New York Times bestselling author Sara Gruen, who lives near Asheville, is about ready to release her fourth novel, Ape House. The book, on sale Sept. 7, is getting mostly solid reviews as a satisfying thriller that puts human nature in a new light through an exploration of human-ape interaction. It’s her first novel after her 2007 smash, Water for Elephants, which had more than 3 million copies shipped in the U.S. There’s a movie version of Water for Elephants coming, starring Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz and Robert Pattinson.
From a press release about the release of Ape House:
In her fourth novel, Ape House (Spiegel & Grau), Gruen returns with a story that, like Water for Elephants, features characters you root for and some you don’t, envelopes the reader in a unique world drawn from Gruen’s own affinity for animals, and is based on in-depth research that brings authenticity to the read. Ape House centers on John Thigpen, a down-and-out journalist, and Isabel Duncan, a linguistic scientist working with a family of bonobo apes. After the apes are kidnapped from a language laboratory, their mysterious appearance on a reality TV show calls into question our assumptions about these animals, who share 98.7 percent of our DNA. Ape House tackles contemporary issues – from our obsession with reality TV and our treatment of animals to the difficult sacrifice we must sometimes make to do the right thing.
Gruen launches a tour in support of her new novel in Des Moines on Sept. 7. She’ll be at Malaprop’s in Asheville on Sept. 11. It’s a ticketed event. Buy a book and get a ticket. You can pre-order.
From Publisher’s Weekly on the Barnes and Noble website:
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. In Elephants, Gruen used the human-animal connection to conjure bigger themes; this is essentially an overblown story about people and animals, with explosions added for effect.
From the Sacramento Book Review:
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.
From RJ Julia Independent Booksellers:
Ape House is a riveting, funny, compassionate, and, finally, deeply moving new novel that secures Sara Gruen’s place as a master storyteller who allows us to see ourselves as we never have before.
1 Comment
Water for Elephants was WONDERFUL. I hope the film does the book justice. I look forward to reading this book. Very cool that she is also a WNC-er.