A review by andrewspink
De wateraap by Mariken Heitman

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

What a strange book. The aquatic ape hypothesis is one that only a few people ever too seriously, I think not including any evolutionary biologists, and in recent years (recent decades), interest in it and support for it has died away. But ok, no problem with using an obscure idea that no one believes in as a theme for a novel. It is a book in which little happens externally, but an awful lot is going on inside the protagonist's mind. I must confess that sometimes I found that a bit hard to follow in places. 
It is beautifully written with phrases like 'I was ten, the ages when cuddly toys begin to die' and 'all trees in parks are lonely'. Some phrases are incomprehensible, 'feet, toes never grow up, being perhaps the only part of the body that keep their innocence'. 
Strangely, she describes Spanish Moss as a moss, and in a conversation between two biologists. Although its common name suggests otherwise, it is not a moss but a bromeliad. Was that mistake on purpose or careless?
The book is worth reading for its style and also its strange ideas are interestingly thought provoking.