Animal Heart : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Crimes of the Heart.
Review: After demonstrating her talents as a nonfiction nature writer, and inspired by her love for our oceans and marine life, Brenda Peterson (BUILD ME AN ARK, 2001; SINGING TO THE SOUND, 2000) has returned to writing fiction with her strong, new novel, ANIMAL HEART. Published by the Sierra Club, ANIMAL HEART explores Peterson's concerns about the new scientific technologies of our "brave new world" (p. 110), namely xenotransplantation and the military's experiments with mid-to-low frequency active sonar. The plot of Peterson's novel follows two wildlife pathologists, "passionately curious" (p. 79), Isabel Spinner and her friend, Marian Windhorse, and their forensic investigation of a mass stranding of whales and dolphins along the Oregon coast during U.S. Navy off-shore testing of high-intensity sonar. Meanwhile, after another character, Marshall McGreggor, suffers an underwater heart attack, doctors implant a baboon's heart into his chest. Soon thereafter, he experiences "cellular memories" (p. 118) of life as an ape on an African savannah. When he befriends another transplant patient, Irene Feinstein, the recipient of a pig valve heart implant, the two discover they are in an "unknown territory" (p. 264), and begin wondering if their hearts are trying to tell them something--that human life and culture are not the only measures, that humans are not the only ones who matter. With ANIMAL HEART, Peterson has not only written a troubling story about scientific techonlogies gone way too far, but a story sure to touch the heart of every reader.

G. Merritt

Rating:
Summary: A Cutting Edge Eco-Thriller
Review: Brenda Peterson has combined her talents as nature writer and novelist in this fascinating book. "Animal Heart" is an eco-adventure/love story that makes for a riveting read. I read late into the night in order to finish this novel, too captivated with the storyline to wait for another day to learn the outcome!

Brenda Peterson has a great talent for weaving together true yet scary scientific realities of our modern world with her heroic yet quirky fictional characters who work for a better world for animals.

If you believe in the great mysteries that exist between humans and animals, and those inexplicable places where are realities cross and mingle, you'll love this book. If you care about humane treatment of all animals, this story will resonate with you. And if you like an unusual, intriguing love story, this will be a good read!

I applaud Peterson for her commitment to animals and nature, whether she is writing fiction or nonfiction. And that she makes no apologies for her great passion and vision for a kinder, gentler world for all species. And the good news is the last page of the book begs for a sequel...now, we can only wait to learn what happens next!

Rating:
Summary: A Cutting Edge Eco-Thriller
Review: Brenda Peterson has combined her talents as nature writer and novelist in this fascinating book. "Animal Heart" is an eco-adventure/love story that makes for a riveting read. I read late into the night in order to finish this novel, too captivated with the storyline to wait for another day to learn the outcome!

Brenda Peterson has a great talent for weaving together true yet scary scientific realities of our modern world with her heroic yet quirky fictional characters who work for a better world for animals.

If you believe in the great mysteries that exist between humans and animals, and those inexplicable places where are realities cross and mingle, you'll love this book. If you care about humane treatment of all animals, this story will resonate with you. And if you like an unusual, intriguing love story, this will be a good read!

I applaud Peterson for her commitment to animals and nature, whether she is writing fiction or nonfiction. And that she makes no apologies for her great passion and vision for a kinder, gentler world for all species. And the good news is the last page of the book begs for a sequel...now, we can only wait to learn what happens next!