monkey Beach and Queen of the North compelling reading.

I struggled a bit with the framing of Monkey Beach. The post modern approach of inserting seemingly unconnected chapters (eg: medical discriptions) worked in making me stop and wonder why they were there, but interupted my eagerness to know what was happening in Lisa Marie's narrative. I would like to know what comes first; the structure or the story.

although i was a fan of monkey beach, i was more fascinated by queen of the north. eden robinsons writing style and her techniques to ensure a captive audience seem almost effortless. as a reader, i was more appreciative of the shorter version because her style of writing sort of inspires unanswered questions. it's raw and real, and it parallels life in a way that if the events in life were spoken, they would read much like her writing. it's hard to explain, but not having the full story, is somehow more intellectually stimulating. i like the mental creativity and imagination she demands out of her audience. monkey beach was definitely a pleasant change up from alias grace. a different speed, not so much better, just different. and the story queen of the north was a very appropriate and easy segue into the novel itself. it gave me the motivation to dive in.

my question for eden robinson would be quite simple. she is a bold writer, and i am wondering if she has had people try and discourage her from taking on such a style, and if so, then who, and if who...then why.

Of COURSE I didn't see this assignment until just now...I know it's past the due date, but I wanted to comment anyway.
I'm really enjoying Eden Robinson's work...she's such a storyteller. I am glad that we read Queen of the North first, as I feel like I know a secret about the characters that others might not now...which is silly of course, but it makes the reading even more exciting for me. I sometimes have a hard time with how she words things--it feels elementary to me, yet now that I've read her other short stories as well as Monkey Beach, I realize it's just her style, and it really works. I'm excited to meet her, as I have no idea what she is going to be like, yet from reading her works I have an idea clear in my mind that I'm sure will be proved to be otherwise. Also, after discussing the ending in class, I wanted to just write that I LOVED this ending--very telling. Someone was saying something about not being a clear conclusion; when the sound of the boat was heard, I took that as a sign of her life. Everything else in her 'dreamy state' (for lack of better phrase) was natural and worldy--the sound of the boat was symbolic to the sounds of coming back to reality and life. While I'd like to know more about the rest of her life, this I felt was a great ending.

After reading Eden Robinson’s story “Queen of the North” and her novel, Monkey Beach, many thought ran through my mind. My first reaction after reading “Queen of the North” was that it was a depressing story with heavy situations continually discussed. I enjoyed the story a great amount, but I also felt there were a lot of details to the story left to be decided by the reader. For example, why did Jimmy get his job on the “Queen of the North”? It seemed strange to me that he would be so involved with Adeline and then leave so suddenly without saying goodbye. I feel that Eden Robinson purposely leaves certain details to be created by the readers as to have the story be connected to the readers. I feel in some way by having the reader decide what did and or did not happen, this leaves them confused and unsatisfied. I loved reading Monkey Beach. I loved the symbolism, and I loved the closeness developed between the characters. While I was reading Monkey Beach, I referred back to “Queen of the North” finding a great number of similarities. I noticed a lot of harsh detail, people saddened and beaten down by all the corruption and death living around them. I felt the story “Queen of the North” was a detailed time line of what happened to Adeline while she disappeared in Monkey Beach. Monkey Beach consisted of a greater meaning. It discussed spirits, ghosts and powers to which people might possess. I thought it was very interesting to be able to receive information about a character from a second, written piece. Although what happened to Adeline was implied throughout Monkey Beach, after getting so close to her character, it was nice to see what actually occurred. What I liked most was the simple description painted all through both written pieces. I felt as though I was sitting next to the characters, feeling their movement, breathing in the air around them.
I did not have a lot of questions after completing both of Eden Robinson’s works. I was a little confused as to what happened at the very end of Monkey Beach. Did Jimmy die? Was it Jimmy that saved his sister from drowning? Why was she drowning? Was she being possessed? I would truly love for the end of the book to be discussed just as to make the situation hold true to what happened on paper.

I definitely appreciated the time I spent reading Monkey Beach. I never felt like I was forcing myself to get through it; it was interesting enough that I genuinely wanted to read it. I really liked the style Eden Robinson used, and was particularly entertained when the story came from the perspective of a younger Lisamarie. Even though some of the material was somewhat dark and weighty, it always kept my attention because it was so realistic. I thought Queen of the North dealt with even more difficult subject matter. Reading Queen of the North first gave much more meaning to Monkey Beach. I liked learning more about Jimmy and his personality, but it was especially interesting to get into Karaoke's head. Queen of the North was honest to an almost surprising degree. It seems weird to say I enjoyed it, because it was not at all a light, casual read, but it kept my attention at all times.
The only thing that bothered me about Monkey Beach was the ending. It was certainly well-written, and I am sure there is a purpose for it being so ambiguous, but I personally always like to know exactly what is going on. It is not necessarily a criticism of the book as much it is just my preference as a reader.
When Eden Robinson comes here, I would like to know if any of the characters were inspired by real people she knew or knows. I am particularly curious about Uncle Mick, because he is so distinct and colorful. He has very strong opinions and viewpoints, and has clearly had an interesting and eventful past.

I have to disagree with the last post that said there was less complexity in the characters in this book. I think the characters are what drove this book, though in a very different manner. In Alias Grace, all the characters were focused on the main plot. They all had something to present and reveal to the overall plot, and the unraveling of a single event. In this way, they were all just tools to clue the reader in, and give you a better picture.

I feel like Monkey Beach is the exact opposite. I think there is very little actual plot going on here. Sure, lots of stuff happens, and there is the overall theme of Jimmy's disappearance, but those are just outlines. More often than not, I think the overall plot takes a backseat to the quick stories and anecdotes that flesh out every character in the story. This makes the characters seem much more complex to me, with much more subtleties that couldn't be found in a book like Alias Grace, and it also gives the book an autobiographical feel.

Likewise, I would like to ask Robinson how important the plot really is to her. Is it something that is thought out, beginning to end, before actually writing? Or does she bring the characters to life, and just see where they take her? Like I said, Monkey Beach is written in a way that seems to me almost autobiographical, so I would like to hear her take on this.

I love the book a lot because it is well organized in the way that makes easier to read.In fact, I would definitely say that I like it more than the Allas grace's novel because of its style and well-organized. the reading is very simple and enjoyable as the book touches one's life in one way or the other. One thing that I love most about this book is that it talks about nature as well as love of ocean. For instance, she said,I spent most of the boat trip sitting on an overturned bucket,whishing I was anywhere but there,getting soaked to the bone,staring at mountain after mountain,the clouds getting lower and darker.Every once in while.

the question that I would ask is that, what inspired the author to wrote the book? was it the love of what she does or something else?

These two stories work as a great duo. Queen of the North is an excelent set-up for Monkey Beach. I was a little shocked at first by some of the harshness in Queen of the North though. But that did not draw me away from the story. I think this aspect kept me on the edge of my seat.

I'm glad I read Queen of the North before Monkey Beach. Even though Monkey Beach was my favorite of the two, Queen of the North was a good set up for it. The novel was very hard to put down. Maybe it was because I was expecting horrible actions to happen to some of the characters (like in Queen of the North). I liked how the story is seen from Lisa's eyes. I found myself wondering, during parts of the novel, if something was a dream or reality. This is a sign of a good writer. It was one of its best aspects. But one thing I did find confusing was how Robinson would go back and forth between times in Lisa's life. This just slowed down my reading and I wish it didn't, since the book was so good.

One question that I would like to ask her is why she chose to narrate the story through Lisa's eyes. She could have done it through Jimmy's. Does she have any connections to Lisa?

Some more thoughts on Monkey Beach

After reviewing the novel, Monkey Beach and looking over the short story, “Queen of the North”, I wanted to write a little more about my feelings and reactions to these written pieces even though I already posted a comment for this blog. Now that I am looking over Monkey Beach after not reading its material for a short period of time, the first reaction I noticed is a feeling of satisfaction, maybe even joy. I really enjoyed reading Monkey Beach. During some points of the story, I was a little unclear as to why certain magical things occurred. There was a great amount of violence and pressure living on and all around the main character of Monkey Beach. I was still a little upset about the ending and how it is not very clear as to what happened. Was Jimmy dead when Lisa Marie was pulled from the water? What does Jimmy want his family to tell his sister while she is being pulled out of the water at the end of the book?
I was extremely shocked by the dark writing in “Queen of the North”. I was amazed and saddened by all the discussion on abortion and child molestation. It was interesting to me to see where Karaoke went during the time in the Novel where she disappeared. There is still something that I found to be fascinating, how the book and the short story linked together. The “Queen of the North” answered a lot of detailed questions to which I didn’t think would have even been addressed. My favorite thing about the Monkey Beach was the chapter when Jimmy and his family went to Monkey Beach because Jimmy wanted a picture of a Sasquatch. It relayed to me the closeness in the relationship between Lisa Marie and Jimmy.

A week or so ago, Eden Robinson came to visit my English 180 class to discuss her written works, Monkey Beach, and “The Queen of the North,” two works to which my class was assigned to read. I was very excited to meet with Miss Robinson because of the fact that I whole heartedly enjoyed the book and short story. I was dying to hear how the two written works were constructed and put together, only to make what they are today. I thought it was extremely interesting to hear that the character to which Miss Robinson attempted to begin her novel: Karaoke. Personally, I am glad that Karaoke was not the main character because of how much I enjoyed her surprise entrances. I loved the description Eden Robinson would write describing Karaoke, how beautiful she was and how violent she tended to be. I thought it was interesting to hear about the three different groups of people living around that geographic location. It was interesting to me that each group has different perspectives to how their history occurred and how tales are told. Health was touched on many times throughout the novel. When Eden Robinson told the class that her family was prone to heart attacks, it was clear to me how much of oneself and history really are put into a novel when you are a writer. Eden Robinson is a fascinating woman and I thought I should comment on how much I enjoyed her visit.

Monkey Beach and Queen of the North, ah yes. I avoided posting to the blog at the time we were reading Robinson’s stories because, quite honestly, I intensely disliked the two and didn’t really want to say so knowing Robinson would be reading our postings. While I found our in-class discussions of the text and themes within the novel very interesting and though provoking, my negative view came from the way in which Eden Robinson wrote the book. I found her prose to so rudimentary and simplistic that it could not engage me.
Though I found it very interesting last week that our discussion once again turned to prose. As someone in the class brought up, the text of Alligator is very simplistic. While reading both Monkey Beach and Alligator I feel as though I am having a conversation with my ten-year-old cousin (if that old). For me there is really no depth to the text, and by extension, the stories created. I find myself always wondering how the sentences would have been written by another author. However, my extreme frustration led me to a train of thought involving Faulkner. When he first wrote, his novel was perceived in much the same way. So I find it very interesting that this style of prose, is of debate. Maybe we’re witnessing a literary change.

Monkey Beach and Queen of the North, two interrelated pieces of literature, present an interesting problem for me. While I found the actual stories somewhat confusing and unclear, I did enjoy Eden Robinson’s writing style. As a writer, I am lucky enough to read from two perspectives, both as the average reader, and decide simply whether or not I enjoyed the book, and as a writer, where I can look at the actual composition and writing. This has happened to me before, particularly with classic literature, such as Walt Whitman, where I can truly appreciate the writing of the author, yet don’t always enjoy reading them. Eden Robinson’s novel and short story have struck me the same way, in that I enjoy her vivid imagery and excellent diction, particularly in regards to her adjective choice. Also, the one thing that I didn’t like but also on a certain level did enjoy is her often abstract, unclear style of writing. She often will write a beautiful passage that is a pleasure to read, but at the same time, I won’t actually know what the significance of the paragraph is. So again, it is an interesting issue that I can truly appreciate her style, yet don’t necessarily enjoy the literature. When Eden gets here, the first thing I’d like to ask her if this was intended to happen. What I mean is, as such a skilled and descriptive writer, I’m assuming, if she chose to, she could write in a very clear and objective manner, and maybe the choice was made to create a more abstract feel and leave the interpretation up to the reader.

First off I feel that Eden Robinson is a good writer, a good one but not a great one. I feel I didn't like "Queen of the North" at all, except the way she wrote it. On the other hand Monkey Beach was really cool. I liked the way that she presented the beginning of the story, the dream sequence and the aparent disappearence of her brother. She linked a lot of the subject matter through out the entire book. Now, that's is not saying much because novels have to be connected in order to present a coherent idea(s.) But the way she connected all the events to where she was from on the west coast of Canada. The way in which she has related all that happened and the way that monkey Beach is a part of her life and how her brother eventually dies there, regardless of his swimming ability. I also that that it was cool that she beat people up a lot. Yet, the struggle of her life doesn't go unnoticed either. I liked the book.