Ape House

A Novel

By: Sara Gruen

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

Sam, Bonzi, Lola, Mbongo, Jelani, and Makena are no ordinary apes. These bonobos, like others of their species, are capable of reason and carrying on deep relationships - but unlike most bonobos, they also know American Sign Language.

Isabel Duncan, a scientist at the Great Ape Language Lab, doesn’t understand people, but animals she gets - especially the bonobos. Isabel feels more comfortable in their world than she’s ever felt among humans...until she meets John Thigpen, a very married reporter who braves the ever-present animal rights protesters outside the lab to see what’s really going on inside.

When an explosion rocks the lab, severely injuring Isabel and “liberating” the apes, John’s human interest piece turns into the story of a lifetime, one he’ll risk his career and his marriage to follow. Then a reality TV show featuring the missing apes debuts under mysterious circumstances, and it immediately becomes the biggest - and unlikeliest - phenomenon in the history of modern media. Millions of fans are glued to their screens watching the apes order greasy take-out, have generous amounts of sex, and sign for Isabel to come get them. Now, to save her family of apes from this parody of human life, Isabel must connect with her own kind, including John, a green-haired vegan, and a retired porn star with her own agenda. Ape House delivers great entertainment, but it also opens the animal world to us in ways few novels have done, securing Sara Gruen’s place as a master storyteller who allows us to see ourselves as we never have before.

©2010 Sara Gruen (P)2010 Random House

Critic reviews

"While the set-up may sound improbable, Gruen’s characters – both human and ape – are finely drawn and ultimately believable. Gruen’s research into the use of American Sign Language as a means of communicating with the bonobos informs her story (and the reader) without weighing it down. This is a satisfying, entertaining page-turner of a novel." ( San Francisco Book Review)

Fascinating story!

Very interesting human-bonobo story with several human story threads around it. This book was great fun!

Interesting premise, thin characters

I like the premise of this novel: a group of apes become the ultimate reality TV stars and captivate their audience. The "ape house" interludes are the most interesting parts of the book. It became clear very quickly, however, that the characters were paper thin. The female scientist was saintly; the male scientist was cartoonishly evil. Also, the narration of this book drove me absolutely crazy. I almost quit listening an hour into the novel because the narrator inexplicably gives the young woman character an exaggerated "valley girl" accent. It was beyond distracting - it was annoying and not indicated by the text at all.

Completely enjoyable and very funny.

What a great parody on realiy TV and mother-in-laws! Very different from Water for Elephants, but equally entertaining and hopeful. It made me want to visit the apes and communicate with them. What is especially amusing is the thought that because apes can communicate, they must be like us. If you enjoy Michael Crighton's Jurrassic Park where humans think that they can control life, you will love this book as well.

good book, with a few tangents

I enjoyed this book, but felt that some of the plot went off in tangents that added little. For example, the whole meth lab story, what did that add? Though I did get a kick out of the Russian working girls! Excellent narration.
Overall enjoyable but not "Elephants".

Wonderful book

Wonderful and informative book. She is a great story teller. I wonder if it's based on a true story. Read it!

Female characterizations detract

I kept listening because I was intrigued by the ape story and wanted to see it through to the end. I was never pulled in by the human story and was annoyed by all female (human and ape) dialogue. The narrator must feel that all women sound pouty or bored whenever they speak.

just okay

The characters were flat and the story utterly predictable. I kept reading mainly for the information on bonobos, but that became salacious and gratuitous after a bit. Then I continued because I was so far in. Now I feel like I should have moved on about a third of the way through. There were so many missed opportunities for the exploration of adult human relationships. The author seemed to be setting these up time after time but then just moved on. Disappointing.

Such high hopes

I absolutely loved Water For Elephants. Sadly, Ape House can't hold a candle. I could never quite connect with any of the characters, in spite of the author's penchant for seriously tedious and minute detail all along the way. The plot is just compelling enough to keep one wondering how things will end up at last, but I found myself forwarding through the recording during the last two hours as I couldn't stand it dragging along any more. I just wanted to know what finally happened to the wretched apes! I'm afraid the narrator may also have driven me slightly mad during this book. Very precise diction (to the point of distraction) which somehow served to highlight the tedium of the descriptions, and some pronunciation which actually made me scream out loud at one point. Otherwise, he portrayed the characters nicely--it's just a timing-thing, I guess. Perhaps you will like this recording better than me, but if you're expecting something as fabulous as Water For Elephants you'll likely be dismayed. Gosh, I hate to be so negative, but this book just drove me nuts!

Poorly Read

I am only 1/3 of the way through the audio-book and although I will probably finish it, it is tempting to go buy the printed version instead and be spared the horrible recording. The reader emphasizes some words inappropriately and I get the impression it was his first read through. His voice is fine, but flat and not a good fit for this book.

Same author?

I find it hard to believe that the person who wrote the wonderful "Water for Elephants" wrote this!