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The Monsters of Templeton | 
 enlarge | Author: Lauren Groff
Publisher: Voice
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $9.00
You Save: $15.95 (64%)
New (47) Used (36) Collectible (8) from $6.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  55 reviews
Sales Rank: 27335
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.3
ISBN: 1401322255
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9781401322250
ASIN: 1401322255
Publication Date: February 5, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
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Amazon.com
Amazon Best of the Month, February 2008: On the very morning Willie Upton slinks home to Templeton, New York (after a calamitous affair with her archeology professor), the 50-foot-long body of a monster floats from the depths of the town's lake. This unsettling coincidence sets the stage for one of the most original debut novels since The Time Traveler's Wife. With a clue to the mysterious identity of her father in hand, Willie turns her research skills to unearthing the secrets of the town in letters and pictures (which, "reproduced" in the book along with increasingly complete family trees, lend an air of historical authenticity). Lauren Groff's endearingly feisty characters imbue the story with enough intrigue to keep readers up long past bedtime, and reading groups will find much to discuss in its themes of "monsters," both in our towns and our families. --Mari Malcolm
Product Description
"The day I returned to Templeton steeped in disgrace, thefifty-foot corpse of a monster surfaced in Lake Glimmerglass." So beginsThe Monsters of Templeton, a novel spanning two centuries: part acontemporary story of a girl's search for her father, part historical novel, andpart ghost story, this spellbinding novel is at its core a tale of how one townholds the secrets of a family. In the wake of a wildly disastrousaffair with her married archaeology professor, Willie Upton arrives on thedoorstep of her ancestral home in Templeton, New York, where herhippie-turned-born-again-Baptist mom, Vi, still lives. Willie expects to be ableto hide in the place that has been home to her family for generations, but themonster's death changes the fabric of the quiet, picture-perfect town herancestors founded. Even further, Willie learns that the story her mother hadalways told her about her father has all been a lie: he wasn't the random manfrom a free-love commune that Vi had led her to imagine, but someone elseentirely. Someone from this very town. As Willie puts her archaeological skills to work digging forthe truth about her lineage, she discovers that the secrets of her family rundeep. Through letters, editorials, and journal entries, the dead rise up to telltheir sides of the story as dark mysteries come to light, past and present blur,old stories are finally put to rest, and the shocking truth about more than onemonster is revealed.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 50 more reviews...
 Totally Mesmerizing Book! August 14, 2008
I got this book from my public library (sorry Amazon!) because of the author endorsements on the back cover (and not only because of Stephen King's endorsement.) This is one of the most beautifully written books that I have read in a long time. It completely drew me in and I was sad when I finished it this morning. I'm not going to write a synopsis of the book in this review because others have already done that. Suffice it to say that if you appreciate fine literature and lyrical writing you will definitely enjoy this book.
A wonderful read August 9, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is a wonderful read. When it ended, I felt like I was saying goodbye to a good friend.
Bumping Into The Monsters of Templeton July 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book begins with the surprising discovery of a hitherto suspected but undocumented creature, previously only reported by less than convincing sources. And now it bumped us squarely into realization of its existence, after it had died. When reading the rest of this book we should not forget this beginning because it tells us that the monster truly was there; it lived, and the question remains to be answered, Will it live again?
If you want to read this book only as a masterfully crafted soap opera, you will be entertained, but Lauren Groff has crafted a piece of art that blends many different genres. There is a taste of horror, but it will not pound you relentlessly. There is sex, but it fits as a meaningful part of a personality searching for itself. There is mysticism and spirituality, but it does not hit you with a heavy hand, and it entertains rather than instructs. There are mysteries that keep you wanting to turn the next page, to begin the next chapter. Even the writing style changes, depending on the character portrayed, enough that the book takes on a feeling almost like that of a compendium of poetry.
Willie Upton returns to her home to escape and reestablish some stability in her life, and she is confronted by her mother with the surprising discovery that who she thought might have been her father was not. It was like bumping into a dead lake monster washed up on the shore.
While scientists had only so much time to discover the meaning of this lake monster before its tissues decayed beyond a substrate suitable for study, Willie launched into a search for the secrets of her own family history, before the documents would be lost forever. We only have so much time for such discovery.
Some reviewers have criticized Willie's less than mature character, but protagonists do not always need to be noble. Like all of our own lives, not one of the characters in this history of Templeton is without some serious flaw. This is to be enjoyed. These are the monsters within them, within us. If you find it difficult to love these people with all of their foibles, and that may be the major theme of this book, then at least laugh at the situations in which they are embroiled.
This story is told with a sense of humor and wit, more than a little irreverence, and I enjoyed it completely. I give it four stars instead of five because, well, I haven't given any book five stars yet.
This book brought me home. July 11, 2008
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I am one of the few people in the world who can actually claim Cooperstown as home. Ms. Groff's words painted amazing pictures in my mind and allowed me to step back into a strange version of Cooperstown's (Templeton's) past. I'm sure some of the historians of the town are up in arms over some of the liberties taken with the town's history, but they must remember this is a work of fiction based loosely on facts. Ms. Groff's imagination and humor were very refreshing. For those people looking for a gory ghost story, please look elsewhere. This haunting tale involves ghosts and monsters, but is more a tale of inner reflection and growth. I applaud Ms. Groff's first novel and can't wait for her next book.
Great book...beyond its title July 9, 2008
I really picked up this book because of Stephen King's good review. He has never let me down when it comes to trying a new writer. The title and cover don't do the story justice. It's just one of those well written novels that carries the reader into the past in it's pages. I'll look this writer in the future.
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