Great Apes - Will Self

A gold star to the first person who spots what the title refers to….. Will Self is a strange literary being. As a self-confessed polyglot (wordy person to us lay men), he has carved himself a place at the forefront of contemporary British culture. He has become a respected 'person in the know' and can be regularly seen on BBC Two documentaries regarding the latest movements in the British art world or on Channel 4 forums on contemporary philosophy. He's done a room 101 and has even earned himself a place as a team captain on the beeb's Shooting Stars. In media terms, he's very trendy. It would seem then, that as he draws such ...  Read the complete review

Great Apes is Will Self’s most coherent full novel to date. The typical Self style is there part Kafka, part Burroughs and one final part Post Modernist satirical critique. The story itself is one based around confused identity and alienation within modern society. Unlike many contemporary writers Self however escapes from the typical social commentary style of writing and creates a world of alien familiarity. The basic plot of Great Apes is that of a parallel evolution, where instead of Humans becoming the dominant evolved species, apes instead have became the ‘civilised’ race. A kind of Planet of Apes scenario but set within the constrains ...  Read the complete review

From critically acclaimed writer and journalist, Will Self, comes this interesting and satirical tale of psychosis and mental health that takes everything you think you know about our world and turns it on it's head. Simon Dykes is a prolific artist whose latest exhibition is days away from opening. He is out partying, doing a few lines of Coke and knocking back Ectasy when he finds himself questioning what it might be like to lose one's sense of perspective. The next morning, waking up in his girlfriend Sarah's apartment, he finds out....the world he once knew has gone and in it's place, a world where Chimpanzees are the dominant species has appeared in it's ...  Read the complete review

Great Apes is written by Will Self, an ex journalist, who now writes novels of black, and distinct humour. You either love his writings, or hate them, either way, he'll keep on writing if we keep on reading. Simon, the main character in the book, an artist who socializes in the most contemperary places, with the right people to be seen with. He like his high life, he likes his booze and Cocain, and he loves his girlfreind (Sarah) very much. On the whole things are pretty damn fine in Simon's world. Simon wakes up after a fairly heavy night out, turns to Sarah, to put his arms around her, and has the strangest thing happens to him, stranger ...  Read the complete review

It's important when reading to be able to suspend disbelief, and when reading Will Self this is doubly true. The 'not entirely original' premise of this book is that a parrallel world exists where chimpanzees (and to a lesser extent bonobos) have become the dominant species, and humans are considered simple entertaining beasts who run around and say 'F***' a great deal. The concept is introduced, as with many of Self's stories, by the mental breakdown of the main protagonist causing the alternative world to creep into and replace his reality. Once we're underway in the chimpanzee world, the characters and their society is described ...  Read the complete review