Sunset Book Publishing Co., The Woman and The Ape, Peter Hoeg

on

Amazon.com Review
Peter Høeg, author of the international bestseller Smilla's Sense of Snow, has written a fable that explores our human status as inhabitants of paradise lost, and the trade-off between civilization and freedom. The story begins with a captured ape, dubbed Erasmus, a specimen of an apparently new species with a cognitive ability that seems to rival human capacities. Erasmus is rescued from scientific study and experimentation by Madelene, whose husband, Adam, is the zoo director. Escaping to an Eden-like nature reserve, Madelene finds an empathy with Erasmus that develops into a wild sexual liberation. When the pair emerge from Eden to try to stop Adam continuing researches on others of Erasmus' kind, paradise dissolves, and civilization wins out. Read an interview with Peter Høeg.

From Publishers Weekly
No one will ever be able to claim that HYeg doesn't know how to hook a reader. The newest ecothriller by the author of Smilla's Sense of Snow opens with the deceptively simple sentence: "An ape was approaching London." What the vague syntax and flat affect omit could (and does) fill a book. For instance, the "ape"-who's dubbed Erasmus-turns out not to be "some sort of dwarf chimpanzee" as eminent zoologist Adam Burden claims, but a brand new species of ape that just might have the potential for language and higher cognitive functions. The opening line gives little indication of the hubbub Erasmus will raise in a few short paragraphs when he causes the Ark, the ship that has carried him captive to London, to lose its crew and plow mast-first into busy St. Katharine's Dock. Or, a few pages later, when he leads Dr. Burden and his minions on a merry chase through the streets of London. Or, a couple of chapters down the road, when Erasmus seduces Madelene, who just happens to be Burden's beautiful alcoholic wife, and takes her away for a week-long lovefest at a wild animal park. The first line gives no indication of all this because the story and its characters are mere window-dressing for HYeg. While he's a fluid writer who is competent at telling stories, it's in the realm of ideas that he excels. There are long passages in which he analyzes Erasmus and human emotions and London itself in terms that are by turns mechanistic and organic. On one page, London is a "gigantic mycelium," a fungus. On a later page, we discover that London is a worn-out machine," full of blind spots and flat points." At the end of this fine and diverting novel, Madelene explains how she's always pictured angels, and her definition could as easily stand for Erasmus or London or even the Earth. "It's one third god, one third animal, and one third human." 100,000 first printing; major ad/promo. (Dec.) FYI: The movie version of Smilla's Sense of Snow, starring Julia Ormond and Gabriel Byrne, is scheduled for release in March 1997.
workbook
cookbook



Sunset Book Publishing Co. is a leading Indy Book Publishing and Distribution company with books in stores everywhere. 

Sunset Book titlles in stores now are:
- Three Weeks In June by Don Lichterman
- Diary Of A Ram Fan by Don Lichterman
- Something Known by Joseph Atman
- The Woman and The Ape by Peter Hoeg
- All The Presidents Women by John Berecz
- A Bugs Life, Flik the Inventor by Disney
- Hannah Montana Advanced Learning Reading, Writing &
  Math Workbook by Disney
- High School Musical Advanced Learning Reading, Writing
  & Math Workbook by Disney
- Camp Rock Advanced Learning Reading, Writing & Math
  Workbook by Disney
- Christmas Song Book – Play and Sing Along Book
- Raggs Rocks Coloring/Activity Book with FREE Musical
  DVD
- Upper Deck Winx Club Comic Book Magazine #1 “The
  Castle” by Upper Deck
- Upper Deck Winx Club Comic Book Magazine #3 “The
  Boys From Red Mountain” by Upper Deck
- Memoir In Two Voices by Francois Mitterrand and Elie
  Wiesel
- Almost Adam by Petru Popescu
- Art, Angels and Miracles by Andy Lakey
- The Martha Stewart Holiday Collection – Homemade
  Holidays
- Harry Potter Jumbo Coloring Books
   Includes 2 different coloring books in one set
- Holiday Traditions “The Funny Easter Bunny” Kids Book
  and Plush Toy Set
- The Halloween Happening Kids Book and Plush Toy Set
- Crazy Bones Educational Math Workbook
- Kidco “Baby Steps” Baby Feeding Instruction Book for
  Preparing Healthy Baby Food
- Go Army Spiral Bound Cookbook

Related articles