Review: A Beautiful Truth
Posted by Cathie on Monday, March 17, 2014. Filed under: contemporary fiction, fiction, published in 2013, reviewed in 2014
A Beautiful Truth by Colin McAdam
Published by: Soho Press
Our source: ARC from the publisher
What it’s about (from Goodreads):
Looee, a chimp raised by a well-meaning and compassionate human couple who cannot conceive a baby of their own, is forever set apart. He’s not human, but with his peculiar upbringing he is no longer like other chimps. One tragic night Looee’s two natures collide and their unique family is forever changed.
At the Girdish Institute in Florida, a group of chimpanzees has been studied for decades. The work at Girdish has proven that chimps have memories and solve problems, that they can learn language and need friends, and that they build complex cultures. They are political, altruistic, get angry, and forgive. When Looee is moved to the Institute, he is forced to try to find a place in their world.
At the Girdish Institute in Florida, a group of chimpanzees has been studied for decades. The work at Girdish has proven that chimps have memories and solve problems, that they can learn language and need friends, and that they build complex cultures. They are political, altruistic, get angry, and forgive. When Looee is moved to the Institute, he is forced to try to find a place in their world.
Our thoughts:
Let me start off by saying that I am not a fan of exotic animals as pets. As a child, our family had a female squirrel monkey named Samantha. I'm sure when my father brought her home from the pet store he envisioned her playing with his six children and being like the rest of us kids. That was never the case. We had a large cage for her in the living room which took up the whole length of the wall. Though I was quite young, I don't remember Samantha ever being fun or friendly. I do remember the noise and the stench.
In A Beautiful Truth I believe the author, Colin Mcadam, is trying to make the point that there is value in trying to communicate with apes, but that we shouldn't be trying to make them fit into human culture. While I whole heartedly agree with this, I really didn't like this book. Besides the fact that I found it disturbing and cruel to the animals and the humans who had to take care of them, I found the book hard to read. Sentences and thoughts did not flow smoothly, and at many points I had no idea what the author was talking about. Half way through the book the story dragged so much that I contemplated not even bothering to finish reading it.
But finish it I did. The best part of this book is that a portion of the proceeds will benefit Save The Chimp sanctuary.
We would recommend this to:
Fans of animal stories
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