'The Monsters of Templeton' by Lauren Groff - Book Review

The Monsters of Templeton is a debut novel that’s gotten a lot of buzz -- and it’s well deserved. Lauren Groff has written a book that’s an ode to her hometown, Cooperstown, New York. Filled with monsters, ghosts, ancestors with secrets, and illegitimate children, The Monsters of Templeton is monstrously enjoyable.

Lauren Groff’s debut novel, The Monsters of Templeton, is based on Groff’s hometown of Cooperstown, New York and draws heavily on the works of James Fenimore Cooper, the famous 19th-century novelist whose family founded Cooperstown. Don’t be intimidated, though: knowledge of Fenimore Cooper is not required to appreciate this astonishingly well-crafted novel.

Willie Upton is a not-unfamiliar character in contemporary literature -- a young, well-educated woman who returns to her mother’s house after a disastrous love affair. However, Groff’s deft writing and obvious love for Cooperstown turn Willie’s story into something unique and memorable. The atmosphere Groff has created practically vibrates off the page; there’s something so inviting about the world of Templeton and all its characters.

The novel’s structure centers on Willie’s explorations of her ancestors through their diaries, their letters, and the novels of Jacob Franklin Temple, the novel’s version of James Fenimore Cooper. A few of the passages in The Monsters of Templeton are narratives from Fenimore Cooper’s characters, which will intrigue fans of his work. Even for those who have never read Fenimore Cooper, though, Templeton is a town worth visiting.