Mark Laxer

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher and for some reason I thought it was non-fiction. It wasn't but I read it anyway. It's the story of a college student who believes he is the result of a gene-splicing experiment which added some ape DNA into his DNA. Once he learns this he feels the bible no longer applies to him as he is not fully human. He then travels the world in an effort to learn about and save apes. The storyline was not particularly believable and I can't say I really enjoyed the book. If it had not been an ARC I would not have finished it, fortunately it was not overly long. All in all I wouldn't recommend this, however, I looked at the Amazon reviews and apparently I'm the only one who didn't like it.… (more)

Not everyone is going to love this book. Some, as reflected in the one review I've found so far, are going to hate it. I found the premise interesting but thought I might fall into the “hate it” camp.

The book is “a modern allegory,” a novel about a young man who discovers that he is part ape. Because he is an animal instead of fully man, a “manimal,” he believes his cherished Bible doesn't apply to him. He goes on a quest to find his ape family. And one of his friends decides to write a Monkey Bible for him to replace the Bible he has lost, both literally and figuratively. In the quest, a bogus ChimpCorps non-profit organization is created and evolves into a real organization, creating a novel way to save natural habitat. And Virtual Ecotourism is created.

The book is not anti-religion, nor is it anti-science. It does find a place for both in the world, and not as adversaries. It does emphasis the importance of protecting the environment and biodiversity. Some parts are laugh-out-loud funny, especially about CPAs (Cell Phone Activists) who combat obnoxious cell phone usage. I'm almost ready to raise my hand to my ear, with thumb extended up, three middle fingers folded in, and pinkie pointed toward my chin, to take the CPA pledge.

Towards the end, the environmental message gets a little bit preachy. The writing doesn't meet the standards of great literature. Still, this was a fun, silly, entertaining book with a serious message. Readers will enjoy it more if they keep an open mind.

A CD, The Line by Eric Maring, was included. I enjoyed some of the tracks but some were not to my taste. My dog Maggie loved the animal sounds.

A copy of the book was provided to me by the publicist for the purpose of review.… (more)