Year of the Monkey

Dreams and reality are brilliantly woven into a tapestry of one transformational year in this poignant and beautifully realized memoir from the National Book Award-winning author of Just Kids and M Train.

After performing at San Francisco's storied Fillmore for a series of New Year's Eve shows, Patti Smith finds herself walking the Santa Cruz coast in preparation for a year of solo travel. She invites us into her personal wonderland without regard to time or logic, following signals that include a talking sign that looms above her and engages in playful sparring akin to that of the Cheshire Cat. A strange lunar year begins in February, full of unanticipated twists, increased mischief, and unavoidable sadness. "Anything is possible: after all, it's the Year of the Monkey," said a stranger. For Smith—an innately curious person who is constantly investigating, recording ideas, and writing—the year becomes one of coming to terms with life's shifts, including age, bereavement, and a significant turn in American politics.

Smith blends her own dreamscape with the western environment. This eerie memoir skillfully combines reality and fiction with poetic expertise, transporting us to a variety of disturbing locations, including the hospital room of a beloved mentor, a farm in Kentucky, the Arizona desert, and both remembered and imagined locations. Unexpected events occur, causing sadness and disillusionment. However, as Smith prepares to enter a new decade in her own life, she provides the reader with this salve: her humor, wisdom, and gimlet eye, but most importantly, a rough hope for a better world.

An unusual and poignant work, Year of the Monkey is a touchstone for these uncertain times. It is elegant, captivating, and frequently hilarious, with illustrations by Smith's trademark Polaroids.