Beep

by Bill Roorbach

Genres: Absurdist Fiction; Animals; Nature & the Environment

Synopsis

In the tradition of Shelby Van Pelt's Remarkably Bright Creatures, an ebullient, funny—and hugely original— novel about the friendship between a brilliant young girl and a perceptive squirrel monkey, the power of youth, and the way forward for a planet in crisis. 

In this immensely enjoyable novel, it takes a sweet and personable squirrel monkey, Beep, to help us see the world we live in more clearly. While intending only to go deeper and higher into the Costa Rican rain forest to find a mate, he instead meets Inga, a kindly and loving American teenager on vacation with her family. Inadvertently, often hilariously, Beep makes his way back to New York with Inga, and with her courageously devoted help—and a bit of inspiration from a visiting Greta Thunberg, along with a dramatic zoo escape—and with the help of just about every animal on earth, Beep manages to change the destiny of the world. Along the way, he has a great deal to say about humanity and the divisions among us, our alien cities, our strange practices, our false superiority, our vanity, our entitlement, our folly, as well as our beauty, and our promise, unfulfilled.

With a cast of equally engaging and perceptive animals, Beep is irresistibly appealing. Neither earnest nor preachy, it is full of humor and inspiration and remarkable new ways of understanding how we live. Beep conveys an urgent message—the increasing threats to our planet—lightly, urging us to wake up while there is still time.

Release date: July 16, 2024

Publisher: Algonquin Books

Print pages: 240