Normally I would've given this 3 stars. It was not a bad book. But given the string of really good books I've been reading, this just paled in comparison. Also it is difficult to discuss this book without giving away a major spoiler, so please skip this if you want to be spoiler-free.

Let me start with the positives. There is a good amount of interesting psychological discussions here. One of the recurring themes was about how memories can be finicky and very subjective. The protagonist seems to be remember a lot from when she was very young, but she accedes that these memories could've have been coloured by later discussions or may even be manufactured memories. This doesn't translate that well into the plot itself though. Given that this is a first person narrative and the narrator is an unreliable one, we only hear her version of the memory and there is no exploration of maybe how far this strayed from actual happenings. There is also a highlight on speciesism, a topic that needs to be talked about more. I was once again left wanting more though. There was not enough on this to change anyone's mind and make them believe why this is important.

The two big negatives for me were the big 'twist' that didn't feel very authentic to me, and the way that the protagonist came across sounding very privileged. On the first, I did not care that her sister was actually a chimp. I felt like this did not change things, and that was the point of it. I think at least for me personally, the point would have worked just as well with the chimp being a chimp from the very outset.

I also felt like the protagonist almost refuses to take any steps to move on. When the narrative starts she seems to fairly into her twenties and she still refuses to take ownership of her own life. It felt like the narrator was stuck in an extended teen-hood and refuses to get out of it. I can understand and empathize with her trauma. It is difficult to lose two siblings and blame yourself for both. I was just wondering if she would've had to deal with these things earlier if she couldn't afford to pay for college and keep staying on there. Perhaps if she had had to get a job and support herself, these things would have resolved sooner? I don't know, maybe all the memes floating around made me predisposed to believe that the author was a 'Karen' stereotype. I am also becoming an old man who doesn't have that much patience with teenage angst any more and the fact that the angst here went on into young adulthood, irked me more.

Overall, I feel like this book could have done a lot more and could have done it a lot better. Hence the 2 stars.

An insightful, complex view into our relationship as a family, and to that of the earth and all its creatures. Fowler is a marvelous storyteller, and she creates an interesting tension between past moments in time.

Original Read

I was able to read this book in two days because I liked it so much. The plot is like no other I have read, and the author's writing style is flawless. She does some interesting things with time sequence and she sneaked in a lot of scientific and psychological terminology without causing any eye glazing. An added bonus is that this book is set partially in Bloomington, so if you're an IU grad you can appreciate some of the geographical references.

One of the most profoundly touching book I have read in recent times. I'd strongly recommend this book to anyone who wonders and cares about human nature and our relationship with the rest of the living world

My score would be 1 and a half if possible. I think this book has an interesting premise, but I found the first half boring (0-1 *). Rosemary's endless 'almost going off the rails but not quite' was irritating (and unnecessary?) and felt like that of a young and inexperienced writer (which I don't think is the case). The 'reveal' was a surprise to me - I was going down the Rain Man type route mentally. I was about to give up until Lowell came back into the picture, so stayed with it to find out more, but even that was dragged out and puffed up (did the Travis/Harlow get together add anything to the story?). After Rosemary and Lowell's meeting in the cafe when we are given some back story, I began to enjoy it slightly more (2 * only though). It's sort of wrapped up in a happyish ending, but, as many of those chimps did not get their own happy ending, I am in two minds about it. Satisfying as a reader, but not really representative of animals used for research.

On a side note, what was with Madame Defarge doll/dummy? I wondered whether she was a metaphor for Rosemary feeling out of control and doing risque things or was she supposed to be Fern? Again, what did it add?

I think the author could have done with a bloody good editor who hacked out all the unnecessary fluff and made her rewrite and improve some of it. Shame because it should be an interesting and unusual story.

I just finished this book with tears and a feeling of gratitude for a great read. And to boot, I learned a few new words. I highly recommend this greatly written and likely well researched book.
Also, a fast read.

I loved this. The first book to make me cry in awhile (and by cry, I mean sob my eyes out at the last page). I almost didn’t completely buy into the plot at first, but the characters really kept me engaged, and by the end, I was completely emotionally invested. Family, trauma, animal testing, and human-animal relationships all are explored in this book. It made me not only think about my bond with my sister but also my bond with my pup.