This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Raanan Geberer for Readers' Favorite
In Monarchs and Mendicants, Dan Groat tells the story of Gifford, a homeless Afghanistan veteran who moves into an informal colony of other homeless men in a rundown industrial area of St. Louis. He trusts no one and wants no friends except for his dog. The men clean bricks at a nearby salvage operation for five cents a brick, and Gifford soon follows suit. But Gifford then has a run-in with Kong, an enforcer for the salvage operation who thinks he runs the neighborhood. Kong insults, harasses and sometimes assaults the homeless men at will. When Gifford and some of the other men ask for ten cents a brick, Kong destroys their makeshift shelters in retaliation. Soon Gifford knows what he must do.
There have not been many novels about homeless men, and Monarchs and Mendicants is surely one of the better ones. Groat does a great job with character development – we see how Gifford slowly comes out of his shell, becoming friendly with the other men and revealing details about his experiences in Afghanistan. Contrary to stereotype, most of the men are not alcoholics or drug addicts, and one even speaks in Shakespearean English. The description of the neighborhood, Benoit, is also very good — I’ve known similar places in New York City. As for the salvage operation, if you guessed that they aren’t entirely “on the level,” you’d be right, although we don’t find out what they’re doing until the end. Above all, Groat manages to write about a down-and-out lifestyle without leaving the reader feeling depressed at all.
