I love gorillas. As a small child my grandfather would take me to the B&I shopping center in Tacoma, Washington where I would watch Ivan the gorilla for hours. Even that young, I felt sorry for him, but I was, at the same time, happy to be able to wile away literal hours watching him. He was funny, clearly smart, and so incredibly intimidating. It was obvious he was intelligent and it forced me to think about humans relationship with animals in a way I otherwise may not have done.
The book “Ishmael” follows the story of a gorilla named Ishmael who can “speak” telepathically, and communicate vast amounts of knowledge about the aforementioned relationship between men and animals. He advertises for students in the newspaper and the story is a chronicle of his tutoring of one such man that answers the advertisement.
I find it funny that the top three reviews of this book are not only one star, but are written by people that clearly took the book at it’s word and face value. Ishmael uses his time with the narrator to explain why man is on a crash course for self-destruction. While I don’t agree with every detail of Ishmael’s explanation, I do agree with the overall sentiment. Manifest destiny, etc. lend very heavily toward our precarious place in the circle of life. Our hubris and self importance will be our eventual downfall.
This is fiction and should be read as such, but it makes you think and makes you reexamine ideals and supposed knowledge. Isn’t that what all good fiction should do? If the reader is also entertained, it’s a win-win. My copy is littered with Post-It Notes. Ishmael says many, many things that I want to look into further — things I know, but want to know more about.
Three words that describe this book: Thought-provoking, relevant, insightful
You might want to pick this book up if: You question humanity’s place in the world.
-Kandice
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share reviews throughout the year.
