Another book I'm sure I reviewed... lost also? I had bought this book when it first came out in the Chicago airport. Given it was the 2nd book after Water For Elephant....I remember--liking it --- but not 'wild' about the overall book. It does pull on your heart strings as you get towards the end. Plus... my admiration for the authors research and love for these animals is what I do love.

Solid three and a half stars, but I'll round up since I read this book in less than a day (and a busy one at that), and there are very few books that make me drop everything to read these days. I've read all three of Gruen's previous books, and enjoyed them all, though Water for Elephants was by far the most accomplished of the three. When I first heard the premise of this book, I was a little skeptical. It sounded forced. It's not. Everything about the Bonobos seems real and possible. In all of...

I don’t seem to recall why I was such a “Water for Elephants” hater in the first place. But this fact hadn’t come up until I had read the tepid, all-too-unspecial “Ape House”—an animal lover’s dream but a literary person’s annoying albatross. I picked it up because after completing my thesis defense, there was nothing for me to do but to stare out at the open springtime air—I was that tired! & perhaps some cool short novel would then be the antidote to such heavy reading and self editing—of cran...

Sara Gruen is a wonderful writer and I truly enjoyed "Ape House". I previously read "Water for Elephants" and was eager to read her newest book. I loved "Water for Elephants" as it was a very well done and I learned a great deal from the book. I thought that I might be somewhat disappointed in "Ape House" because I found "Water for Elephants" so captivating. Ape House did not disappoint me, but "Water for Elephants" continues to be my favorite of Gruen's books.I continue to be appalled and disap...

DNF @ 203 pages out of 306. I'm only rating it because I made it over halfway. The ending could blow my mind, and I still couldn't forgive its bloated-ass middle.Do you know how fucking boring a book has to be for me to put it down past the halfway point? The past fifty pages have been nothing but he went here and did this and people explaining why the show is failing. All my fucks are bottle up and nary a drop to drink.Everything interesting in this book is described better in the synopsis than...

I was so prepared to love this book and, only 30 pages in, I thought I did. I got sucked into loving those bonobos so fast, and caring about what happening to them, Isabel, and John. Let me tell you - it didn't last long. Well... let me correct myself: My love for the PEOPLE didn't last long.The rest of what I have to say is an extremely angry, spoilerific rant, which I pray you read if you think this was a book that was worth your time.(view spoiler)[For one, I was immediately angered by this a...

It pains me to not have liked this book.Sara Gruen obviously is a champion for the humane treatment of animals and it shines through in her fiction. It seems like she'd be a witty and kind and smart person, someone I'd really love to hang out with.This book, though, was not a great read. And, I hate to say that.In one of the previous reviews on this page, someone said that maybe she should have written a memoir about her experiences with the apes instead of trying to make a fiction story out of

The novel lacked anything resembling character development and has a bumbling, senseless plot. It reads like the manuscript of a first-time novelist; in fact, I've read better manuscripts and self-published novels than this highly-acclaimed author's third book. If you love Sara Gruen or are masochistic, pick it up and brace yourself.

I picked up an advance reader's edition of this at the ALA conference this summer (2010). This is Sara Gruen's much-awaited second fourth! novel - her Water for Elephants did very well (and the copy I recycled at my book group's holiday book exchange was much fought over).The "ape house" has many meanings. On the surface, it's a community of bonobos living in a university research facility. The bonobos are highly intelligent and, in the end, far more human than many of the humans in the book. I

Overall, critics considered Ape House a dissatisfying follow-up to Water for Elephants. With its evocative Depression-era setting and unforgettable characters, Water continues to enthrall legions of fans. Unfortunately, some reviewers found Ape House's intriguing premise overshadowed by poor editing, a "silly story," and "trite characters" (Washington Post). Others felt that Gruen glossed over key issues. A few did enjoy Ape House, and lauded Gruen's "knack ... for creating distinctive animal ch...

This book lacked the majesty and wonder that made Water for Elephants so enticing. There are some graphic scenes of animal cruelty, which I found hard to read. The characters are likable, but not totally engrossing or unique. The amazingly human-like behavior of the bonobo chimps in the novel was really what had me reading to the end.

Ape House is superb! Gruen is an excellent writer and her ability to incorporate the interrelationship between human beings and animals makes her a unique and original voice. The animals here are bonobo apes, an endangered great ape species closest to humans. Bonobos are remarkable for their ability to communicate,(they can be taught sign language) their fine motor skills (can turn a page in a book one page at a time) and their sexuality. Apparently humans, dolphins and bonobos are the only spec...

I LOVED Water for Elephants and honestly, was looking forward to reading Ape House. Same author...it should be just as good, if not better, right?Not right. And now that I've read a few reviews from others, it seems I'm not the only one who was more than a little disappointed. I'm sure that Gruen was trying to keep the plot line moving with all her twists and turns, but it all ended up feeling trite and some of the 'coincidences' that she used to connect characters (like a contrived paternity pl...

Sara Gruen wrote one of my favorite novels, “Water For Elephants”, so I was really hoping that I would enjoy her latest novel, “Ape House.” Unfortunately, it completely fell flat. The story was clunky with cliché characters and absurd plot lines.On the positive, it started with a great idea. What if Bonobos who could speak ASL fell into the hands of the wrong people, specifically a sleazy porn/reality TV producer? The story brings up many valid moral questions and puts forth some interesting ide...

I started this book on the plane leaving for vacation. I only read in the evening while my husband was watching TV at night and finished it in three days/evenings. It was SO GOOD! Fascinating about bonobos and how much they resemble human beings. Quite the sexual species. Sara Gruen writes so fluidly, easy to follow and understand. I learned a bunch as I was absorbed into this wonderful story.