A spellbinding novel of war and family betrayal set in Malaysia - The God of Small Things for our century
Catherine Menon is Australian-British, has Malaysian heritage and lives in London. She is a University lecturer in robotics and has both a PhD in pure mathematics and an MA in Creative Writing. Fragile Monsters is her debut novel.
Supple, artful, skilful storytelling - it takes an immediate
grip on the reader's imagination and doesn't let go
A brilliant novel about homecoming and the layered, unstable
past that haunts and hurts . . . I admire it enormously
An impressive debut, atmospheric and unsettling * Telegraph,
5 stars *
A striking debut . . . A bold, interesting novel . . . I'm
excited to see what Menon comes up with next * Sunday Times
*
A bravura debut novel . . . It's clever, satisfying, and often
playful * Guardian *
This is a book saturated with the sensations of southeast
Asia; where, in Menon's pungent turns of phrase, you
feel as though you could "grab the air in two hands and wring it
out"; where guilt can be "squatting in the room . . . stringy as
spit", and where tiger princes and jungle spirits lurk amid a
painful colonial past * The Times, pick of the latest fiction *
A rich and moving family history takes shape, filled with
love and heartache, guilt and grief, and no end of secrets and lies
. . . Gripping, compelling . . . Menon's story shows that,
though time flows on, history's waves still ripple decades
downstream * Economist *
Menon is a sparky storyteller whose thickly atmospheric debut keeps
us guessing as its many ghosts press in ever closer * Daily Mail
*
A beautiful, richly textured absorbing read. I was utterly
transported * Irenosen Okojie *
A propulsive debut scattered with gems of fresh and
surprising imagery. Menon is at her best exploring the intricate
bond between women over generations, their histories strung
tight over the fraught realities of a nation coming into being *
Preti Taneja *
Always here for a cross-generational family story,
especially one that involves moral ambivalence * Marian
Keyes selection for her PageTurners top reads *
A beautifully written story of one Indian Malaysian family's
history, entwined with secrets and hidden heartbreak . . .
Fragile Monsters is a story of homecoming which illustrates
the tension of returning to a past which remains painfully present
. . . a cleverly-crafted family saga which explores themes of
truth, belonging and shame across multiple generations * Asian
Review of Books *
Leavened with a brisk, dry humour, Fragile Monsters is as
propulsive as any mystery, with a bewitching sense of place . . .
an accomplished feat of multi-stranded storytelling * Evening
Standard *
Spellbinding * Tatler Malaysia *
An intriguing, fast-paced, imaginative novel * Bad Form
*
A story about love, betrayal and redemption with an electric
daughter-grandmother relationship at its heart * Sheer Luxe,
reading recommendation *
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