It's been a long time...

The Woman and the Ape by Peter Hoeg starts predictably enough, woman meets ape and they escape together.  The woman in the case is Madelene Burden, the disatisfied Danish wife of a brilliant London zoologist.  The ape, Erasmus, is of an unknown species that is highly intelligent and should make her husband's career.

This is not a plot driven novel.  Instead this is a complex mix of novel, parable, morality tale and essay.  There aren't many "isms" that are not explored:  feminism, specieism, environmentalism, classism, economic rationalism.  (Although thinking about it, did he miss racism, or did I?)   He toys with ideas such as: what makes us human; our relationship with animals as food, lifestock, companions, workers, research subjects and the wild other; and the cruelty of nature.   I, for one, will never look at jaguars the same way.

London is viewed through an animal lens.  Firstly, not just as a city but an animal factory, with millions of animals being "processed" to literally feed the metropolis.  Furthermore, we think of cities as sterile places, homes to people not animals, one character states, "Our biologists calculate that this city contains more than thirty million non-human creatures, representing 10,000 distinct species...London is one of the largest habitats for non-human creatures on earth".

A central theme in this novel is being trapped, by ourselves, by circumstances, and by others.  Obviously, Erasmus is trapped and slightly less obvously so is Madelene.  And its counterpoint, the idea of escape, both physically and by other less tangible means.  Where does an ape and his companion escape to in central London?

I am not entirely convinced that this piece works as a novel.  But Hoeg's exploration of ideas is fascinating and it has given me a lot to mull over.  The characters are sketched as a type rather than living, breathing characters with the capacity to change.  Not surprisingly, the ape is the noblest character in the book.  In spite of this and not giving away anything, the end certainly surprised me. 
   
Hoeg's underlying message is that we are all animals.  And that's something we can't escape from.

My first review!

This was one of those books that I'm desperate for my husband to read so I can discuss it with him.  I finished it a few days ago and I'm still savouring what a fantastic book it was.   This is, in every sense of the word, a big book! It's well over 500 pages and has significant themes, an intricate plot,  meaty characters and big ideas. It travels from the US, Australia and Europe.   A lot of other books I read seem meagre in comparison.

It follows several characters: an Australian historian, Adam Zignelik, who specialises in the American civil rights movement, a African American man, Lamont Williams, trying to turn his life around after spending years in prison, and the elderly Holocaust survivor, Henryk Mandelbrot, he befriends (or should that be, is befriended by) at the hospital where he works on probation. 

Both Adam and Lamont are trying to rehabilitate their lives.  Adam after being paralysed by writer's block, finds an inspiring research topic that leads him to unexpected places, personally and professionally.  Lamont is facing the more daunting task of rebuilding his shattered life after his time in gaol, and wants to find his daughter.  You really want the lives of both these characters to work out, even whilst they are making frustrating decisions.

The historical context of this book is massive with both the Holocaust and the American civil rights movement explored.  It doesn't get any bigger than that.  As you would expect, it is heavy going in places but I was  reminded that even in the midst of horror, people are brave and are extraordinary.

It also explores father and son relationships, sons struggling to grow in the shadows of great men.  Until writing this review I hadn't realised how male this book is.  (Not that there aren't female characters, or that they aren't realistically well written.)  That is something that would usually put me off, I know my reading is definitely heavily weighted towards women writers.  It is a testimony to how fantastic this book that I just noticed this and it still doesn't bother me.

This book isn't perfect.  I'm not sure that Adam's imaginary conversations with his ex-girlfriend worked for me or were necessary; they just seemed a little bit twee.  Very self indulgent but that was keeping in with Adam's character.

This book reminded me of the best of reading!  There is another reader on my bus, whom I've never spoken to, but I feel like introducing myself just so that I can tell her that she just has to read this.

Happy reading!