Benjamin Hale

Part of me wanted to give this book a higher rating. There's no arguing that it's beautifully and intelligently written with many fascinating observations on the human condition. And it demonstrates powerfully the barbaric ways in which "mankind" treats not just chimpanzees, but all animals. But Bruno's evolution goes way too far and way too fast . A chimp is a chimp and no sane woman is going to fall in love with a chimp, have sex on a regular basis, and then willingly carry that chimp's child at the risk of her own life. I know this is a work of fiction, but that's stretching the truth a bit too much for my taste.… (more)

The WTF factor is strong with this one.

The story of Bruno, a chimpanzee who learns how to speak and who slowly "evolves" into a man started out really strong. Bruno described the circumstances of his captivity and hints at the story that led up to his current condition. However, the story takes long, long, long time to tell, and Bruno is a somewhat less than reliable narrator. Well, either this, or Hale left out some relevant explanations of certain turns in the plot.

While there is something clever about describing mankind from the perspective of a chimp and relating that evolution is not as big a step up from the animal kingdom as man would believe it to be, the story itself just isn't gripping me.

DNF @ 37%.… (more)