Ape House

The apes of the title are a group of bonobos that have been living in a research facility centered on teaching them language. The facility is bombed, the apes go missing, only to turn up again in a rather unexpected place. The plot seemed really thin to me. I mean, a lot happened, I suppose, but none of it really got me that involved. The character I most liked was a secondary one (Ivanka) introduced about halfway through whose apathetic outside hid an unexpectedly thoughtful inside.

I guess we were supposed to walk away from the main character, John's, story arc thinking that he had realized what was important in life, but honestly I didn't understand or empathize with his relationship with his wife at all. As far as I could tell, he show more was with her because he was loyal and thought she was beautiful. The book was all right, but I didn't find a lot of heart to it. show less

This book completely surprised me. I picked it up because I was completing a reading challenge about apes and after a year of doing this challenge, I have found few mystery books dealing with that subject that weren't using monkeys as a sort of humorous point. I was really expecting that when I found out that the bonobos in this book were getting their own reality TV show as part of the plot... I was skeptical.

This book was actually a rather serious look at how we treat animals and how we as humans behave, all wrapped up in the mystery of who caused the explosion that send the bonobos to their new “home.” I absolutely loved the progression of the plot and the thought that must have gone in to balance it perfectly so that it was not show more a pounding for animal rights, but not a comic relief piece either. I'm glad I found it. show less

Isabel Duncan is a scientist at the Great Ape Language Lab who tends to get along better with her beloved bonobos than other people. John Thigpen is a reporter who braved the protesters outside of the lab to see what was going on inside the facility in hopes of writing a good human interest story. Once an animal rights activist group decides to take action, however, things quickly get out of hand. They have blown part of the building away, severely injuring Isabel and "freeing" the apes who are captured and forced to be in a reality television show that exploits their ability to use American Sign Language to communicate with humans. Isabel and John must work together to free the apes a second time, and this time, do it for good.

Most of the reviews I've read of this book have been quite unanimous on one point: that Ape House isn't as good as Water for Elephants. Which bodes very well for my future Gruen reading, considering how much I enjoyed this one!

Before I even started reading, I was fascinated by Gruen's description (on the dustjacket) of meeting some of the bonobos at the Great Ape Trust during her two years of research, bringing them backpacks of goodies and having a two-way conversation in American Sign Language. Some of this experience translates directly into the novel, which opens with John Thigpen, a reporter, meeting scientist Isabel Duncan and the bonobos at her Great Ape Language Lab.

Shortly after his visit, the lab is bombed, with an extreme show more animal activist group claiming responsibility for the bonobos' 'liberation' via an internet video. While Isabel is in hospital recovering from her horrific injuries, the bonobos are recaptured and end up forming the central premise for a new reality TV show, the Ape House of the title. The novel follows the impact of the bombing on the lives of Isabel and her friend Celia, John and his wife Amanda, and, of course, the apes, along with multiple other people on the periphery of their story. Will Isabel and her ape 'family' ever be reunited? And will the perpetrators of this devastating attack be found and brought to justice?

On the surface, this is an easy and compelling read. The plot is well paced, the main characters are well drawn and sympathetic, and the minor characters are diverse and, in several cases, quite amusing. Underneath all of this, however, is an incredibly fascinating glimpse into the world of the great apes. The bonobos - six of them, including Bonzi and her baby Lola, and the wonderfully named Mbongo - are brought to life in such an endearing and delightful way that it is impossible not to root for them at every turn. The linguistic and cognitive capabilities of the apes in the book are all closely based on real bonobo language research. There is also a horrendous section describing the activities of a rather less scrupulous scientific laboratory (though Gruen does point out in her author note that such cruel experimentation is, thankfully, now illegal).

All in all, I would say that this is an eminently readable novel that covers a lot of complex issues, including family relationships, scientific ethics, modern media, and what it really means to be human. Gruen includes a couple of further reading suggestions at the back of the book, which I'll definitely be chasing up, and she has given her readers a thoughtful insight into bonobo behaviour and how closely related we are to our ape cousins. Recommended! show less

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 show more 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? show less

While I did enjoy this book, Isabel was just too dumb for me to connect with her. No food in her apartment. The car crash. Her insane and basically plan- and authority-less pursuit of the apes. Dumb. John was a fully-functioning adult even though his marriage was a strange one. I’m glad he didn’t get all manly and keep his wife from pursuing her career in her own way. That was nice. There was a bit more screw-ball comedy about his sections than I thought there would be. Constrasted with the icky exploitation of the bonobos made for an uneven story in my opinion, but I can see how some levity was needed so the whole thing didn’t become one big depressing mess. The writer is Canadian, but the characters are American and I caught out show more a few gaffes in the way she had people talk. Saying crockery instead of dishes and tin of tomatoes rather than can of tomatoes. show less

I chose this book because I've recently discovered the joys of audiobooks and multi-tasking and because I loved Water for Elephants; Gruen's previous novel. I even went jogging while listening to this novel and during a plot twist I stepped off the pavement onto the gravel shoulder and almost tumbled into a ditch. I wouldn't have gotten hurt had that happened but I would have been wet and very embarrassed. Matt, of course, loves that story and the fact that I willingly listen to audiobooks while doing things like cooking and running.

I am a huge supporter of animal rights so clearly this novel appealed to me. Also, my pupper Ben is my baby. There were some things in this novel that made me want to pick up Ben and give him a cuddle. That show more aspect of my own life really made me relate to Isabel. She treats the bonobos like her own family and it's evident that she deeply cares for them and they her. She also goes through hell to make sure they are safe after the explosion at the language lab.

Amanda is also one of my favorite characters. She's John's wife and she goes through a sort of mid-life/self-acceptance crisis after moving to LA for a job. She's one of my favorite female portrayals in literature in recent memory. She's flawed and a bit insecure but is doing the best that she can. She also has some of the funniest scenes/lines in the novel. Especially when her mother cleans her house. I liked John as well, which is easy to do since part of the novel is told from his POV. I also like the assistant Celia; mostly because she's tattooed and swears quite often when she knows she shouldn't. I can relate.

The reality tv show aspect may seem far fetched at first, but if you really think about it, or turn on the tv to almost any channel, you'll realize that it could happen. I loved all the bonobos, (How great are their names?!) they were so unique and I loved how researched the novel was and there was this lovely nugget of the 100 monkey effect where Lola is using ASL to communicate. They're just so adorable and funny but the human comparison is there as well. *Note: "The 100 monkey effect is a supposed phenomenon in which a learned behavior spreads instantaneously from one group of monkeys to all related monkeys once a critical number is reached. By generalization it means the instantaneous, paranormal spreading of an idea or ability to the remainder of a population once a certain portion of that population has heard of the new idea or learned the new ability." (Wikipedia) There's also a band I love named 100 Monkeys after the same concept. The fan girl in me was elated.*

I know it's mean but there are a lot of not-so-thinly-veiled references that made me laugh out loud. One in particular, the Eastborrough Baptist Church protest group who protest the wonton sexuality of, well, everything including the sexual behavior of the bonobos.

Final thoughts. I think that this is a great novel for anyone who liked Water for Elephants or has an interest in animal rights/activism. It will get one thinking. There are some plot aspects that may seem a bit far-fetched for some tastes, but nothing I found to be completely off-putting. The characters are fantastic (even the ones who are complete asshats all the way through). It's sad, thrilling, funny and shocking. Everything I love in a novel. Sara Gruen has yet to disappoint me. show less