Good reading weather

 

 

On this day in 1961, a young chimpanzee named "Ham" was rocketed into space. Strapped to a couch, he performed his tasks correctly for 16 minutes, but then it took hours to recover his capsule from the water. 

When he was finally released, his face had an enormous grin, which people naturally interpreted as a happy smile. Now we know that particular chimp expression is one of extreme fear and anxiety. 

I like T.C.Boyle's books and read them as soon as they come out. His latest (above) is based on complex relationships between animals and humans, and revolves about a team of academics who raise a chimpanzee like a human baby and teach him ASL. This takes place in the 1970's, when the idea of chimps and gorillas communicating with sign language was considered preposterous.

Among other interesting things, the experiment results in a cringe worthy inter-species love triangle. Not so far-fetched, considering we share almost 99% of DNA with chimps, our closest evolutionary relatives. 

"Sam" is a fully developed character, and Boyle shifts the point of view between the human and animal. Makes for some tricky writing but he pulls it off.  Boyle's novels are usually based on actual historical events. Engrossing, but they can be dark stuff. 

Also on the nightstand, John Irving's new 800 page novel, "The Last Chairlift." Now 80, he claims this will be his last "big" novel. Some of the cattier reviews suggest that's probably a good thing. 

Starting in the 1970's, I've read every one of his books, some more than once. I even made it though the giant slog called "Son of the Circus," which took place in India.  Hopefully "Chairlift" with its Aspen ski setting is more engrossing. If the weight of it doesn't crush me in bed, I'll be working on that one all summer!

Flurries in the forecast today, then we warm up to plain old rain for the weekend.