Just a Thought...Year of the Apes

It’s been an interesting year for the apes.  Laurence Gonzales started it off with Lucy, in which a half-girl, half-ape Lucy is brought out of Africa and into the suburbs where her adoptive mother gradually learns the truth and must move quickly to save Lucy.  Then there’s Sara Gruen’s Ape House in which bonobos in a refuge are turned loose and then exploited in a reality show.  Then there’s Benjamin Hale’s The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore, in which chimpanzee Bruno learns to speak and believes he is becoming human. Human-animal communication is a fascinating subject and these books each frame the topic in unique ways.  In case you’re interested in even more Ape novels, take a look at these:

Banks, Russell. The Darling

Hoeg, Peter. The Woman and the Ape

Preston, Douglas. Jennie

Self, Will. Great Apes

Wesselmann, Debbie. Captivity