![]() When we left the restaurant we walked up Russell Street, strung across the pavement, Gracie riding on Jack’s shoulders. They were sitting at a table with Willy and Paddy, who had their backs to the door They were glad to see me and I sat down with them to eat. I ran in, eager for a sight of their familiarity. I chased them down Russell Street to Jimmy’s in the city. For Nora, the narrator and protagonist, it is the locus of the social encounter and emotional intensity on which the book’s narrative depends: The city is much more than a backdrop to action. Monkey Grip exhibits an intimacy with place that is built through local knowledge and the regular, routine movement through the spaces of one’s life. Certainly, it is a novel absolutely grounded in and shaped by place. ![]() ![]() In addition to being widely considered a classic of Australian fiction, Monkey Grip is frequently referred to as an iconic ‘Melbourne’ novel. ![]() Text’s new edition of Helen Garner’s 1977 novel Monkey Grip is an opportunity to revisit the book’s influence on Melbourne. ![]()
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