Discrimination
As might be assumed from the title, one of foremost themes the novel tackles is systemic discrimination in America. Not just racism, but xenophobia as well. The title references the protagonist of the story for having ancestry which smaller-minded people in his neighborhood refers to as "banana land." The fear and mistrust of foreigners and immigrants—especially when they are from south of the U.S. border—is explored throughout the story. Complicating matters is that the protagonist is named Francisco Goldberg and the implication of that parentage also bring anti-Semitism into the thematic mix.
Identity
Monkey Boy is clearly categorized as a work of fiction. And yet its story of a successful writer named Francisco Goldberg contains events which very closely parallel the biographical facts of the book's author, Francisco Goldman. The book is commonly referred to as a work of autofiction, a literary term invented to more accurately describe the combination of a semi-autobiography and semi-fiction. By creating a thinly fictionalized version of his own life, the author is on a certain level questioning the fundamental concept of identity. This theme is further explored within the context of the protagonist's aging mother. Her grasp on the thin veil separating fact and fiction is sharply conveyed by the conversations she has with ghosts when her mind isn't working normally and the precise memories of factual family history when it is back to normal.
Looking for Love
Francisco Goldberg, the fictional narrator, introduces a key event in the novel as "the infamous Arlene Fertig night." In an interview with NPR, the author, Francisco Goldman, spends a couple of minutes telling the real-life inspiration for that scene using almost exactly the same language. Goldman refers to this story of his first kiss which suddenly turns into a nightmarish demonstration of the racism permeating the book as nothing less than "the key incident" of childhood which would stimulate a lifelong search to discover the great love of his life. Since the narrative of the fictional Francisco adheres so closely to the biographical strain of the author's life, it should not be surprising that much of the book is a retrospective examination of the romances which ultimately failed to become that that storybook version.
