Kidd, Chip.  The Cheese Monkeys: A Novel in Two Semesters.  New York: Scribner, 2001.  ISBN: 0-7432-1492-7.  275 pages.  $25.00.

Category/Age Level:

Fiction – Coming of Age, Mature Ages 14 and up

Characters:

The unnamed, male narrator chronicles his first year in college.  His two peers, Maybelle Lee and Himillsy Dodd, are travel companions and co-conspirators, enduring two semesters of the art professors, Dorothy Spang and Winter Sorbeck.

Plot:

Set in the 1957-1958 school year, our unnamed narrator chooses art for a major and begins a journey that drastically alters his perspective on the world.  His friends and peers, Himillsy Dodd, a free spirited and sarcastic individual bent on drawing out the drama of life, and Maybelle Lee, a southern “birthday cake with legs,” enroll in the same classes at State U.  The fall semester experience, ART 101: Introduction to Drawing, introduces the three to Dorothy Spang, a free spirit in her own right that offers encouragement and lessons in self-esteem.  Their second semester experience, however, is quite the opposite.  Enter Winter Sorbeck and ART 127: Introduction to Commercial Art, which the sardonic and sadistic Sorbeck quickly re-titles, Introduction to Graphic Design.  The in-your-face, no-holds-barred approach of Sorbeck challenges and infuriates the student trio and motivates them to succeed, not so much because of the course content, but, if nothing else, to defeat the style and philosophy of the instructor.  As the spring semester carries on and tempers and personalities continue to clash, romance blossoms and leads to interesting twists on the course’s final projects.

Touchy Areas:

Alcohol abuse, an instructor’s intimidation of students, a homosexual encounter, an attempted rape, and an ending highlighted with a deep sense of hopelessness pervade this novel.  Although they contribute to both the theme and message of the story, some scenes are overblown and gratuitous.  Teachers should use caution in handing this book to students blindly; direction and follow-up discussion are strongly advised. 

Related Titles:

The Chocolate War, Robert Cormier

Heroes, Robert Cormier

We All Fall Down, Robert Cormier

The Bumblebee Flies Anyway, Robert Cormier

The Lecturer's Tale, James Hyne

Rats Saw God, Rob Thomas

Evaluation:

The engaging characters, the stunning description, and the freshness of Chip Kidd’s language all make this a very compelling book to read.  However, the ending of the book may leave some readers with a sense of hopelessness difficult to overcome.  Although the book certainly conveys a very strong and powerful message, many of the events and comments of characters seem to be included for sheer shock value.  Absorbing and offensive (sometimes within the same sentence), the book offers insight into the realm of academia that can be viewed as insight into American society and culture itself.  For students interested in art and graphic design, and for those strong enough to endure the novel’s dark ending, the reading experience can be quite rewarding. 

The layout of the book is an excursion in graphic design itself.   Using available space previously un-tapped (the edges of the cover, the edges of the spine, and the edges of the pages themselves), the first novel of Chip Kidd, himself a graphic artist and book jacket designer (Jurassic Park, Love in the Time of Cholera), offers a package that both expands and reinforces the message of his story.  Overall rating—9 out of 10.

Reviewed By:

Matt Copeland, Washburn Rural High School, Topeka KS, copeland44@aol.com