Year Of The Monkey

Title: Year of The Monkey

Author: Patti Smith

Rating: ★★★★1/2

Review: There’s a fine line trodden with stream-of-consciousness-type writing. It can seem indulgent, disjointed, illogical. Patti Smith falls the right side of the paradigm with this excellent set of memoirs and metaphors from the titular lunar year. It centres around a trip to a small beach town in the USA, and the imagery she encounters – strange, compelling, and profound (and confounding, in places); her relationship with a man in a coma; and some of the other characters she meets along her travels. The writing is beautiful and prose-like, and the plot – such as it is – intriguing. On that last point: not much happens, really. A car journey here, a diner meal there, lots of references to photography. But to wish for something more would be besides the point. This is essential reading for anyone interested in spiritual awakenings, literary obscurities, or just good writing.