“Ape House”   by Sara Gruen

         2011 Review #5

Review taken from Publishers Weekly:

Gruen enjoys minimal luck in trying to recapture the magic of her enormously successful “Water for Elephants” in this outing that begins with the bombing of the Great Ape Language Lab, a university research center dedicated to the study of the communicative behavior of bonobo apes.

The blast, which terrorizes the apes and severely injures scientist Isabel Duncan, occurs one day after Philadelphia Inquirer reporter John Thigpen visits the lab and speaks to the bonobos, who answer his questions in sign language. After a series of personal setbacks, Thigpen pursues the story of the apes and the explosions for a Los Angeles tabloid, encountering green-haired vegan protesters and taking in a burned-out meth lab's guard dog.

Meanwhile, as Isabel recovers from her injuries, the bonobos are sold and moved to New Mexico, where they become a media sensation as the stars of a reality TV show. Unfortunately, the best characters in this overwrought novel don't have the power of speech, and while Thigpen is mildly amusing, Isabel is mostly inert. 

 MY THOUGHTS:

I disagree with the negative remarks made in this review by Publishers Weekly because I loved this book…it is funny and full of characters!