Shortlisted for the EU Literary Award 2008, THE MONKEY ON THE MOUNTAIN is about a lonely boy who is unsure of his mother's love, afraid of his father, and bullied by his older brother. The youngest in his low-income, suburban family, he has to grow up the fastest, if he is to win the acceptance he so desperately desires. But what shocks and rites of passage must he endure in order to belong? What forbidden fruit must he eat to gain the knowledge he needs to enter the adult world, where every group has its own roles and rules? How does a boy learn to become a man? FOR a white boy living in the old South Africa, these are impenetrable, baffling questions. He seeks answers at home and at school. He tries to fit in by leaving behind the wonderland innocence of childhood and by imitating the male figures around him, beginning with his brother. When his role models ultimately fail him, he faces even harder questions about existence and identity. THE NOVEL tells in everyday language the story of a timid schoolboy (whose first name we never learn) trying to make sense of some of the deepest, most mythic and fundamental enigmas of growing up. Using the simple idea of home as a metaphor for culture and society at large, this honest and touching portrayal will make readers think about their own childhood struggle to find meaning and self-worth in the world. REVIEW: 'Green expertly maps the inner workings of a child's mind as it tries to make sense of a sadly foreign adult world.'-Toni Stuart, The Cape Times ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Other novels by b. k. green include DR VIRGIL'S DREAM, a South African political satire commemorating the Soweto Uprising in 1976, and LIKE MONSTERS OF THE DEEP, a fictional diary written in present-day, post-Mandela South Africa.
