Francisco Goldman's Monkey Boy opens on a train from New York to Boston. On that train is a journalist named Frank Goldberg, who has a lot going on in his life. He uses the train ride to consider his life and his complicated and sometimes fraught relationship with his family. His mother, Goldberg reveals, was born in Guatemala and immigrated to the United States at a young age. When she came to the United States, she was successful, but is now in a Boston home for people struggling with dementia. His father, on the other hand, was a Ukrainian Jew who dreamed of becoming a doctor. However, because of medical school's antisemitism, Frank's father was never accepted into medical school. Because of this, he became a civil engineer and spent his decades-long career designing fake teeth.
Frank, who is 50, is going to Boston to accomplish three things: 1) to have dinner with a woman with whom he had a relationship with back in high school; 2) spend time with his mom; and 3) conduct an interview with someone about the conditions in North America. Frank is writing a fictional biography of a famed Cuban poet named José Marti.
Although his father had some good aspects, Frank also remembers his dark, violent side. Frank remembers the beatings his father put him through, beatings which traumatized him to the present day. This trauma has caused him tremendous personal difficulties. Frank has found it difficult to maintain relationships with people—so much so that he never married and never had children. But he still has fun. Currently, Frank is in a relationship with a first-generation Mexican immigrant named Lulú, who is only 25 and dreams of becoming a civil engineer like Frank.
Frank reflects on his mixed heritage, something which caused him tremendous trouble and pain. He grew up in a neighborhood which was comprised of people of only one race. And his so-called "halfie" (half Russian, half Guatemalan, half Jewish, half Catholic, half American, and half immigrant) identity caused Frank to get mocked mercilessly and called a "monkey boy." As a result of this trauma, Frank poured himself into his schoolwork, particularly his writing, which he became very skilled at.
Then, Frank goes on a meeting with his aforementioned ex-girlfriend, who is now a high-powered divorce attorney. The two reminisce about their lives and the people they knew once. Frank's meeting with his ex-girlfriend, as well as the nannies he had as a kid, makes him realizes just how violent his father was and how impactful his behavior was on him and his mother. He learns more about how his father beat his mother and how rocky and difficult their marriage is. But the death of Frank's father did not resolve Frank's emotions surrounding his childhood.
Finally, Frank meets with his mother. Despite her dementia, she has a moment of clarity after Frank asked her about her past and about her former husband. Frank's mother reveals to him that she had an affair with a Mexican freedom fighter named Rene, which shocks Frank. It was after Frank's meeting with his mother that he finally confronts his past and who he truly is as a person. Even though Frank has gone through tremendous trauma, he finally discovers, he needs to risk getting hurt and risk living, which he ultimately decides to do.
