Rating: 
Summary: Anthropology 101 done in alchoholic/feminist/sci-fi.
Review: "Smilla's" Peter Hoeg has another provocative novel for the book club circuit. While several in our book group were titallated by the unbelievable turns this book took, others of us appreciated a look at a sci-fi version of Anthropology 101. Hoeg seems to crawl into the female psyche in a way that is at times disturbing, at others a bit contrived, but which is mostly just too darn close! This particular perspective viewed through the viscosity of alchoholism combined with the boarding school upbringing of the European elite wound up being a novel which was extrememely difficult to put down. Definitely a grand discussion book.
Rating: 
Summary: Sick!
Review: A study in perversion disguised as green intelectualism. What an insulting and defiling book!
Rating:
Summary: A real disappointment.....
Review: After the brilliance of Borderliners, Smilla's Sense of Snow, and The History of Danish Dreams, this novel was a genuine shock. None of the incisive social commentary or fascinating characterization which made me a Peter Hoeg fan were present in this novel. I found the story strained, inconsistent, and frankly, amateurish. I really suspect that this novel is an earlier effort, previously unpublished (for good reason). The fact that the royalties from the novel are being used to support the "Lolwe" Foundation established by the author may account more for it's publication than any literary merit it might possess. (Don't get me wrong, I eagerly await Mr. Hoeg's next effort .. I only hope it will be more like the earlier novels than this one..)
Rating: 
Summary: Read this Book. Twice!!
Review: Although thoroughly trashed in the review section here at Amazon, this book is brilliant! Mr. Hoeg's use of language, fantasy imagery and allegory are impeccible!The richness of the writing alone will keep you up all night.Although a translation from the Dutch, words are seldom strung together as elegantly as this in any modern novel. Read it for the pure joy of the experience! I may be just a rube, but I loved this book and have recommended it highly whenever books are discussed.
Rating:
Summary: A refreshing comic satire
Review: Danish writer Peter Hoeg broke onto the American scene in a big way with his thoughtful thriller "Smilla's Sense Of Snow," his first novel published in English. While "The Woman And The Ape" has the pace of a thriller, it couldn't be more different. A love story, a comic satire and a fable about the relations between human civilization and the rest of the world, "The Woman And The Ape" centers on two characters who could scarcely appear more hopeless and helpless. Erasmus, the ape, opens the book with a daring escape from hardened animal smugglers, only to be captured by scientists after numerous run-ins with the city of London prove almost fatal. He is secretly installed at the home of rich and distinguished animal behaviorist, Adam Burden, who sees in this possible new species the fruition of his most ambitious dreams. There, Erasmus arouses a mild curiosity and pity in the book's other main character, Adam's 30-year-old Danish wife, Madelene, an alcoholic beauty with a lousy self-image. "Each morning Madelene was resurrected." At her mirror, "she did the one thing she knew herself to be truly good at: she re-created the myth which said that Madelene looks gorgeous." Her next task is to replenish her carafe of ethyl alcohol so she can float through her day being gorgeous and amiable and walling off the terrors of daily life. In so doing she comes across the ape in his new quarters. "With some effort Madelene succeeded in coming up with a sketchy log of the past two days. The ape had arrived the day before yesterday. She had spent yesterday in bed with her carafe and that dreadful migraine. The bulk of the setup in front of her must have been erected in less than a day." In her second encounter, "Madelene was overcome by a prickling sense of unease, as though she had sat on an anthill." Certain small truths home in on her along with the ape's "incalculable" gaze. These she quickly drowns, but something in her has been awakened. She embarks on her own mission to discover what she can about the ape and her husband's activities, launching "new" selves (well fueled with alcohol) to accomplish the necessary daring subterfuges. Hoeg keeps up a madcap energy, as humorous and cheering as it is biting and outlandish. Madelene takes on people she would ordinarily be too frightened to speak to, and in the process of amassing facts about the "impossible" existence of Erasmus, begins to free herself. This she cannot actually do until she "saw her own weakness, saw it clearly, saw herself as the ape had seen her and then she gave up....She gave up drinking." She organizes a daring, hilarious plan of escape for herself and Erasmus and the novel veers off in another direction - that of love story. This developing love is as lucid and erotic as the fog of alcohol was erratic and prickly. By the end Erasmus has come fully into his own, a larger-than-life ape with a mission and a big surprise for the human race. Hoeg's writing is pure pleasure - vivid and playful, earnest and rich, mocking and touching. His condemnation of animal exploitation is hardly new but his presentation is totally refreshing.
Rating:
Summary: A refreshing comic satire
Review: Danish writer Peter Hoeg broke onto the American scene in a big way with his thoughtful thriller "Smilla's Sense Of Snow," his first novel published in English. While "The Woman And The Ape" has the pace of a thriller, it couldn't be more different. A love story, a comic satire and a fable about the relations between human civilization and the rest of the world, "The Woman And The Ape" centers on two characters who could scarcely appear more hopeless and helpless. Erasmus, the ape, opens the book with a daring escape from hardened animal smugglers, only to be captured by scientists after numerous run-ins with the city of London prove almost fatal. He is secretly installed at the home of rich and distinguished animal behaviorist, Adam Burden, who sees in this possible new species the fruition of his most ambitious dreams. There, Erasmus arouses a mild curiosity and pity in the book's other main character, Adam's 30-year-old Danish wife, Madelene, an alcoholic beauty with a lousy self-image. "Each morning Madelene was resurrected." At her mirror, "she did the one thing she knew herself to be truly good at: she re-created the myth which said that Madelene looks gorgeous." Her next task is to replenish her carafe of ethyl alcohol so she can float through her day being gorgeous and amiable and walling off the terrors of daily life. In so doing she comes across the ape in his new quarters. "With some effort Madelene succeeded in coming up with a sketchy log of the past two days. The ape had arrived the day before yesterday. She had spent yesterday in bed with her carafe and that dreadful migraine. The bulk of the setup in front of her must have been erected in less than a day." In her second encounter, "Madelene was overcome by a prickling sense of unease, as though she had sat on an anthill." Certain small truths home in on her along with the ape's "incalculable" gaze. These she quickly drowns, but something in her has been awakened. She embarks on her own mission to discover what she can about the ape and her husband's activities, launching "new" selves (well fueled with alcohol) to accomplish the necessary daring subterfuges. Hoeg keeps up a madcap energy, as humorous and cheering as it is biting and outlandish. Madelene takes on people she would ordinarily be too frightened to speak to, and in the process of amassing facts about the "impossible" existence of Erasmus, begins to free herself. This she cannot actually do until she "saw her own weakness, saw it clearly, saw herself as the ape had seen her and then she gave up....She gave up drinking." She organizes a daring, hilarious plan of escape for herself and Erasmus and the novel veers off in another direction - that of love story. This developing love is as lucid and erotic as the fog of alcohol was erratic and prickly. By the end Erasmus has come fully into his own, a larger-than-life ape with a mission and a big surprise for the human race. Hoeg's writing is pure pleasure - vivid and playful, earnest and rich, mocking and touching. His condemnation of animal exploitation is hardly new but his presentation is totally refreshing.
Rating:
Summary: Wry & dry
Review: Each step through the book pushes sensibilities until you either relent to its unexpected humor or declare it worthless.
Rating:
Summary: Typical of Hoeg!
Review: Hoeg has succeeded in writing beautiful prose, powerfully drawn characters, and, as is typical of Hoeg, a brilliant, thought-provoking plot! As an environmentalist and a lover of literature, I strongly recommend this book -- especially for environmental ethics classes.
Rating: 
Summary: Intelligent, but distant
Review: I came away from this book with a distinct sense of apathy. It is certainly beautifuly written, elegant, in fact, but it is like a statue...it can be beautiful and very cold at the same time. The ideas about human/animal interaction in the novel were excellent and the characters were intresting, but the experiences presented were by no means fulfilling or emotional. Read it only if you want to feel distant from what you are reading.
Rating:
Summary: A favorite of mine
Review: I highly recommend this strange and beautifully written book. It held me spellbound.
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