Reviews

The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey

mjerr's review against another edition

adventurous funny inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

sguven's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

jbogerhawkins's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

definitely not readable if you can't hang with a fair amount of racist and misogynistic bullshit... abbey was certainly not a perfect man, and his problematic views come through loud and clear here. nevertheless, this is an excellent adventure novel and extremely emblematic of a specific time and place in american culture. i will say i wish it was slightly more ~intellectual~ in the sense that it's mostly action without a lot of buildup to explain the characters' views or motives. he kind of assumes that readers are already on the same page as him vis-a-vis industrial sabotage and ecoterrorism, and doesn't do much work to convince people who might be on the fence. it's easy to see why this is a classic of the environmentalist movement, and i'm really glad that i read it!

pablopicostco's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

mcnutt's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

bec_quinlan's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

illusionfoxpkmn's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

patlo's review against another edition

5.0

There are two ways to review this book.

One, as a novel. Edwards Abbey writes a blazing, funny, madcap zany story of a group of four anarchist friends, hell-bent to stop the development of the southwest wilderness by crushing dams, bridges, power plants and anything else they can. On the run from the local Mormon do-gooder Search&Rescue crew, the FBI, the National Park Service and anybody else they run into, the quartet is likeable, entertaining and extremely enjoyable.

The dialogue is massive. Dialogue drives the book, and it never clunks and is often wildly witty. There are more turns of phrase that make you gasp and laugh than anything else I've read.

The one female character is written perhaps a bit more sexist than you would find today, though she is certainly her own woman. The three men are all unique and grand personalities.

Monkey Wrench Gang compares well to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - less trippy, but just as grand and impactful. Less weird, more witty.

Second, as a call-to-arms for environmental anarchism: I suspect that to some, this novel is dangerous. The characters should be darker, less idealistic. The impact of their approach should be interpreted more brutally.

But.

I think the novel provides a challenging commentary on American consumerism and our unwillingness to stop and consider the cost of our lifestyle. That it's packaged in a fun adventure story with amazing dialogue makes it all the more subversive.

bogbody05's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

pattonkingfisher's review against another edition

adventurous reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

While the intentions behind this book might be admirable, the topic of the stewardship of nature and its sustainability is important, I found that this book overshadowed itself and its point with very flawed characters who are hypocritical and intense while doing extreme things to fight back against corporations ruining “their” nature with destruction. The biggest distraction was the sexism and sex, the lust of the men over Bonnie was written very grossly and was way too frequent in the book for me to fully enjoy the humor. While each character, and especially the men, are very flawed and calloused and kind of an “every man” character, they were almost too unlikeable for me to side with them in their war. Their methods of conservatism border on ecoterrorism and are not good methods to protect nature. While it made me laugh quite a few times, I just found it overall distasteful and an unenjoyable read.