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crizzle's review
2.0
Well that was an even more awkward Thanksgiving scene than the one in Such a Fun Age. YIKES.
I first heard about this book on NPR (Fresh Air, I think?) and I have this thing with books about humans raising chimpanzees. It started about a decade ago with “We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves”, then the nonfiction “Next of Kin” (AMAZING BOOK!!!) and others I’ve had sitting on my to-read but have never come across in real life yet.
This one… was not so fun. I am not giving it a low rating because she’s a bad writer; she did a great job. It was just a bummer of a book, not to mention disgusting. First of all, the chimp Charlie was SO unloveable. He was a JERK. But the way in which he was described makes you nauseous. Do not read this book while eating - does not pair well. You have almost a visceral response, almost smelling his putrid ape stench and hot, sour breath. So gross.
Second: This mom is a piece of work. Whoa.
Third: The entire Callie (little sister) story line was the saddest part of the whole book. It was so painful to watch her life and all of her close relationships, especially with her sister, disintegrate. We got a very unsatisfactory epilogue. Girlfriend needs to see a therapist.
Anyway, this was cringe-worthy the entire way through and also kinda eerie/creepy. The back cover says something about “humor” and I wonder what is wrong with that reviewer.
I first heard about this book on NPR (Fresh Air, I think?) and I have this thing with books about humans raising chimpanzees. It started about a decade ago with “We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves”, then the nonfiction “Next of Kin” (AMAZING BOOK!!!) and others I’ve had sitting on my to-read but have never come across in real life yet.
This one… was not so fun. I am not giving it a low rating because she’s a bad writer; she did a great job. It was just a bummer of a book, not to mention disgusting. First of all, the chimp Charlie was SO unloveable. He was a JERK. But the way in which he was described makes you nauseous. Do not read this book while eating - does not pair well. You have almost a visceral response, almost smelling his putrid ape stench and hot, sour breath. So gross.
Second: This mom is a piece of work. Whoa.
Third: The entire Callie (little sister) story line was the saddest part of the whole book. It was so painful to watch her life and all of her close relationships, especially with her sister, disintegrate. We got a very unsatisfactory epilogue. Girlfriend needs to see a therapist.
Anyway, this was cringe-worthy the entire way through and also kinda eerie/creepy. The back cover says something about “humor” and I wonder what is wrong with that reviewer.
rockingreader's review
4.0
This is a Greenidge's first novel? Wowzers, can't wait for the next. If the premise, a family living with a chimpanzee sounds familiar you're likely thinking of We Are All Completely Besides Ourselves. No worries, the novels are very different.
aukward's review
2.0
My third Page One. Just took a really long time to get through, some aspects were just really strange. I loved the multiple narrator perspectives, though.
shogins's review
3.0
This book looked like just another book about an experiment where a chimp joins a family, but the chimp brother – the titular Charlie – is almost beside the point. This is really a book about family, and how we often see what we want from others, rather than what’s actually there. It’s also a book about race, and America’s long and horrible history of racist experimentation and dehumanization. It’s also a story about young desire, and not fitting in, and longing for the wild. This is Greenidge’s debut novel, and it makes me very curious about what else she has to say.
But also, seriously, how many books about chimps joining human families do we really need???
But also, seriously, how many books about chimps joining human families do we really need???
syren96's review
3.0
ARC provided by Algonquin Books and NetGalley
I didn't love this book and it was mainly because I found the characters to be generally cold and unsympathetic. For such a heavy and important topic, I really wanted the characters to be people I could root for, or people that I could root against, as appropriate. But unfortunately I came away feeling just a bit flat about everybody.
I think that the subject was really interesting, and that's what makes this an average read, but I wanted more from the characters. Some of the best emotional moments were centred around characters that made only brief appearances, and I really would like to have felt as strongly about the main characters.
I didn't love this book and it was mainly because I found the characters to be generally cold and unsympathetic. For such a heavy and important topic, I really wanted the characters to be people I could root for, or people that I could root against, as appropriate. But unfortunately I came away feeling just a bit flat about everybody.
I think that the subject was really interesting, and that's what makes this an average read, but I wanted more from the characters. Some of the best emotional moments were centred around characters that made only brief appearances, and I really would like to have felt as strongly about the main characters.
rcaivano's review
The Freemans, an African American family, take part in an experiment to try to teach a chimp to use sign language. Charlotte, a middle school aged girl, resists the experiment but has no choice. She finds out the history of the Institute, filled with racial profiling and comparing chimps to blacks. Didn't love it.
izzyruby's review
5.0
I absolutely loved this book and could have kept on reading it forever. There were so many layers to this story, it was a story about race, a story about family, a story about how identity is formed, how relationships are formed. The writing was beautiful! Never did I think I would get choked up at tessellations! I loved every inch of this book, even when it made me uncomfortable or anxious.
It would make an excellent book club book or companion to any of the nonfiction books about how racist science/medicine histories s
It would make an excellent book club book or companion to any of the nonfiction books about how racist science/medicine histories s
jenabest's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the book but couldn't wrap my head around some of the behaviors of the characters.
emiliesommer's review
4.0
I started this book knowing almost nothing about it and I was stunned at its creativity and importance. Highly recommend.
faith_hirschi's review
3.0
It is a super interesting book. I liked the multiple perspectives. While charlotte was the main character Callie was the most interesting. I wish we had more closure on Nymphadora.