A lovingly rendered, highly illuminating, and melancholy portrayal of an indelible group of chimpanzees.
A primatologist who studied two wild chimpanzee communities in Africa imagines life from the animals’ perspectives as they are forced to accommodate the demands of an ever encroaching human population.
In this poignant, thought-provoking collection of stories, which Halloran calls fables, he weaves together sequential tales that reflect the impacts of two species—human and chimpanzee—on each other and on the small section of farmland and jungle that they occupy. Every action produces a reaction, and both species’ worlds change from moment to moment. While the author’s stories are fictitious, they are inspired by his observations of the behavior of the Matamba and Mabureh chimpanzee communities during his years working with the Tonkolili Chimpanzee Project in Sierra Leone. These are augmented by the oral-history conversations he had with villagers. Although there are several tales that feature the villagers, the most compelling stories star several chimpanzees, whom Halloran has named. There’s the darling, inquisitive Pip, a 3-year-old juvenile who is too young and small to survive without his mother, Mrs. Joe. And there’s Magwitch, the powerful yet compassionate Matamba alpha male. The most heart-wrenching tale is “The Inferno,” concerning an out-of-control forest fire unwittingly started by villagers burning brush. As the flames engulf the woods and the chimpanzees flee to safety, Mrs. Joe and Pip become separated. Pip wanders the forest, frightened and pitifully crying out for his mother. Unexpectedly, Magwitch picks him up and assumes responsibility for watching over him. Halloran is more than a storyteller. He composes with a philosophical and poetic grace. Here, he describes the sunrise: “The morning light passes over the individuals who have in our past, or will in our future, create the variables of our world. It passes over those we will help, those we will hurt, those we will use, those we will hate, and those we will love.” A series of appendices supplements the fables with disturbing European colonial history events and their consequences for chimpanzees.
A lovingly rendered, highly illuminating, and melancholy portrayal of an indelible group of chimpanzees.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1736649800
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Elgin Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Breathtakingly magical.
A powerful homage to the natural world, from England by way of Canada.
Combining poetic words (somewhat reminiscent of Mary Oliver’s poetry in their passion for the natural world) with truly stunning illustrations, this unusually beautiful book brings to readers the magic and wonder of nature. This is not a book about ecology or habitat; this is a book that encourages readers to revel in, and connect with, the natural world. Focusing on a particular subject, whether it be animal, insect, or plant, each poem (rendered in a variety of forms) delivers a “spell” that can be playful, poignant, or entreating. They are most effective when read aloud (as readers are encouraged to do in the introduction). Gorgeous illustrations accompany the words, both as stand-alone double-page spreads and as spot and full-page illustrations. Each remarkable image exhibits a perfect mastery of design, lively line, and watercolor technique while the sophisticated palette of warms and cools both soothes and surprises. This intense interweaving of words and pictures creates a sense of immersion and interaction—and a sense that the natural world is part of us. A glossary encourages readers to find each named species in the illustrations throughout the book––and to go one step further and bring the book outside, to find the actual subjects in nature. Very much in the spirit of the duo’s magisterial The Lost Words (2018), this companion is significantly smaller than its sprawling companion; at just 6.5 by 4.5 inches when closed, it will easily fit into a backpack or generously sized pocket. “Wonder is needed now more than ever,” Macfarlane writes in the introduction, and this book delivers it.
Breathtakingly magical. (Poetry. 6-adult)Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4870-0779-9
Page Count: 120
Publisher: House of Anansi Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 23, 2020
Sublimely complex characters drive this story that promotes empathy for all earthly creatures.
A college student’s mysterious origins may have ties to her dreams of talking animals in Walters’ novel.
Frances “Frankie” Connor’s professor challenges her on the first day of her neuroscience doctoral program: He vehemently disagrees when she claims one particular lab rat is, quite simply, ticklish. Frankie is convinced that animals understand humans beyond reading their tone of voice or body language. It’s a theory she’d like to prove, especially now that she’s dreaming of forest creatures, like a gray wolf and a squirrel, who regularly converse with her. These interactions feel real—one animal recites a poem Frankie has never heard before. They also apparently know, but won’t say, where she’s from; Frankie, who was adopted, knows only nominal details about her birth parents. So, in between lab experiments on animals’ communication with humans, Frankie delves into her murky past with a bit of help from both a fellow student and the professor’s research assistant. With any luck, she’ll uncover enough to remember who she really is. Walters’ mesmerizing, multilayered protagonist truly elevates this tale. She’s not without flaws, including bouts of selfishness, and her relationships are thorny, particularly with her adoptive parents and younger brother. Frankie also suffers from depression, the chief reason she’s interested in the field of neuroscience (“I realized I could use neuroscience to do some good. You know, study the brain to find out how to help other people not go through what I did”). The main mystery is inside her head—readers only know what Frankie knows, and it’s unclear whether or not she’s genuinely speaking with the animals. Her hazy genesis further complicates the plot. Welcome lighthearted touches include such lovable animal characters as Shelly, a turtle who’s always seemingly out of breath. While the message of extending kindness toward all nonhuman animals is somewhat heavy-handed, the novel’s multi-dimensional, multi-species cast gives it much-needed impact.
Sublimely complex characters drive this story that promotes empathy for all earthly creatures.Pub Date: April 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781684632428
Page Count: 256
Publisher: SparkPress
Review Posted Online: Nov. 8, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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