Monninger, Joseph 1953–

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Monninger, Joseph 1953–

PERSONAL: Born October 28, 1953, in Baltimore, MD; married Amy Short (marriage ended). Education: Temple University, A.B., 1975; University of New Hampshire, M.A., 1982. Hobbies and other interests: Fly fishing.

ADDRESSES: Office—17 High St., Plymouth, NH 03264-1595. E-mail—[email protected]; [email protected].

CAREER: Peace Corps, Upper Volta, West Africa, well digger, 1975–77; American Agency for International Development, Mali, West Africa, well digger, 1977–79; University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, instructor in freshman composition, 1980–82; Lincoln School, Providence, RI, English teacher, 1982–84; American International School, Vienna, Austria, teacher, 1984–86; Plymouth State University, Plymouth, NH, associate professor of English. Certified New Hampshire fishing guide.

MEMBER: Authors Guild, Authors League of America.

AWARDS, HONORS: National Endowment for the Arts fellow, 1987.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

The Family Man, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1982.

Summer Hunt, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1983.

New Jersey, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1986.

Second Season, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1987.

Incident at Potter's Bridge, D.I. Fine (New York, NY), 1991.

The Viper Tree, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1991.

Mather, D.I. Fine (New York, NY), 1995.

OTHER

(With T.L. Taigen) Biology Write Now!, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY), 1992.

Home Waters: Fishing with an Old Friend (memoir), Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA), 1999.

A Barn in New England: Making a Home on Three Acres (memoir), Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA), 2001.

Also contributor to periodicals, including Sports Illustrated.

SIDELIGHTS: Joseph Monninger's novels, while not completely autobiographical, often involve thoughts, feelings, and locations from the author's past. The Family Man, Monninger's first novel, depicts a family on summer vacation in Maine, where the father's feelings of discontentment with his routine life lead to domestic tragedy. Monninger's second book, Summer Hunt, is set in West Africa, where the author worked for the Peace Corps. The protagonist, Noel Simpson, is a hydrologist stationed in a desolate area with his wife, Kathy. After growing accustomed to the violent harshness of this environment, Noel returns to New Hampshire. He renews his relationship with his brother Grant and becomes involved in the mercy killing of his father, who is dying of cancer.

Monninger grew up in New Jersey, which provides the locale for his third novel. New Jersey concerns an adolescent boy named Max whose mother died in his first year and whose father is crazy. After turning their backyard into a huge pit to search for historical artifacts, Max's father leaves him with an aunt and uncle near Stockton, New Jersey. There Max finds friends to grow up with—Martin, Stu, and Chris. His romantic relationship with Chris is shattered when he goes out with her sister, and he shares his friend's pain when Martin gets his girlfriend pregnant. As Gary Krist pointed out in the New York Times Book Review, New Jersey is primarily "a collection of telling scenes from a colorful American adolescence." Krist also pointed out "Monninger's extraordinary ability to write evocative scenes that shimmer on the page." Richard Edler concluded in the Los Angeles Times Book Review that New Jersey is an "affecting and subtle novel."

Monninger has also written nonfiction works, including two memoirs: Home Waters: Fishing with an Old Friend and A Barn in New England: Making a Home on Three Acres. In the former, the author describes what he thinks is the last trip he took with his beloved golden retriever, Nellie. The eleven-year-old dog probably has cancer and Monninger decides to enjoy what he believes will be her final days by taking her west, where they hike and fish in places they have visited before. The trip also helps Monninger connect to his past and allow him to reflect on what he truly enjoys in life. Writing in Publishers Weekly, a reviewer called it a "touching account of fishing and hiking" that "is both a fly-fisher's engaging daybook and a wonderfully affecting probe of the human-pet bond."

In A Barn in New England the author discusses his purchase and renovation of an old barn into a home for him, his companion, Wendy, and her young son. Including vignettes about the ups and downs of the construction process, Monninger also describes the help given by members of the local community, especially indispensable handyman Clarence. This assistance ensures that the trio can make the old barn their primary, year-round residence. In addition, Monninger uses the experience as a means of exploring history and traditions of the area, as well as the lifestyle he will embrace. "Neither plaything nor conceit," noted a Kirkus Reviews critic, "Monninger's rural idyll is very much a lived experience: genuine, well-earned, and downright enviable."