Monkey Boy is the purposely racist-tinged title of a novel by Francisco Goldman. It is categorized as a novel and even came close to winning the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2022. Despite that genre classification, it is at times difficult to determine whether the book is mostly fiction or mostly autobiographical.
The protagonist and narrator of the tale shares an almost identical name with his creator: Francisco Goldberg. He is affectionately known as Frankie. He is less affectionately known by the not-so-good-natured nickname of the title. The centerpiece of the narrative is a three-day journey by Frankie—who just happens to also be a writer—from NYC to Boston. The trip is for the purpose of visiting his aging Guatemalan mother who slips in and out of cognitive lucidity while living as care facility.
At least, that is the centerpiece of the story according to most brief summaries. The author himself has forwarded a distinctly different centerpiece, what the narrator refers to as "the infamous Arlene Fertig night." The scene covers the humiliation that comes from Frankie's first kiss in which he discovers Arlene is not quite the fairy tale princess he had hoped. His dreams of having a girlfriend are quickly dashed to the sound of "Monkey Boy" taunts as Arlene describes the kiss as feeling like a banana feels when it is being eaten by a monkey.
It turns out that it was not Arlene's idea but the little racist punk who was already her boyfriend. But she played along and so this knowledge is of little comfort. The thread tying the narrative together is the three-day trip, but the story of that trip to visit Frankie's mom is told in a non-linear way independent of chronological sense. From the present day, the protagonist goes way back into his childhood to revisit significant moments in his life. The first kiss with Arlene that goes horribly wrong becomes a defining event that will prove to be the driving force for a lifelong search for that storybook love that lasts a lifetime. Indeed, much of the book is comprised of stories focusing on Frankie's love life that a strange way of ending in disappointment.
Along the way, much is learned about the horribly abusive father who beats him and is actually one of those who calls him "Monkey Boy." A Guatemalan, mother a Hispanic first name and Jewish last name, short-lived self-exile in Mexico and younger Mexican woman who becomes one of those love stories all contribute to paint a complicated portrait of a character who may only partly be a work fiction in the first place. Such is the very loose structure and episodic nature of the book that it is really a book that can be read twice and feel different each time. For the reader ignorant of the facts of the author's actual life, it will come across as a very strange but fascinating trip. For the reader who is familiar with the author's life, it may come across as a very strange but fascinating autobiographical memoir.
