Friday, November 30, 2018

Beginning ~ before takeoff

"The plane had yet to take off, but Osgood, the photographer, was already snoring softly.  He was in the center seat, wedged between John Thigpen and a woman in coffee-colored stockings and sensible shoes."
Ape House ~ by Sara Gruen, 2010, fiction
Isabel Duncan, a scientist at the Great Ape Language Lab, doesn't understand people, but apes she gets — especially the bonobos
  • Bonzi, the matriarch,
  • Sam, the oldest male,
  • Jelani, an adolescent male,
  • Makena, the pregnant one,
  • Lola, the infant, and
  • Mbongo, the other adult male,
who are capable of reason and communication through American Sign Language.  Isabel feels more comfortable in their world than she's ever felt among humans — until she meets John Thigpen, a very married reporter writing a human interest feature.  But when an explosion rocks the lab, John's piece turns into the story of a lifetime — and Isabel must connect with her own kind to save her family of apes from a new form of human exploitation.
I've read almost a third of the book.  Yes, it's as interesting as I thought it would be.  I've learned that bonobos would rather make love rather than war, and that some people's idea of "helping" the bonobos is very cruel and destructive, indeed!


Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.  Click here for today's Linky.

5 comments:

Anne@HeadFullofBooks said...

Is this the same author who wrote the book about the veterinarian that worked for a circus? I can't remember the title. My Friday Quotes

Bonnie Jacobs said...

Anne, although I haven't read it (yet?), that sounds like the book she's know for, which is also the previous book shown at the top of the cover of this book: WATER FOR ELEPHANTS. It was also made into a movie. I looked up this information on Amazon.com for you:

"Jacob Janowski's luck had run out — orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was the Great Depression and for Jacob the circus was both his salvation and a living hell. There he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but brutal animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this group of misfits was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival."

Helen's Book Blog said...

I like books like this where you learn about a topic as well as enjoying a good read.

Anne@HeadFullofBooks said...

Oh thanks for looking that up for me. Yes, Water for Elephants. Perhaps the author has a thing for exotic animals. I haven't seen the movie but the book was very good.

Girl Who Reads said...

Sounds really interesting, but I struggle with books about animals. I usually wind up in tears at some point. I like books about books and the teasers are good. Susan is wrapping up the month with a nonfiction book at Girl Who Reads