Monkey Grip

Monkey Grip is a novel by the Australian writer Helen Garner, published in 1977 and the first book she published. It is set in Melbourne and narrated by Nora, a single mother.

Nora's account is of a relationship with a heroin addict that becomes more tumultuous as it goes on, set against her raising a daughter in shared houses. The two halves of her life are presented together, and neither is allowed to settle the other.

When the book appeared it received a mixed reception from critics while acquiring a notoriety for its uncompromising depiction of heroin addiction, sexuality, relationships and love. Garner later acknowledged an autobiographical element, with much of the plot being diaristic and based on her own experience. The notoriety the book acquired came from the way it handles that material rather than from any judgement the narrator passes on the people involved in it, and the voice stays close to Nora throughout.

It sold well despite dividing early reviewers, and it stays inside the bohemian share houses of 1970s Melbourne from beginning to end.