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A review by allegedly_miri
Great Apes by Will Self
4.0
This one feels like cheating because I find Will Self so effortlessly readable that of course I was going to enjoy it. The book is based on a bizarre conceit that every now and then gives way to a brilliant turn of phrase or something totally unexpected. It made me laugh out loud several times.
That being said, there is no reason for it to be this long, once the central theme is established. I did skim paragraphs here and there, and the main story did sometimes get lost in ripples of “I’m a smart man writing a smart book here’s how smart I am”. It was immensely enjoyable though, and the last page took me by surprise.
It was occasionally off-putting and a little insensitive to… essentially anyone who isn’t a white dude, but the depth of the world-building did actually have me having to readjust to human people around me once I’d finished.
That being said, there is no reason for it to be this long, once the central theme is established. I did skim paragraphs here and there, and the main story did sometimes get lost in ripples of “I’m a smart man writing a smart book here’s how smart I am”. It was immensely enjoyable though, and the last page took me by surprise.
It was occasionally off-putting and a little insensitive to… essentially anyone who isn’t a white dude, but the depth of the world-building did actually have me having to readjust to human people around me once I’d finished.