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Lucy
Laurence Gonzales’s electrifying adventure opens in the jungles of the Congo. Jenny Lowe, a primatologist studying chimpanzees—the bonobos—is running for her life.
A civil war has exploded and Jenny is trapped in its crosshairs . . . She runs to the camp of a fellow primatologist.
The rebels have already been there.
Everyone is dead except a young girl, the daughter of Jenny’s brutally murdered fellow scientist—and competitor.
Jenny and the child flee, Jenny grabbing the notebooks of the primatologist who’s been killed. She brings the girl to Chicago to await the discovery of her relatives. The girl is fifteen and lovely—her name is Lucy.
Realizing that the child has no living relatives, Jenny begins to care for her as her own. When she reads the notebooks written by Lucy’s father, she discovers that the adorable, lovely, magical Lucy is the result of an experiment.
She is part human, part ape—a hybrid human being . . .
Laurence Gonzales’s novel grabs you from its opening pages and you stay with it, mesmerized by the shy but fierce, wonderfully winning Lucy.
A civil war has exploded and Jenny is trapped in its crosshairs . . . She runs to the camp of a fellow primatologist.
The rebels have already been there.
Everyone is dead except a young girl, the daughter of Jenny’s brutally murdered fellow scientist—and competitor.
Jenny and the child flee, Jenny grabbing the notebooks of the primatologist who’s been killed. She brings the girl to Chicago to await the discovery of her relatives. The girl is fifteen and lovely—her name is Lucy.
Realizing that the child has no living relatives, Jenny begins to care for her as her own. When she reads the notebooks written by Lucy’s father, she discovers that the adorable, lovely, magical Lucy is the result of an experiment.
She is part human, part ape—a hybrid human being . . .
Laurence Gonzales’s novel grabs you from its opening pages and you stay with it, mesmerized by the shy but fierce, wonderfully winning Lucy.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published July 13, 2010
64 people are currently reading
1381 people want to read
About the author
Laurence Gonzales
18 books149 followersLaurence Gonzales is the author of Surviving Survival and the bestseller Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why. He has won two National Magazine Awards. His essays are collected in the book House of Pain.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 529 reviews
May 25, 2022
I really enjoyed this book by Laurence Gonzales, published in 2010. The protagonist is Lucy Lowe, a bonobo-human hybrid. She is the "creation" of a scientist working in the Congo, studying the bonobos, or, as they used to be known, pygmy chimps. When Congolese rebels kill the scientist and the bonobo mother, Lucy becomes an orphan. She is then found by another scientist, Jenny Lowe, who brings the child back to America. The story reminded me in so many ways of "Frankenstein," one of my favorite books. As we should all realize, the monster in that story was Dr. Frankenstein and not the Monster. Similarly, Lucy, the wild child, is a lovely person. She seems to have the best qualities of both sides of her ancestry. She is brilliant and able to learn a number of languages easily...and she has the superhuman strength of an ape...Of course, Jenny fears for the girl, that the government would want to take her away to study or that religious fanatics would want to kill her. A good thriller which kept me turning pages, it also raises the question: what does it mean to be human.
September 24, 2023
Horrible, horrible book. Why did the reviews not mention the descriptions of lesbian makeouts and the hatred for human kind that seep from this book? A warning would have been nice.
Had to read for book club, but couldn't force myself to read past page 126 when Lucy (the ape/human hybrid) begins making out with her high school friend Amanda.
The theme of the book seems to be that humans have no inherant dignity and are the exact same as apes, except that we are also evil. The only way to save the human race is to cross breed with peaceful and loving apes. Radical anti-war and pro-enviromental views expressed. You know, the type of people who would happily sign a dealth warrant for all humans to make the world "safe for nature".
Sexual lines are also blurred - using nature to "prove" we are also bi-sexual in our natural state and would be better off returning to the ways of the wild. Sex is just "mating" or enjoying anothers company and additional significance is silly and "unhealthy".
There are few references to religion, and then it is to mention "crazy fundimental religious zealots" who oppose science. And later religion is mentionsed as the "cause of wars". No specific religion is mentioned, they are all grouped together and treated dismissively as something negative. There is no God, only The Stream - a way animals communicate with each other. (And, apparently crickets talk about their memories of dinosaurs at night.)
Also, the author is so full of his big "liberating" ideas, that he doesn't bother with details. A million little impossibilites trip up the story. Like - since when was wrestling a sport that made you cool in high school? And, what public high school has the funds to provide troubled students with a full medical exam and intensive counceling after a first incident involving a new student? And how can a person simply claim a child (and enroll them in public school) without any government or foster care involvement. And, is it believable that a diplomat would freely disregard his own country's laws and obtain a fake passport as a favor to a friend? The list goes on and on ...
Had to read for book club, but couldn't force myself to read past page 126 when Lucy (the ape/human hybrid) begins making out with her high school friend Amanda.
The theme of the book seems to be that humans have no inherant dignity and are the exact same as apes, except that we are also evil. The only way to save the human race is to cross breed with peaceful and loving apes. Radical anti-war and pro-enviromental views expressed. You know, the type of people who would happily sign a dealth warrant for all humans to make the world "safe for nature".
Sexual lines are also blurred - using nature to "prove" we are also bi-sexual in our natural state and would be better off returning to the ways of the wild. Sex is just "mating" or enjoying anothers company and additional significance is silly and "unhealthy".
There are few references to religion, and then it is to mention "crazy fundimental religious zealots" who oppose science. And later religion is mentionsed as the "cause of wars". No specific religion is mentioned, they are all grouped together and treated dismissively as something negative. There is no God, only The Stream - a way animals communicate with each other. (And, apparently crickets talk about their memories of dinosaurs at night.)
Also, the author is so full of his big "liberating" ideas, that he doesn't bother with details. A million little impossibilites trip up the story. Like - since when was wrestling a sport that made you cool in high school? And, what public high school has the funds to provide troubled students with a full medical exam and intensive counceling after a first incident involving a new student? And how can a person simply claim a child (and enroll them in public school) without any government or foster care involvement. And, is it believable that a diplomat would freely disregard his own country's laws and obtain a fake passport as a favor to a friend? The list goes on and on ...
September 15, 2010
The back cover of this book touts "a daring biotechnical thriller in the tradition of Mary Shelley and Michael Crichton." This description is like buying a mislabeled can of vegetables at the grocery store: you chose a can of peas from the shelf; you are expecting to find peas inside; but you really have a can of corn instead. So, you eat the corn but later question where the peas went.
The only part of the original quote that holds true is the word "daring." The author has created a unique situation with Lucy, a hybrid human/bonobo mix. Lucy is incredibly smart, speaking six or seven languages. She has a complete high school education (and possibly beyond) at the age of fourteen. She has incredible physical strength and communes with nature and the animal world through The Stream. Lucy's very existence opens the question "what is human?" This, of course, brings in religion and the government, particularly the Patriot Act.
I still would have liked to have the peas in my can, but the corn was wasn't bad. Perhaps not as tasty as the peas, but still good.
The only part of the original quote that holds true is the word "daring." The author has created a unique situation with Lucy, a hybrid human/bonobo mix. Lucy is incredibly smart, speaking six or seven languages. She has a complete high school education (and possibly beyond) at the age of fourteen. She has incredible physical strength and communes with nature and the animal world through The Stream. Lucy's very existence opens the question "what is human?" This, of course, brings in religion and the government, particularly the Patriot Act.
I still would have liked to have the peas in my can, but the corn was wasn't bad. Perhaps not as tasty as the peas, but still good.
August 23, 2010
Lucy began as her father's experiment. He raised her in the jungle while giving her a strong British education. She was also raised by her mother who gave her an introduction to life as a bonobo. The rest of the story is about what happens after her parents are killed and she is rescued and taken to the U.S. by Jenny. First of all you must suspend reality to enjoy this book.
Clearly I loved this book. It is a good story, well written and just plain fun. From the beginning I knew everything was not going to turn out okay so I prepared myself for tragedy but it came in a different way than I expected. The way Jenny learns to love Lucy and becomes a mother to her is lovely to read. Lucy's friendship with Amanda gives me hope that there are good people out there who really care about something other than themselves. The same can be said for the Randalls who rescue the damsels in distress more than once.
I liked the sense of place wherever the story takes us. I so enjoyed seeing the world through Lucy's eyes as she tries to become an American teenager.
This book should be popular with teens and adults alike. It is light reading and goes fast. I was sorry when it was over, as I wanted to know much more. I hope it gets made into a movie. I am so sick of vampire movies, I think this would be far more heartfelt.
Clearly I loved this book. It is a good story, well written and just plain fun. From the beginning I knew everything was not going to turn out okay so I prepared myself for tragedy but it came in a different way than I expected. The way Jenny learns to love Lucy and becomes a mother to her is lovely to read. Lucy's friendship with Amanda gives me hope that there are good people out there who really care about something other than themselves. The same can be said for the Randalls who rescue the damsels in distress more than once.
I liked the sense of place wherever the story takes us. I so enjoyed seeing the world through Lucy's eyes as she tries to become an American teenager.
This book should be popular with teens and adults alike. It is light reading and goes fast. I was sorry when it was over, as I wanted to know much more. I hope it gets made into a movie. I am so sick of vampire movies, I think this would be far more heartfelt.
July 9, 2010
Entertainment Weekly gave this an A, so I thought I'd post my review. I read an ARC of this in April 2010.
As the killing and attacks heat up in a Congolese civil war, scientist Jenny Lowe (studying bonobos -- a type of chimpanzee) is forced to abandon her research post. Along the way, she stops by a fellow scientist's camp and discovers he is dead, but his teenage daughter is alive. The leave together and Jenny takes the girl, Lucy, home to Chicago with her until something can be sorted out. After a bit and through the dead scientists notebooks, we discover that Lucy is half ape, half human. (This isn't a spoiler, it's revealed pretty soon.)
I read about 200 pages and put it aside. It's an interesting concept and explores what it means to be human. (Bonobos share 98 percent of their genetic make up with humans.) After having grown up in the jungle, among her bonobo mother and half-siblings, Lucy has a lot to adjust to as she settles into suburban life. Sometimes the commentary feels heavy handed and as if it is coming from the author's political and philosophical leanings instead of coming about in a more authentic way. One character refers to the U.S. as a police state, and there are blows against the TSA, Twilight, the media, and evangelical Christians. Characters tend be be either all good or all evil. The writing is fine, but nothing special.
As the killing and attacks heat up in a Congolese civil war, scientist Jenny Lowe (studying bonobos -- a type of chimpanzee) is forced to abandon her research post. Along the way, she stops by a fellow scientist's camp and discovers he is dead, but his teenage daughter is alive. The leave together and Jenny takes the girl, Lucy, home to Chicago with her until something can be sorted out. After a bit and through the dead scientists notebooks, we discover that Lucy is half ape, half human. (This isn't a spoiler, it's revealed pretty soon.)
I read about 200 pages and put it aside. It's an interesting concept and explores what it means to be human. (Bonobos share 98 percent of their genetic make up with humans.) After having grown up in the jungle, among her bonobo mother and half-siblings, Lucy has a lot to adjust to as she settles into suburban life. Sometimes the commentary feels heavy handed and as if it is coming from the author's political and philosophical leanings instead of coming about in a more authentic way. One character refers to the U.S. as a police state, and there are blows against the TSA, Twilight, the media, and evangelical Christians. Characters tend be be either all good or all evil. The writing is fine, but nothing special.
April 9, 2015
I’m going to be at ComicCon this year (so will Wil Wheaton, George Takei, and Chris Ware, although they're not going to be, you know, with me), helping present a panel on Powerful Women: Now With Clothes. A mosey down my Goodreads list shows that lot of what I read does not contain women, powerful or otherwise, as main characters; the women characters I do read who kick serious ass (Cassie Maddox & Ursula Todd, right off the top of my head) are not necessarily sci-fi or fantasy characters; & the books that we’re discussing that I have read have already been claimed by Becker - so it seems I’ve got required reading to do this month.
One down, six to go.
I’m a big fan of Laurence Gonzales’s non-fiction stuff, but this isn't destined to be a favorite of mine. While his writing style works well when he’s drawing you into a spare, sparse description of some horrendous survival situation, I don’t think it lends itself as much to fiction. He tries, but it took me over half of the book to develop any feelings for Lucy or Jenny Lowe because they were so dry. Everyone gently teases Lucy about her overly proper way of speaking, but her stilted diction just made her feel flat to me. Amanda, though, had me at “Shit.” She’s my favorite character, Lucy’s faithful, world-weary teenage best friend, saying things like, “It’s this, like, Orwellian grope through all the political & sociological & ethical issues they could sweep out of the gutter.”
As an example of strong women characters, I suppose this works pretty well. It passes the Bechdel test. No one gets sexually assaulted in order to be brave. Amanda, with her alcoholic, non-present mother (who is conveniently out of the way for most of the book so Amanda can basically move in with the Lowes) is tough & no-nonsense, yet loyal & loving with her friend. Lucy is eventually captured by some creepy veterinarian who wants to experiment her; she weeps, but she’s also savvy enough to think of using her perceived weakness against her captors. She cries & is understandably terrified but she also admirably pulls herself together & uses her brain to get herself out of trouble. Jenny, her adoptive mother, is a scientist who has lived on her own in the war-torn Congo & tries to rescue others on her way out rather than wait to be rescued herself (disappointingly, though, I never really felt a connection between her & the bonobos she studied & ostensibly loved). She has a male friend who was a possible romantic interest at one time. She turns to him for help occasionally, but she doesn’t rely on him & she & Lucy & Amanda fend for themselves. Ruth Denton meets the Lowes at an airport when Lucy isn’t allowed on her flight unless she goes in the baggage compartment with the other animals. Her husband Luke is the secondary character in their relationship; near the end, as Lucy is saying goodbyes to everyone, she gives him a kiss & I thought, Why? What has he done? He just flies the plane. Ruth is the one who extends her invitation to the Lowe family & helps make the decisions about what they should do next.
I’ve got some issues (as usual) with little things. Amanda & Jenny figure out where Lucy’s been being kept prisoner because of the different ways chimps & bonobos kill – chimps bite, especially fingers & faces, while bonobos kick with their feet & break necks (in fact, I had to think about where I’d recently been reading gruesome anecdotes about chimps turning on people & biting parts of them off; it was in Surviving Survival, the last Gonzales book I read), yet when some guy tries to molest Lucy, she bites his fingers off. And pray tell, does it seem as unlikely to you as it does to me that a man who has spent his life doing humanitarian work in Africa, most recently caring for mutilated children in eastern Chad, would buy a diamond engagement ring? I mean, we all know where most of those stones come from, right? I scoffed at that. On the whole, while I don’t really want this book as my first choice for discussion, I’d suppose I’d feel comfortable talking about on the panel.
One down, six to go.
I’m a big fan of Laurence Gonzales’s non-fiction stuff, but this isn't destined to be a favorite of mine. While his writing style works well when he’s drawing you into a spare, sparse description of some horrendous survival situation, I don’t think it lends itself as much to fiction. He tries, but it took me over half of the book to develop any feelings for Lucy or Jenny Lowe because they were so dry. Everyone gently teases Lucy about her overly proper way of speaking, but her stilted diction just made her feel flat to me. Amanda, though, had me at “Shit.” She’s my favorite character, Lucy’s faithful, world-weary teenage best friend, saying things like, “It’s this, like, Orwellian grope through all the political & sociological & ethical issues they could sweep out of the gutter.”
As an example of strong women characters, I suppose this works pretty well. It passes the Bechdel test. No one gets sexually assaulted in order to be brave. Amanda, with her alcoholic, non-present mother (who is conveniently out of the way for most of the book so Amanda can basically move in with the Lowes) is tough & no-nonsense, yet loyal & loving with her friend. Lucy is eventually captured by some creepy veterinarian who wants to experiment her; she weeps, but she’s also savvy enough to think of using her perceived weakness against her captors. She cries & is understandably terrified but she also admirably pulls herself together & uses her brain to get herself out of trouble. Jenny, her adoptive mother, is a scientist who has lived on her own in the war-torn Congo & tries to rescue others on her way out rather than wait to be rescued herself (disappointingly, though, I never really felt a connection between her & the bonobos she studied & ostensibly loved). She has a male friend who was a possible romantic interest at one time. She turns to him for help occasionally, but she doesn’t rely on him & she & Lucy & Amanda fend for themselves. Ruth Denton meets the Lowes at an airport when Lucy isn’t allowed on her flight unless she goes in the baggage compartment with the other animals. Her husband Luke is the secondary character in their relationship; near the end, as Lucy is saying goodbyes to everyone, she gives him a kiss & I thought, Why? What has he done? He just flies the plane. Ruth is the one who extends her invitation to the Lowe family & helps make the decisions about what they should do next.
I’ve got some issues (as usual) with little things. Amanda & Jenny figure out where Lucy’s been being kept prisoner because of the different ways chimps & bonobos kill – chimps bite, especially fingers & faces, while bonobos kick with their feet & break necks (in fact, I had to think about where I’d recently been reading gruesome anecdotes about chimps turning on people & biting parts of them off; it was in Surviving Survival, the last Gonzales book I read), yet when some guy tries to molest Lucy, she bites his fingers off. And pray tell, does it seem as unlikely to you as it does to me that a man who has spent his life doing humanitarian work in Africa, most recently caring for mutilated children in eastern Chad, would buy a diamond engagement ring? I mean, we all know where most of those stones come from, right? I scoffed at that. On the whole, while I don’t really want this book as my first choice for discussion, I’d suppose I’d feel comfortable talking about on the panel.
February 10, 2012
A lot of people seem to want to compare Laurence Gonzales and his latest novel, Lucy, with the work of Michael Crichton. I can't imagine a bigger insult to Crichton's work. The concept of a new species made up of mixed monkey and human genes being created by a scientist who studies monkeys deep in the African jungle sounds like something Crichton would write, it kind of sounds like something Crichton DID write, but nothing else in this novel comes even close to or lives up to Crichton's literary standard. The characters are two dimensional and none of their choices make any sense. The plot is all over the place and isn't logical at all. Gonzales seems to want to make some kind of statement on society and how we treat things that are seen as different, but never got deeper then surface level with the issues.
My biggest problem with science fiction is how authors deal with the suspension of disbelief. I call it the "Independence Day Paradox" after the movie Independence Day which struggled mightily with this problem. Whenever someone picks up a science fiction book or turns on a science fiction TV show there is an implied suspension of disbelief on some level, but to what level is determined by how much of the world the story is set in is a creation of the author. J.R.R. Tolkien completely created the world his novels were set in so the audience has to completely suspend disbelief. Whatever Tolkien says is possible is possible because it's his creation. Independence Day, on the other hand, was set in our world, so even though there are aliens events have to comply with the rules of our world. So while the audience will suspend disbelief to the point that will allow aliens to exist, there is no reason to believe a regular human can out run an explosion or that an explosion won't effect a tiny room just because it's not part of the main tunnel.
Lucy is a major victim of the "Independence Day Paradox." While I was ready to suspend my disbelief enough to allow for a creature that was part monkey and part human and to allow for that creature to try to be excepted into society as a human, almost every other event and plot point bordered on ridiculous. I didn't believe any of the characters choices. I didn't believe anyone's reaction to the creature. I didn't believe the military's reaction at all. I couldn't help but find this novel to be just plain stupid and unbelievable.
I had high hopes for Lucy. I loved the concept and thought it had the potential to be a wonderful character and society study. Unfortunately, Gonzales didn't have the chops to pull it off and we are left with a vapid story that falls terrible short of the potential it suggests.
My biggest problem with science fiction is how authors deal with the suspension of disbelief. I call it the "Independence Day Paradox" after the movie Independence Day which struggled mightily with this problem. Whenever someone picks up a science fiction book or turns on a science fiction TV show there is an implied suspension of disbelief on some level, but to what level is determined by how much of the world the story is set in is a creation of the author. J.R.R. Tolkien completely created the world his novels were set in so the audience has to completely suspend disbelief. Whatever Tolkien says is possible is possible because it's his creation. Independence Day, on the other hand, was set in our world, so even though there are aliens events have to comply with the rules of our world. So while the audience will suspend disbelief to the point that will allow aliens to exist, there is no reason to believe a regular human can out run an explosion or that an explosion won't effect a tiny room just because it's not part of the main tunnel.
Lucy is a major victim of the "Independence Day Paradox." While I was ready to suspend my disbelief enough to allow for a creature that was part monkey and part human and to allow for that creature to try to be excepted into society as a human, almost every other event and plot point bordered on ridiculous. I didn't believe any of the characters choices. I didn't believe anyone's reaction to the creature. I didn't believe the military's reaction at all. I couldn't help but find this novel to be just plain stupid and unbelievable.
I had high hopes for Lucy. I loved the concept and thought it had the potential to be a wonderful character and society study. Unfortunately, Gonzales didn't have the chops to pull it off and we are left with a vapid story that falls terrible short of the potential it suggests.
February 27, 2011
I know a lot of reviewers on Amazon.com panned this novel. I still decided to go ahead with it based on the reviews on NPR last fall. Even with a master's degree in anthropology, I still enjoyed this novel. The gene-splicing technology is similar to that proposed for bringing back the Woolly Mammoth: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/sc... Whether or not science is there yet is another question altogether and I suspended my disbelief for the purpose of the novel.
I also suspended my disbelief that a hybrid would exhibit suprahuman intelligence. In human evolution (and its forks in the road), homo sapiens have the second-largest brain capacity at about 1200 ccs to a homo neanderthalensis' approx. 1400 ccs. We have far greater capacity for abstract thought, language, and tool-making than our great ape counterparts. No one, myself included, would contend that brain size is the only correlate to intelligence and humanness; we have physiology that makes our complex spoken language and tool-making possible but impossible for great apes. Yes, great apes have been shown to use tools, but experiments in teaching them to create tools on even an early-humanoid level haven't been promising. Again, because the science is outlined in a rather sketchy manner, even a reader well-versed in primate evolution can be allowed to suspend disbelief because I don't really know what Lucy's brain configuration looks like.
The real part of the novel is the ethical considerations. No one questioned that it was wrong to create a pan paniscus-homo sapiens hybrid, but we're left to grapple with the consequences and how things would play out in the media and legal arenas once knowledge escaped. Here, the one area I think Gonzales overlooked, would be the resulting explicit bans on similar gene-splicing experimentation.
I found the ultimate resolution to be a smart choice, if not somewhat predictable.
I also suspended my disbelief that a hybrid would exhibit suprahuman intelligence. In human evolution (and its forks in the road), homo sapiens have the second-largest brain capacity at about 1200 ccs to a homo neanderthalensis' approx. 1400 ccs. We have far greater capacity for abstract thought, language, and tool-making than our great ape counterparts. No one, myself included, would contend that brain size is the only correlate to intelligence and humanness; we have physiology that makes our complex spoken language and tool-making possible but impossible for great apes. Yes, great apes have been shown to use tools, but experiments in teaching them to create tools on even an early-humanoid level haven't been promising. Again, because the science is outlined in a rather sketchy manner, even a reader well-versed in primate evolution can be allowed to suspend disbelief because I don't really know what Lucy's brain configuration looks like.
The real part of the novel is the ethical considerations. No one questioned that it was wrong to create a pan paniscus-homo sapiens hybrid, but we're left to grapple with the consequences and how things would play out in the media and legal arenas once knowledge escaped. Here, the one area I think Gonzales overlooked, would be the resulting explicit bans on similar gene-splicing experimentation.
I found the ultimate resolution to be a smart choice, if not somewhat predictable.
May 4, 2012
Although this book defimitely had an interesting plot, I felt myself being pushed away by Gonzales in pretty much every line. I read this book for a college class just this semester & I really did want to like it because the plot was so different from what I've read before. But that just didn't happen. This book is obviously anti-christrian, I may not be a firm believer in God, but even I found myself being frustrated by the repeating "hypocritical christian" characters. I also thought that a lot of the sexual content/descriptions were kind of unnecessary. I feel like I hear about Lucy's breasts about 10 times. Once would have sufficed to explain just how different she is. The ending, which i was actually looking forward to getting to, made no sense & just left me absoulutely perplexed. & not in the good way. It left no deep message for the reader to decipher, and most certainly not a direct one. Lucy is not a favourite for me but I will give it that second star for the interesting idea.
June 23, 2014
i read this as a library ebook, and hadn't read the description. nevertheless, i knew within a few pages what the "big reveal" was going to be, and while I know this is my personal issue (i hate spoilers) i feel like... if it's going to be a shock, make it a REAL shock, or conversely, make it known to the reader and simply allow us to enjoy the shock of the character instead.
It was engaging and fast-moving, but that's about all I can say for it.
(so, you know, spoilers ahead.)
ANYWAY. after from that opening, which felt a little schlocky to me, the rest of the book felt like a series of cliches and stereotypes... one after the other. The religious zealot waving signs with biblical verses who wants Lucy dead because she threatens the concept of creationism. the politicians who want to use Lucy to forward a personal agenda. the military researchers whose abysmal treatment of Lucy brings out the anti-vivisectionist lurking in all of us. the wife of the wealthy department store magnate who... wait, what was THAT about again? and why did we have to hear time and time again how this woman just *married* into the money, and had nothing to do with *working* for her fortune? ... but really, it was the "noble savage" trope of half-human Lucy going off to live on an American Indian reservation that made me just want to throw the book across the room.
It was engaging and fast-moving, but that's about all I can say for it.
(so, you know, spoilers ahead.)
ANYWAY. after from that opening, which felt a little schlocky to me, the rest of the book felt like a series of cliches and stereotypes... one after the other. The religious zealot waving signs with biblical verses who wants Lucy dead because she threatens the concept of creationism. the politicians who want to use Lucy to forward a personal agenda. the military researchers whose abysmal treatment of Lucy brings out the anti-vivisectionist lurking in all of us. the wife of the wealthy department store magnate who... wait, what was THAT about again? and why did we have to hear time and time again how this woman just *married* into the money, and had nothing to do with *working* for her fortune? ... but really, it was the "noble savage" trope of half-human Lucy going off to live on an American Indian reservation that made me just want to throw the book across the room.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 14, 2010
I thought this book was AMAZING. It had great detail, it actually seemed realistic, and it was thought-provoking.
Lucy is a sci-fi book about a half-human, half-monkey girl named Lucy. When Lucy;s father is killed in the Congo, Jenny Lowe (a primatologist) adopts her, and takes Lucy to live with her in Chicago. She soon learns that Lucy is part bonobo (a type of monkey), and she loves her even more because of that.
But when the world find out Lucy's secret, some people (Christian fundamentalists, wink wink) start hating her and saying she is not a human, this becomes a problem for Lucy, and she struggles to live in a world where some people hate her, while others are sympathetic.
This book brought up a lot of moral and ethical questions, like, what does it mean to be human? What makes up a human being?
All in all, this book was FANTASTIC. It was one of my favorite books in a while, and it was just, great. I highly recommend it.
Lucy is a sci-fi book about a half-human, half-monkey girl named Lucy. When Lucy;s father is killed in the Congo, Jenny Lowe (a primatologist) adopts her, and takes Lucy to live with her in Chicago. She soon learns that Lucy is part bonobo (a type of monkey), and she loves her even more because of that.
But when the world find out Lucy's secret, some people (Christian fundamentalists, wink wink) start hating her and saying she is not a human, this becomes a problem for Lucy, and she struggles to live in a world where some people hate her, while others are sympathetic.
This book brought up a lot of moral and ethical questions, like, what does it mean to be human? What makes up a human being?
All in all, this book was FANTASTIC. It was one of my favorite books in a while, and it was just, great. I highly recommend it.
September 22, 2011
This book is unrealistic to some extent, but Laurence Gonzales makes Lucy feel real and alive. I loved this book so much, it had almost all of the elements that are in a great book; great plot, characters, lessons and the book is very emotional too. I loved how Laurence Gonzales used the concept of a hybrid human in our world and for her to try to fit in. I found this book very realistic and exiting. I especially fascinated when Lucy came out of the airplane in NYC and there we people supporting her and against her. It made me feel bad for her and that I wished I could do something for her. One of my favorite aspects of this book are the characters in it. From Jenny to Amanda, to the protesters and the religious crazies I loved and felt every character in the book.The truth is that Laurence Gonzales did an amazing job crafting this book into a masterpiece of words and that this is one of the best books i have ever read.
July 9, 2014
I was fascinated by the premise of this book.
It's about a child who's a species hybrid...half Bonobo and half chimpanzee.
At first I wasn't sure if I liked the writing. The two teens in the book sounded too mature to me...as if the author was speaking through the characters. But after awhile I was okay with it. I no longer saw the teens as being poorly written by an author who doesn't understand teens. Instead I saw them as teens who are above the ordinary. The two teens in the story are not your typical teenagers. And I became okay with it.
The book reminds me a bit of E.T. in that there are good people protecting the unusual entity from forces that might want to harm it.
E.T had Elliot. Lucy the Bonobo-human has Amanda.
I thought it was a good story dealing with a variety of ethical issues.
It's about a child who's a species hybrid...half Bonobo and half chimpanzee.
At first I wasn't sure if I liked the writing. The two teens in the book sounded too mature to me...as if the author was speaking through the characters. But after awhile I was okay with it. I no longer saw the teens as being poorly written by an author who doesn't understand teens. Instead I saw them as teens who are above the ordinary. The two teens in the story are not your typical teenagers. And I became okay with it.
The book reminds me a bit of E.T. in that there are good people protecting the unusual entity from forces that might want to harm it.
E.T had Elliot. Lucy the Bonobo-human has Amanda.
I thought it was a good story dealing with a variety of ethical issues.
August 6, 2010
One of the rare adult books that sneaks into my pile... the book is like the lovechild of Tarzan and Crichton with a little of the movie Project X (with Matthew Broderick and the chimps)...
This book made me angry... but that's a good thing... I can see some of the criticisms that have been leveled at it... it does tend to oversimplify and puts the US Government as a heavy...
So why 5 stars... the book just was entertaining, thought provoking and a good solid read... was it perfect, no? But I would definitely recommend it to a book club...
Get to the end and it has a satisfying conclusion... but the road there is full of painful bumps! I enjoyed this book, and it is sad how many elements of it reflect our real world and dare I say even elements of our country at times...
This book made me angry... but that's a good thing... I can see some of the criticisms that have been leveled at it... it does tend to oversimplify and puts the US Government as a heavy...
So why 5 stars... the book just was entertaining, thought provoking and a good solid read... was it perfect, no? But I would definitely recommend it to a book club...
Get to the end and it has a satisfying conclusion... but the road there is full of painful bumps! I enjoyed this book, and it is sad how many elements of it reflect our real world and dare I say even elements of our country at times...
August 16, 2010
When the dust jacket proclaims a book is a “daring biotechnical thriller in the tradition of Mary Shelley and Michael Crichton” and then the actual science in the book amounts to about two badly written paragraphs, you know you’re in trouble. This is a dismal, prejudiced, poorly written thriller that pretends to be in love with science and nature when all it is really in love with is trying to convince the reader that all Christians are evil and all Americans are stupid and/or corrupt. In fact, the only good Christians and Americans, the author points out (repeatedly), are those that are truly ashamed of being Christians and Americans. You know what I’m ashamed of? Wasting my time on this stupid so-called novel. Complete and utter trash.
January 2, 2013
From my perspective, this is the best science fiction I've read in a while. It takes place in contemporary America, but it deals with an experiment that is currently feasible. Science fiction is about extrapolation. I found it believable. I loved the central character and the alternative family that grew around her. I really should read more about the great apes and progress made with teaching them sign language.
July 26, 2010
Lucy is a rather inelegant vehicle for Gonzales' politics re: the environment, science, animal testing and other various icky issues. What he lacks in subtlety, he makes up for with an almost eager Grindhouse style: cheesy dialogue, predictability and lots of Native American spirituality. Oh, and if you still arent convinced, Lucy reads Twilight.
March 4, 2012
http://em-and-emm.blogspot.com/2012/0...
Lucy opens in the Congo, where primatologist Jenny Lowe is studying bonobos (a cousin of the chimpanzee, and one of humanity's closest relatives). When Jenny is forced to flee from the Congo as the civil war reaches her study site in the jungle, she finds that another primate researcher has been murdered. Her colleague leaves behind a 14-year-old daughter, Lucy, and Jenny feels obligated to take Lucy with her as she flees the country. Jenny takes Lucy to Chicago with her, and when it becomes clear that Lucy has no living family, Jenny adopts her as her own daughter. When reading through Lucy's father's notes, it becomes clear that Lucy is the product of a strange experiment: she is half human, half bonobo. Because Lucy appears to be completely human, and is more intelligent and articulate than most humans, Jenny tries to enroll her in school. As Lucy begins to settle in to her new life, her secret inevitably gets out, and Lucy becomes an overnight celebrity. Lucy's new public presence sparks a debate about what it means to be human, and could threaten her life and the lives of everyone she loves.
I'll start out with the science question. A fair number of other reviews of this book complain about the implausibility of creating a viable child using human sperm and a bonobo ovum (artificial insemination... the author works hard to make this part as scientific and not-gross as possible). I don't know a lot about genetics and biology, but I do know that bonobos and chimps are our closest relatives among the apes, so it didn't seem entirely absurd to me. Also, I do know that there aren't giant space worms that poop out magic stuff that helps space-people navigate across the cosmos, and I know that you can't create a dinosaur from a fossilized mosquito, and I know that the Earth is not going to be destroyed to make way for an inter-stellar bypass, but these things did not stop me from enjoying any of those books, so... whatever.
In Lucy, Laurence Gonzales has written the sort of book where the reader is compelled to read it until the end, in one single sitting. The main characters are all so sympathetic that it's impossible to put the book down. That is probably the biggest strength of this book; it's impossible for the reader to stop rooting for Lucy, and the other main characters are all likeable enough in their own right to bring out even more of the reader's concern. Lucy herself is undeniably a person, despite her unusual genealogy, and Gonzales goes out of his way to present her as an otherwise normal teenage girl, who just want to fit in and make friends. The intense likability of the characters really adds to the emotional impact of the book.
Lucy is also undeniably a book with a Point: the question "what is a human?" never leaves the reader's mind, and immediately after Lucy goes public with her story, we immediately get the inevitable wave of extremists who want Lucy immediately killed for being an abomination against Christ. The comparisons between so-called "human" behavior with the behavior of bonobos and chimpanzees are also frequent. Lucy herself points out several times that she did not ask to be made, she did not ask to be different, so why does this mean that she gets different/fewer rights from the "real" humans? These kinds of questions are likely to invoke a strong reaction in a lot of readers, so this book is bound to be a very affecting book (regardless of where you fall on the question of Lucy's humanity). It is definitely a thought-provoking book, with enough humor and drama and action thrown in to keep it interesting and engaging.
I have two complaints about Lucy. My first complaint is that the pacing of the book is very uneven. Only 20 pages in, and Lucy and Jenny have already survived the Congalese civil war and have arrived at Jenny's house in suburban Chicago. We spend a long time learning about Lucy's first few days in Chicago (also her first days away from the remote jungle), but nearly the entirety of Lucy's first year of high school passes in a few pages. In an interview, the author said that this book initially started out as a screenplay, which is very clear in the book's pacing. It's very well set up for scene breaks and the dialog and speeches are short and eloquent, making them perfect for the screen. Unfortunately as a reader, I would have liked to have about 200 more pages in the book.
My second (larger) complaint is that this book is somewhat lacking in subtlety. This might be partially due to the book's short length, but the book's characters and the book's message are both very straightforward. The immediate likability of Lucy, Jenny, and their friends works well while the reader is still reading the book, but after finishing it, the characters sort of look a little too perfect, in retrospect. None of Lucy's immediate friends react at all badly to finding out that she's half bonobo. I don't know about anyone else, but I am pretty sure I'd have at least a brief moment of shocked horror upon finding out that one of my best friends was half ape. I like to think I'd get over it, but I'm not sure I'd be so immediately accepting of it as everyone around Lucy. This could be because Lucy is so freaking lovable... she looks human, she's sweet, she's amazingly intelligent, so how could anyone not immediately accept her? Gonzales also beats us over the head with Lucy's humanity... her socializing with her peers, her love of Shakespeare, etc. Lucy's animal traits are also pretty much as ideal as possible... she's not at all savage, and her most animal-like traits are her superior strength and agility, her superior senses, and her ability to communicate with animals. Of course, there's also the villains... the obvious senator who writes a bill to define Lucy as an animal, or the Christian fundamentalists who want Lucy immediately destroyed because she's an abomination and not a person. I would complain that these characters are far too much like cartoonish caricatures, but the truth is, they do a pretty good job of making themselves seem like cartoonish caricatures in real life. Still, it would have been nice to see more bad guys with some more nuance.
This is not to say that the book is flat... not at all. It's a very engaging read, and it left me with a lot to think about. It's an emotionally profound book, that will make most readers feel the characters' joy and fear and sorrow very acutely. There are plenty of moments of interesting insight, like when Lucy looks at a researcher and thinks "she was looking at the bland, indifferent, earnest face of true evil" (240). I'm sure the author would have a lot of interesting things to say about civil rights issues involving transgender people, or any other people who were born different and have had their civil rights diminished for it.
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy Crichton-esque books, or anyone with an interest in civil rights in America, or anyone who enjoys books like Frankenstein. I might not recommend this book to anyone who's a religious fundamentalist... it might offend them. But, then again, they might learn something from it... so, yeah, recommended for anyone who doesn't require their books to be subtle and nuanced, but enjoy a good thought-provoking story with a moral behind it.
Lucy opens in the Congo, where primatologist Jenny Lowe is studying bonobos (a cousin of the chimpanzee, and one of humanity's closest relatives). When Jenny is forced to flee from the Congo as the civil war reaches her study site in the jungle, she finds that another primate researcher has been murdered. Her colleague leaves behind a 14-year-old daughter, Lucy, and Jenny feels obligated to take Lucy with her as she flees the country. Jenny takes Lucy to Chicago with her, and when it becomes clear that Lucy has no living family, Jenny adopts her as her own daughter. When reading through Lucy's father's notes, it becomes clear that Lucy is the product of a strange experiment: she is half human, half bonobo. Because Lucy appears to be completely human, and is more intelligent and articulate than most humans, Jenny tries to enroll her in school. As Lucy begins to settle in to her new life, her secret inevitably gets out, and Lucy becomes an overnight celebrity. Lucy's new public presence sparks a debate about what it means to be human, and could threaten her life and the lives of everyone she loves.
I'll start out with the science question. A fair number of other reviews of this book complain about the implausibility of creating a viable child using human sperm and a bonobo ovum (artificial insemination... the author works hard to make this part as scientific and not-gross as possible). I don't know a lot about genetics and biology, but I do know that bonobos and chimps are our closest relatives among the apes, so it didn't seem entirely absurd to me. Also, I do know that there aren't giant space worms that poop out magic stuff that helps space-people navigate across the cosmos, and I know that you can't create a dinosaur from a fossilized mosquito, and I know that the Earth is not going to be destroyed to make way for an inter-stellar bypass, but these things did not stop me from enjoying any of those books, so... whatever.
In Lucy, Laurence Gonzales has written the sort of book where the reader is compelled to read it until the end, in one single sitting. The main characters are all so sympathetic that it's impossible to put the book down. That is probably the biggest strength of this book; it's impossible for the reader to stop rooting for Lucy, and the other main characters are all likeable enough in their own right to bring out even more of the reader's concern. Lucy herself is undeniably a person, despite her unusual genealogy, and Gonzales goes out of his way to present her as an otherwise normal teenage girl, who just want to fit in and make friends. The intense likability of the characters really adds to the emotional impact of the book.
Lucy is also undeniably a book with a Point: the question "what is a human?" never leaves the reader's mind, and immediately after Lucy goes public with her story, we immediately get the inevitable wave of extremists who want Lucy immediately killed for being an abomination against Christ. The comparisons between so-called "human" behavior with the behavior of bonobos and chimpanzees are also frequent. Lucy herself points out several times that she did not ask to be made, she did not ask to be different, so why does this mean that she gets different/fewer rights from the "real" humans? These kinds of questions are likely to invoke a strong reaction in a lot of readers, so this book is bound to be a very affecting book (regardless of where you fall on the question of Lucy's humanity). It is definitely a thought-provoking book, with enough humor and drama and action thrown in to keep it interesting and engaging.
I have two complaints about Lucy. My first complaint is that the pacing of the book is very uneven. Only 20 pages in, and Lucy and Jenny have already survived the Congalese civil war and have arrived at Jenny's house in suburban Chicago. We spend a long time learning about Lucy's first few days in Chicago (also her first days away from the remote jungle), but nearly the entirety of Lucy's first year of high school passes in a few pages. In an interview, the author said that this book initially started out as a screenplay, which is very clear in the book's pacing. It's very well set up for scene breaks and the dialog and speeches are short and eloquent, making them perfect for the screen. Unfortunately as a reader, I would have liked to have about 200 more pages in the book.
My second (larger) complaint is that this book is somewhat lacking in subtlety. This might be partially due to the book's short length, but the book's characters and the book's message are both very straightforward. The immediate likability of Lucy, Jenny, and their friends works well while the reader is still reading the book, but after finishing it, the characters sort of look a little too perfect, in retrospect. None of Lucy's immediate friends react at all badly to finding out that she's half bonobo. I don't know about anyone else, but I am pretty sure I'd have at least a brief moment of shocked horror upon finding out that one of my best friends was half ape. I like to think I'd get over it, but I'm not sure I'd be so immediately accepting of it as everyone around Lucy. This could be because Lucy is so freaking lovable... she looks human, she's sweet, she's amazingly intelligent, so how could anyone not immediately accept her? Gonzales also beats us over the head with Lucy's humanity... her socializing with her peers, her love of Shakespeare, etc. Lucy's animal traits are also pretty much as ideal as possible... she's not at all savage, and her most animal-like traits are her superior strength and agility, her superior senses, and her ability to communicate with animals. Of course, there's also the villains... the obvious senator who writes a bill to define Lucy as an animal, or the Christian fundamentalists who want Lucy immediately destroyed because she's an abomination and not a person. I would complain that these characters are far too much like cartoonish caricatures, but the truth is, they do a pretty good job of making themselves seem like cartoonish caricatures in real life. Still, it would have been nice to see more bad guys with some more nuance.
This is not to say that the book is flat... not at all. It's a very engaging read, and it left me with a lot to think about. It's an emotionally profound book, that will make most readers feel the characters' joy and fear and sorrow very acutely. There are plenty of moments of interesting insight, like when Lucy looks at a researcher and thinks "she was looking at the bland, indifferent, earnest face of true evil" (240). I'm sure the author would have a lot of interesting things to say about civil rights issues involving transgender people, or any other people who were born different and have had their civil rights diminished for it.
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy Crichton-esque books, or anyone with an interest in civil rights in America, or anyone who enjoys books like Frankenstein. I might not recommend this book to anyone who's a religious fundamentalist... it might offend them. But, then again, they might learn something from it... so, yeah, recommended for anyone who doesn't require their books to be subtle and nuanced, but enjoy a good thought-provoking story with a moral behind it.
May 24, 2017
In some ways this was a really fascinating book--the premise being that a girl is born with a human father and a bonobo mother. This melding of genes creates an incredibly unique being, but is she human or ape? How does our world reconcile the existence of such a being? What are her rights?
This book is dealing with a really complex situation. I don't think author Gonzales quite captured the reality of the situation (i.e., what might actually happen if this occurred in real life). I felt like everything was kind of touched on, but not explored as realistically as possible. The biggest issue I had with the book was the dialogue, which just came off many times as very stilted and not natural. I kind of felt like this was a book written by a scientist who was trying to instill some heart into his book, but couldn't really give them the true depth of character.
With that said, the book generally held my attention, and I was pretty invested in finding out Lucy's ultimate outcome.
This book is dealing with a really complex situation. I don't think author Gonzales quite captured the reality of the situation (i.e., what might actually happen if this occurred in real life). I felt like everything was kind of touched on, but not explored as realistically as possible. The biggest issue I had with the book was the dialogue, which just came off many times as very stilted and not natural. I kind of felt like this was a book written by a scientist who was trying to instill some heart into his book, but couldn't really give them the true depth of character.
With that said, the book generally held my attention, and I was pretty invested in finding out Lucy's ultimate outcome.
August 22, 2023
Rating this one is hard, so I'm rounding up to three from two and a half stars. Parts of this felt very cheesy and hard to take seriously - the premise alone is pretty ridiculous - but there were some interrogations of what, exactly, it means to be human that I thought were well-done.
January 30, 2020
The science in this novel is fiction. But what is so scary is that the rest of the action may be so real.
Thought provoking.
Thought provoking.
September 10, 2014
No. Just no.
I made the mistake of borrowing this book from the library without reading its description (I borrow books on my Kindle, so it's simple to do so without reading anything about it beforehand). It had decent ratings, so I thought I would go ahead and try it out. Mistake.
The premise could be interesting, especially everything dealing with the ethical issues presented. In fact, I would be interested to read more serious works about ethical issues involving animals and animal rights. However, it wasn't executed well, since all of these topics were put on the back burner in favor of a juvenile coming-of-age story.
In a lot of ways, this does read as a typical coming-of-age story, as stated above, but with a big twist. I won't go into what the twist is, so as not to ruin it for any potential readers, but it does become obvious pretty quickly into the story. The main character, Lucy, is a teenage girl trying to assimilate into a normal existence in the U.S., and this story talks about the issues she faces in trying to fit in. She is abnormal in a lot of ways, but her beauty is spoken about over and over again, as is her superior intelligence and athleticism. The author puts a lot of effort into presenting her as a wonderful, near perfect, beautiful, special, etc etc etc person. It becomes a bit much.
As the story progresses, a lot of crazy, and completely unbelievable, things occur, but despite these advances in the story, it still seems to drag. By the time I realized how much I disliked the book, I was already over halfway through it, so I decided to finish it, in the hopes that it would get better. It didn't.
The ending of the story is a big letdown, and I could see the possibility of this becoming a series. Or a movie. Or a TV show. I will avoid any and all of those things based off of this. The ending reminded me a bit of how the "Twilight" series ended, and for anyone who knows me and my taste in literature, I hated that series.
I could see a pre-teen reader enjoying this, especially if they like the popular YA series along the lines of "Twilight". I would never recommend it to anyone though, especially not those who dislike such books.
I made the mistake of borrowing this book from the library without reading its description (I borrow books on my Kindle, so it's simple to do so without reading anything about it beforehand). It had decent ratings, so I thought I would go ahead and try it out. Mistake.
The premise could be interesting, especially everything dealing with the ethical issues presented. In fact, I would be interested to read more serious works about ethical issues involving animals and animal rights. However, it wasn't executed well, since all of these topics were put on the back burner in favor of a juvenile coming-of-age story.
In a lot of ways, this does read as a typical coming-of-age story, as stated above, but with a big twist. I won't go into what the twist is, so as not to ruin it for any potential readers, but it does become obvious pretty quickly into the story. The main character, Lucy, is a teenage girl trying to assimilate into a normal existence in the U.S., and this story talks about the issues she faces in trying to fit in. She is abnormal in a lot of ways, but her beauty is spoken about over and over again, as is her superior intelligence and athleticism. The author puts a lot of effort into presenting her as a wonderful, near perfect, beautiful, special, etc etc etc person. It becomes a bit much.
As the story progresses, a lot of crazy, and completely unbelievable, things occur, but despite these advances in the story, it still seems to drag. By the time I realized how much I disliked the book, I was already over halfway through it, so I decided to finish it, in the hopes that it would get better. It didn't.
The ending of the story is a big letdown, and I could see the possibility of this becoming a series. Or a movie. Or a TV show. I will avoid any and all of those things based off of this. The ending reminded me a bit of how the "Twilight" series ended, and for anyone who knows me and my taste in literature, I hated that series.
I could see a pre-teen reader enjoying this, especially if they like the popular YA series along the lines of "Twilight". I would never recommend it to anyone though, especially not those who dislike such books.
August 8, 2010
I took a chance on this one. My first thought upon finding this was "A half human, half ape girl? I don't know about this.." But my curiosity was picqued enough that when I found it at my local library, I decided... "What the heck.. it's here already and doesn't require an ILL request.."
It was surprisingly good and had me on the edge of my seat. (Obviously! I devoured it a day!) Lucy is the result of a scientist that has lived 25 years in the Congo jungle studying bonobos. The scientist artificially inseminated a female bonobo with faint human genes (also of his creation) with his own seed and raised Lucy as both human and bonobos for 14 years. Lucy and her father's peaceful if strange jungle existence comes to an abrupt halt when civil war breaks out tho. Her entire family is dead and a fellow scientist, Jenny rescues her with no knowledge of Lucy's unique DNA.
Jenny takes Lucy to home with her to Chicago but the secret eventually comes out. When Jenny discovers she is adopting an ape girl, she vows to protect Lucy at all costs. Don't make promises you cannot keep!! Due to medical issues, Lucy's secret is discovered.
Soon everyone wants Lucy. The religious fanatics want her. The US government wants her. Scientists want her. The Nazis even want her. And most of them want her dead. With her posting her entire life on Youtube and showing up on Oprah and Good Morning America, it's only a matter of time before Lucy is captured by one of those groups. Will she get away? There's bound to bloodshed, but whose? And when it comes down to it, is Lucy more human or more ape?
I laughed when Lucy tosses a boy across the wrestling mat and chuckled when she watches YouTube and thinks of how drunk girls act like bonobos. I found the book rather insightful as well. It's an interesting look at human behavior from a non human POV. Makes you think.
Four stars because I thought Lucy's friend, Amanda needed to get her own life. I found her constant involvement in everything weird.
It was surprisingly good and had me on the edge of my seat. (Obviously! I devoured it a day!) Lucy is the result of a scientist that has lived 25 years in the Congo jungle studying bonobos. The scientist artificially inseminated a female bonobo with faint human genes (also of his creation) with his own seed and raised Lucy as both human and bonobos for 14 years. Lucy and her father's peaceful if strange jungle existence comes to an abrupt halt when civil war breaks out tho. Her entire family is dead and a fellow scientist, Jenny rescues her with no knowledge of Lucy's unique DNA.
Jenny takes Lucy to home with her to Chicago but the secret eventually comes out. When Jenny discovers she is adopting an ape girl, she vows to protect Lucy at all costs. Don't make promises you cannot keep!! Due to medical issues, Lucy's secret is discovered.
Soon everyone wants Lucy. The religious fanatics want her. The US government wants her. Scientists want her. The Nazis even want her. And most of them want her dead. With her posting her entire life on Youtube and showing up on Oprah and Good Morning America, it's only a matter of time before Lucy is captured by one of those groups. Will she get away? There's bound to bloodshed, but whose? And when it comes down to it, is Lucy more human or more ape?
I laughed when Lucy tosses a boy across the wrestling mat and chuckled when she watches YouTube and thinks of how drunk girls act like bonobos. I found the book rather insightful as well. It's an interesting look at human behavior from a non human POV. Makes you think.
Four stars because I thought Lucy's friend, Amanda needed to get her own life. I found her constant involvement in everything weird.
October 11, 2010
I have a very bad habit. Okay I have several but this one is becoming rather painful for me; I pretty much insist on finishing a book once I've started it. It's the literary equivalent of forcing myself to eat lima beans as a child because somewhere out there is some poor hungry child that would love to have them. So for that poor literature starved soul out there, maybe; everyone else ...
What should have been a great exploration of important philisophical and ethical issues; what makes us human, etc. started to feel like a treatment for a Disney straight to DVD feature. Either Mr. Gonzales wasn't clear on who his audience was or he had no real faith in the reading public.
Why two stars instead of one? I'm kinda looking forward to the sequel, you know, when Jane and Tarzan's kid meets Lucy's child and together they save the all the ...
What should have been a great exploration of important philisophical and ethical issues; what makes us human, etc. started to feel like a treatment for a Disney straight to DVD feature. Either Mr. Gonzales wasn't clear on who his audience was or he had no real faith in the reading public.
Why two stars instead of one? I'm kinda looking forward to the sequel, you know, when Jane and Tarzan's kid meets Lucy's child and together they save the all the ...
October 11, 2014
I picked up the audio (9CDs) at the library to have something to keep me "alert" for a road trip. The first part of the story had me captivated. It was very suspenseful, but at the same time, I was keenly aware that the author seemed to have some weird agenda, and some of it was just plain stupid, so I continued to stay tuned once I was home, with some reservation. At about the third disc I became very disinterested. Every time I thought something exciting was going to happen, I was let down, because noting happened. I picked up the case to read the back again, thinking I misread the description. The "electrifying-adventure" fizzles out early on and fails to spark anything "memorable." I stopped listening and started looking up reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, which confirmed my suspicions: that I didn't need to waste anymore time on this drivel.
November 10, 2010
After reading this book, I understand the meaning of the word crap. This story of a human/bonobo hybrid would have been more interesting if the author could have put a check on his mouth-foaming hatred of evangelical Christianity and Republican politics. But his emotions prevented him from an intelligent exploration of the implications of human/animal breeding. The writing style is also crap.
I do wonder if this hybrid is possible and if it has ever been tried. Such a thing would bring up practical and philosophical questions. In this novel, however, the girl Lucy is so patently human that the idea of treating her as anything else is unthinkable. I will have to re-read Green Mansions to see if this a 21st century version.
I do wonder if this hybrid is possible and if it has ever been tried. Such a thing would bring up practical and philosophical questions. In this novel, however, the girl Lucy is so patently human that the idea of treating her as anything else is unthinkable. I will have to re-read Green Mansions to see if this a 21st century version.
December 15, 2016
Yes, I have a Ph.D. in genetics. I should have been wary about a book where one of the characters is a human-ape hybrid. I kept an open mind. After all, the author did show knowledge of the particulars of the Animal Welfare Act. But, chromosomal insertion done in a hut powered by a generator in the middle of the Congolese jungle. Hmmm, no. It is as far-fetched as the gas chromatography in the middle of the Amazon in the Sean Connery movie, "Medicine Man". Then there were also plot points where I was yelling "NO, tell them this....." Ugh. If you have no or little knowledge of genetics and inheritance, you may enjoy this book. Just remember, this is fiction. "Jurassic Park" had more basis in science fact.
August 8, 2010
This is a novel about a half-human, half-bonobo girl that purports to teach us about "what it means to be human"--so you can tell how subtle it's going to be, i.e. not at all. There are several points that are genuinely suspenseful, but the story feels unstructured and the lack of subplots makes it feel even more simplistic. Several sections dealing with societies that are perceived as more in-tune with nature are facile to the edge of being offensive. It's readable enough while you're hoping that it goes somewhere, but a disappointment when you get to the end and realize there are no hidden insights or subtleties waiting there.
August 23, 2010
M'eh. I was hoping for more gene-splicing science or at least some interesting studies on the bonobos and how a hybrid would come to be and perhaps thrive. What I got instead was the author's/narrator's view of the human sociological/political/moral condition and it was pretty condescending and in some parts, even a little intellectually insulting. It was kind of a spaghetti western style of good guys in white and bad guys in black with a little ET thrown in for good measure. You know the government is bad and they'll take you away in masked suits and perform experiments on you.
September 9, 2010
I was excited to read this book. It was recommended on NPR and elsewhere. I made it about 2/3's the way through and I just couldn't take it anymore. The dialouge was awful especially between Lucy and Amanda. it stereotyped teenage talk in a way that was so fake/contrived/whatever that I cringed. The concept of the book is interesting but was not developed well here. Too bad...there is a lot to say on this subject and how society's reaction to such a creation would be a reflection on our culture.
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