A review by karieh13
Ape House by Sara Gruen
3.0
I read “Ape House” in about a day – I was immediately engaged in the story and connected with some of the characters. I’d read and liked “Water for Elephants” a while ago and the easy writing style and flow of the story were similar to this book.
I don’t remember a great deal of humor in “Elephants” – but there is certainly an undercurrent of that in “Ape House”.
“Cat was leaning against the brick wall near the cozy fireplace in the lobby of the Residence Inn when John and Amanda arrived. It was the hotel’s “social hour,” and Cat was taking advantage of the free wine while emanating waves of unapproachability. It was as though she had an invisible cloaking device: Other guests would wander too close and suddenly veer off, looking stunned.”
Though at times it gets a bit too close to the farce line for my taste – every time I found myself rolling my eyes a bi, I realized that in today’s world everything that happens in the book is more than plausible and in many cases, is happening right now. It was not a big surprise that in many cases – the apes come off seeming more highly evolved than the humans surrounding them.
“John followed. As he pulled the door open, he looked back at the men, who were still staring. He pointed first at her and then at his wedding band, and mouthed the word “Mine.”
Those aspects of the book aside, I felt that Gruen did a good job trying to convey the nearly miraculous feeling of humans and ape communication. I have the knowledge in the sort of “General Knowledge” section of my brain that humans can communicate with apes using sign language. And yet until I read this book, I didn’t really process that knowledge. Gruen’s descriptions of Isabel’s interaction with these amazing animals (and in the Author’s Note – description of her own experience) – actual conversations between humans and apes – really hit me. When I truly sat and considered that fact, I was in awe.
This was an enjoyable read – and one that piqued my interest enough to want to move my knowledge of the subject from “General” to “Detailed”.
I don’t remember a great deal of humor in “Elephants” – but there is certainly an undercurrent of that in “Ape House”.
“Cat was leaning against the brick wall near the cozy fireplace in the lobby of the Residence Inn when John and Amanda arrived. It was the hotel’s “social hour,” and Cat was taking advantage of the free wine while emanating waves of unapproachability. It was as though she had an invisible cloaking device: Other guests would wander too close and suddenly veer off, looking stunned.”
Though at times it gets a bit too close to the farce line for my taste – every time I found myself rolling my eyes a bi, I realized that in today’s world everything that happens in the book is more than plausible and in many cases, is happening right now. It was not a big surprise that in many cases – the apes come off seeming more highly evolved than the humans surrounding them.
“John followed. As he pulled the door open, he looked back at the men, who were still staring. He pointed first at her and then at his wedding band, and mouthed the word “Mine.”
Those aspects of the book aside, I felt that Gruen did a good job trying to convey the nearly miraculous feeling of humans and ape communication. I have the knowledge in the sort of “General Knowledge” section of my brain that humans can communicate with apes using sign language. And yet until I read this book, I didn’t really process that knowledge. Gruen’s descriptions of Isabel’s interaction with these amazing animals (and in the Author’s Note – description of her own experience) – actual conversations between humans and apes – really hit me. When I truly sat and considered that fact, I was in awe.
This was an enjoyable read – and one that piqued my interest enough to want to move my knowledge of the subject from “General” to “Detailed”.