Ape House: A Novel (original 2010; edition 2011)

This story contained a little bit of everything I like to find in a book. Animals, humor, suspense, a little drama... It sucked me in right from the start and didn't let go. ( )

Rarely do I come across a book that decreases in stars (rating) as I read it. Either this book is really bad, or it's a comment on how a writer can make it big as long as there are explosions, cute animals, porn kings and stars, paternity tests, saved marriage, a brush with drug lords, babies, sex toys...all those crazy things network execs say "sell" but don't offer anything to the story. That or this book was written with the hopes that it would be made into a Hollywood blockbuster because of the aforementioned gimmicks. If these latter options are not the intent, then I don't know what this book was about. There are so many long-winded, insignificant details (like a full description of the scene on the tv that plays while someone is sleeping infront of it, instead of just "Jerry Springer was on the tv") and so many unrelated domestic tangents that what I thought was supposed to be the main story became the third level subplot. The dialogue was lame, the characters flat and uninspiring. [b:Water for Elephants|43641|Water for Elephants|Sara Gruen|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170161179s/43641.jpg|3441236] was okay, but this one sucks.

Notice I gave my entire review without mentioning the Apes? That's because they're relegated to the third level subplot. If the book was about them, I might have liked it. But they seem tangential to John and Isabelle's stories that it's a book not about apes at all. ( )

While this didn't match up to Gruen's WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, it was still a good read. Portions of the plot seemed rather contrived, but tgere was enough substance to hold it together. And in the author's notes at the back of the book, she documented that she had done her homework to prepare for this novel that explores actual communication between humans and apes. ( )

This is one of those rare books that I feel like I can wholeheartedly recommend to everybody I know. It is the perfect commercial read: thoughtful, emotional, insightful, and PAGE-TURNING.

It'll come as no surprise to Ms. Gruen's fans that some of the most compelling characters in the book are animals. In this case the show is all but stolen by an effervescent family of bonobos, great apes that share something like 98% of our DNA as well as our fondness for language and recreational sex.

When trouble threatens the family, a researcher and journalist do their best to improve their circumstances. The resulting story touches on animal rights, journalistic ethics, scientific morality, and media exploitation all while making the reader question how humans can claim sole ownership of the top to the evolutionary ladder. All of this with a tasty whodunnit on the side.

What's not to love? ( )

I probably shouldn't be surprised that this book was so over the top; the description itself says it all. I guess I was just under the (mistaken) assumption that Gruen would manage to pull it off somehow. I loved reading about the Great Apes and am interested in pursuing some nonfiction on the subject, but the rest of the story was ridiculous. ( )