A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERFrom the National Book Award-winning author of
Just Kids Selected as Book of the Year by the Daily Telegraph, i paper,
Metro and Harper's Bazaar'Magical' GUARDIAN 'A gripping tale of the search
for meaning in times of turbulence - expressed with Smith's signature
poetic flair' VOGUE 'Extraordinary ... A tense, teasing mix of reality and
dream' Sunday Times'A melancholy mood and poetic language distinguish
Smith's third memoir' BBC 'Her willingness to look closely at life's
closing chapters makes for a magical book' WASHINGTON POST, 'The 10 books
to read in September'Following a run of New Year's concerts at San
Francisco's legendary Fillmore, Patti Smith finds herself tramping the
coast of Santa Cruz, about to embark on a year of solitary wandering.
Unfettered by logic or time, she draws us into her private wonderland, with
no design yet heeding signs, including a talking sign that looms above her,
prodding and sparring like the Cheshire Cat. In February, a surreal lunar
year begins, bringing with it unexpected turns, heightened mischief, and
inescapable sorrow. In a stranger's words, Anything is possible: after
all, it's the year of the monkey. For Patti Smith - inveterately curious,
always exploring, tracking thoughts, writing the year evolves as one of
reckoning with the changes in life's gyre: with loss, aging, and a dramatic
shift in the political landscape of America. Smith melds the Western
landscape with her own dreamscape. Taking us from Southern California to
the Arizona desert; to a Kentucky farm as the amanuensis of a friend in
crisis; to the hospital room of a valued mentor; and by turns to remembered
and imagined places - this haunting memoir blends fact and fiction with
poetic mastery. The unexpected happens; grief and disillusionment. But as
Patti Smith heads toward a new decade in her own life, she offers this balm
to the reader: her wisdom, wit, gimlet eye, and above all, a rugged hope of
a better world. Riveting, elegant, often humorous, illustrated by Smith's
signature Polaroids, Year of the Monkey is a moving and original work, a
touchstone for our turbulent times.