I heard about this book because I happened to pick up a bookstore newsletter and, when faced with the title The Cheese Monkeys, I just didn't know what to do except read the summary. Well, when I learned that it was about a college student taking an art major, I just couldn't bear NOT to read it. I had to see what kind of conflicts would meet someone in my own field of study.

Of course, when I actually bought the novel, I was struck by the oddity of its design. The type and titles of the book would spill off the pages on one side and continue on the other. There was an optical illusion printed on the edges of the pages. I simply didn't know what to make of it. What I discovered once I turned to the prelude and starting reading was hilarity, truth, and a wonderful story.

No one who has braved the problems of college registration lines and dorm assignments could even lift a finger to say that Kidd was wrong in his depiction of the characters' feelings. And we all know that we've had that ONE crazy teacher who didn't seem connected with the world, and that OTHER teacher who always seemed to find fault with us no matter what we did.

Well, in short, half of the story is devoted to the trials and teachings of that OTHER teacher. By the end of the book you don't know if you hate him or love him (I refer to Winter Sorbeck, the graphic design teacher no one could have predicted). The main character has his own conflict in that very regard, one moment despising Sorbeck and feeling worthless at the very mention of his name - then at the next, hanging on his every word and unable to turn himself away. Especially during the advantage he takes of his drunken teacher between the Third and Fourth Critique, we have to wonder what really motivated the character, besides the idea that he might be getting back at Sorbeck for all the ruthless things he threw at him during class.

The writing was easy to follow and entertaining to say the least. The entire novel was half comical, half sad in a way. It ends on a strange, yet understandable note and we (the reader AND the characters) are disappointed for very obvious reasons. These reasons, to me, make this book wonderful at its close. The end is neither happy nor is it really tragic. Simply one of several events that the main character will experience in his college years, though his sense of loss (and utter exhaustion) is palpable as we read the last few paragraphs.

I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes a little comedy and a little sarcasm rolled into one - and absolutely to any art student because there's no doubt he or she could relate.

ISBN: 0060507403
Edition: Trade Paperback