Matt Ruff rocks my world

I just finished Matt Ruff's new novel, Bad Monkeys.  And it was every bit as good as its bright yellow cover and freaky cover image indicated that it would be.

I don't read a ton of fiction, so I probably wouldn't have noticed this new release, but a few years back I was lucky enough to read one of Ruff's earlier novels: Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls.  I don't remember now why I took that book off the shelves--unless it had to with the fact that I love the phrase "set this house in order."  (I love to SAY it; if you saw my house you'd know I don't love to DO it.)

But that novel totally rocked my world.  I remember staying up way too late to read it, because it had everything going for it:  really interesting, sympathetic characters.  Good writing.  And a honey of a twist in the middle.  If you can believe it, I actually don't remember much about the storyline except that it veered into darkness towards the end, and it did describe child abuse in fairly graphic terms (so if you're looking for a light fluffy read, this is not the book for you).  But I certainly remember how it made me feel--like I couldn't stop reading, I didn't want to stop reading, and I shouldn't have to stop reading.  What a great feeling.