simianilarity (Great Apes - Will Self)

Member Name: bumb1e

Product:	Great Apes - Will Self
Date:	21/11/01 (59 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good long read.

Disadvantages: dunno really.

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 than he could have ever imagined. Sarah was a chimp, not just a cute furry little chimp, but a huge hairy, extremely well developed (and about as far down the evolutionary scale as he is, or he thought he was, as a human), and a little bit confused that her long-term mate was going insane, flailing his legs and arms in the air, vocalising gibberish.

Simon then dicovered that he too was a chimp, and that went down like a lead balloon!

Sarah had nothing that she could do exept call the emergencey services, who take him away, and meets Dr Busner, a psychologist, held in very high esteem of the medical community.

Dr Busner helps him to come to terms with the fact that he is a chimp, not a human, (a Human is a very backward, and undeveloped species, a distant cousin of the prime-speicies, the Chimps.

Simon is enveloped into an alien world, completely different to anything he thinks he has ever known.

This novel parodies the animal nature that is still in all of us. Self must have studied the Great Apes quite extensivley in order to fully evolve the species using the animal's major features and talents as a basis.

This is quite unlike anything I have ever read, this book is a completely original peice of work, although it does draw upon the fact th
at in the film 'Planet of the Apes' Humans are stranded in a world were Chimps have become the dominant species (and Humans are used as slaves by their new masters). Self's book professes that Humans have never been an advanced culture, as they are a barbaric and poorley evolved species. But uses the comparison between the film and Simon's position. Using the film as a last hold for Simon as he watches it (revesed of course, ie. Chimps stranded in a world where Humans have become the more advanced species [ironic stuff eh]) with horror as he sees Chimps with tacky, cheap, latex masks of Human faces.

This book is comlete fantasy, but can almoust draw you in to believing that it is real. I loved reading this novel, and enjoyed every bit. Full marks!

Summary: