Merging With Monsters
by Joseph
Eugene Green
More than a
Thriller
Publisher:
iUniverse (January 2006)
Merging With
Monsters is the best novel I have read in years. And I do mean
years! From the Prologue metaphor of the melting snow to the very last
line, Joseph Eugene Green makes visible to us those that society makes
invisible. The writing is shockingly beautiful.
In Merging with Monsters,
Joseph Green views a corporate merger through vignettes of characters
struggling to succeed in the business world. Anita, an African-American
woman, fights her way up the corporate ladder. But will her close-held
secret bring all her hard work crashing down in front of her and the
entire company? Will the white good old boy golf partners allow her
entry into their closed group? Grayson, a black man living in
prestigious Highlands Ranch, Colorado, was promised a leadership role
in the merger, but he is stymied at every turn. Will he succeed in
grasping power or self-destruct? Phoebe, Anita’s assistant, has fought
her way through poverty and a bullet permanently disabling her to her
current position. How will her momentary error in judgment tip the
balance in the struggle between Anita and Grayson? Sherry, Grayson’s
wife, has fought her family who opposed their biracial marriage. Now,
she must fight to preserve her marriage as Grayson’s perfect corporate
veneer starts to crack. Julian, both gay and Hispanic, finds himself in
the middle of both corporate and family struggles. Can he successfully
negotiate all the power plays around him and keep himself intact?
Green’s book is a thriller….it was impossible to put down, but it is so
much more than a thriller.
The author's delightful humor effuses the world he has created. The sex
scenes are both raw and classy. Green gives us an incredible depth of
character behind the façade and power struggles. He has given us
a thriller with a modern sense of spirituality that both grounds the
characters and lifts them up.
Merging with
Monsters will appeal to anyone who liked Six Feet Under ... except that
Green’s book is better in my opinion. What makes Merging With Monsters truly unique
is the generosity of vision with which Green sees his characters. Read
this book. Turn off your phone, cancel your engagements and read
slowly. This writing is something that you will want to savor. At the
same time, you will want to race through the book to find out the
answers. Fight that desire and read slowly. Merging with Monsters will give you
a new appreciation for the world around you and the grace within us all.
The ending was a total surprise. With his ending, Joseph Eugene Green
has given his reader the same shocking generosity of insight that he
has given his characters. Perfect!
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