The Nature of Monsters
Ronald Damien Malfi
5 Story Walkup
3659 Mecklinburg Place, Decatur, GA 30032
0978676106 $20.00
Review By: Dustin La Valley, Midwest Book Review

Ronald Damien Malfi's The Nature of Monsters is a vivid piece that proves the author can move freely and successfully between genres, with a voice that is clever and appealing.

Robert Crofton is a twenty-something Kentucky native who moves to Baltimore, bent on writing a novel. Our protagonist's simple ways clash and conform with the socialite scene introduced by old friend Rory Van Holt (a well-off Golden Gloves winning prizefighter) and his circle of friends which includes Rory's beautifully melodramatic, opium smoking fiancé, Donna. Though dramatic, The Nature of Monsters has its share of theatrical comedy produced by Nigel Sweeny, the artist and alcoholic cousin of Robert who must constantly be placed under a watchful eye due to an arrogant personality that regularly lectures those within earshot. As Robert Crofton falls deeper into the elite party lifestyle, slipping further away from his simple existence, a story of love and resentment unfolds along with the uncertainty of yesterday and tomorrow.

The Nature of Monsters is a continuously enjoyable read. Through strong characterization we feel the apprehension, the want, the need and the desperation in an environment written by a man who produces truly original, creative and entertaining literature. Ronald Damien Malfi has proven once again that he is a genuine storyteller.