Customer Reviews

Jennie

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In real life in the 1960's, a number of experiments were performed in which an infant chimpanzee was raised as a child in a human family. In every case, the ape did astonishingly well until puberty, at which point its strength increased drastically and its moods became unmanageable. In every case, the animal died tragically. "Jennie" is a work of fiction based on these experiments.

I'm astonished at the editorial reviews above. One actually describes the book as "cartoonish"? Did we read the same novel? If this is the way the book was handled in the press, then it's no wonder that it's out of print, and no wonder that the author has since resorted to writing "thrillers" that sell better.

Jennie is one of the most haunting, intelligent books I've ever read. If you've ever wondered about the psychology of other creatures, or even whether they can be said to have a psychology, you should read this book.

In particular, I appreciate that the priest character who befriends the ape is handled completely sympathetically, and not treated as a cruel "monkey trial" caricature. Indeed, the plot rarely takes the "obvious" route, even though the subject matter can lead it to only one possible ending.

Disney did a TV movie based on it recently. The commercials made it look like a childish farce, and I couldn't bring myself to watch it.

This book is an excellent read. I keep giving it to friends as gifts, and they invariably love it.

An amazing, thought-provoking book, "Jennie" is the fascinating story (actually a composite of several case studies of the time period) of Jennie, a chimpanzee raised as a human as part of an experiment to see how chimps acquire language. Because one of my main interests is language, I found this book extremely interesting.The research presented in this book (which is based upon real experiments) has major implications for both chimps and humans. As a story, "Jennie" is weak in parts: the characterizations can be sketchy and in some places the presentation of the information (diary entries, interviews, etc.) seems kind of gimmicky. However, this should not deter you from a most interesting read. "Jennie" shows the human side of scientific research (except, of course, for the little fact that the book's main character is a chimpanzee).. It's about the malleable nature of perception. It's about evolution, and ethics. This book raises many more questions than it answers-- and that is what it is designed to do, as the most meaningful gift a writer can bestow is to make his readers think. After reading this book, I found myself questioning exactly what my relationship, as a human, is to the world around me.

Preston uses the points of view of several different characters through their journals or scientific writings to give an account of the story of Jennie, a chimpanzee taken into captivity by an American scientist. Through these varied perspectives and with a touching story, Preston raises all sorts of questions about what sets humans apart from animals, where God fits into the natural world, etc...there's all sorts of fuel for thought. Excellently written, thoroughly researched, and an all out great book. I'm a more complex thinker for having read it, and I've recommended it to many of my professors and friends.

I will admit up front that I am a sucker for a chimp story. I think it's due in part to an overdose of "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom" and re-runs of Daktari at a very tender age. But this IS an excellent novel. Preston is one half of the team that wrote "The Relic" and several other great thrillers. this is much more gentle fiction than any of those. It is character and issue driven realistic fiction. Jennie is a chimp who is raised as a human child. The story is told as if it were a true history and the viewpoint is split. There are interviews (using sign language) with Jennie, exerpts from her "father's" book, newspaper articles, and other interviews. The story's flow is surprisingly smooth for all that. At turns funny and heart-breaking, Jennie won't leave you along once you pick this novel up. It's short, but block off some time...it's a page turner. And the denouement, while not surprising (what always happens when the wild enters surburbia?) is all the sadder for its inevitableness.

Rarely has a book moved me to feel so many different emotions. Jennie made me laugh, cry, and seriously think about the many issues that the book raises: Are humans more similar to animals than we think? What sort of moral or ethical obligations do we have to our animal friends? Are we right to personify these animals, even for good, if it means that we neglect their unique needs? What, if any, is the line between humans and our primate cousins, and is this line fixed or flexible? I strongly recommend this remarkable book to anyone that loves animals, ethics, philisophy, religion, or any discipline that causes one to challenge their preconceptions about the world around them. This is a great book.

Jennie was truly one of the most heartbreaking books I have ever read. The title character, a chimpanzee, was as human as any person I have known. No one could come away from this book unaffected. I first read this book two years ago, and I am still haunted by it.

I picked up this book because I had read another of Douglas Preston's books,"Relic" (of which he was co-author). "Relic" was a typical horror book--fun, a quick read, without much depth. Definitely a "B-movie" of a book, with the signs of "make a quick buck" all over it. I was expecting "Jennie" to be similar. What a surprise. "Jennie" is a completely different type of book. Sweet, sad, haunting. From the beginning of the book, the foreshadowing strongly warns you that there will not be a happy ending. Through even the fun, joyous scenes, that shadow is hovering, making the joy poignant. I don't want to be too heavy handed here, but this story has elements of a Greek tragedy. The inevitability of the ending gives this story a sad, yet haunting appeal. And, the book raises some disturbing issues about our society, news media, celebrity, and how we think of animals. More depth than I expected!

Though a novel, Jennie is based on research and recorded experiences with chimps from the last several decades. The story chronicles the relationship between a chimp and the family that raises her. With neither sentimentality nor cynicism, Jennie challenges the reader to drop preconceptions about the relationship between humans and other animals, and caused me to re-examine my ideas about the thought processes of all animals (including humans). Extremely plausible, the story is told from the points of view of a number of characters--giving the reader a chance to decide for herself where to lay kudos and blame. All the characters are multi-dimensional and believable, especially the chimp Jennie. Preston's book offers food for both the mind and the heart, served up with obvious respect for the reader and the subject

First let me say that I think this story was a wonderful, touching story. And also very heart breaking. Up until the end it had the potential to be one of my favorite books. But I guess I am just not a fan of sad stories. There is enough pain, grief and suffering in the world as is without adding to it. I actually started a new book immediatly after finishing this one just to get it out of my mind (I normally give myself a day think about a book I just finished). If it were not for the very sad end this book would deserve 10 stars.

Jennie was both an enjoyable read and a great insight into the similarities between ourselves and one of our closest genetic relatives, the chimpanzee. The book also raises the interesting moral question of whether or not it it acceptable to raise a chimpanzee as a human child.

If I had one qualm it is this: though the story is a fictionalized rendering of actual events, I found it hard to know how much of Preston's story was based on hard reality, and how much if it was filled in by his wonderful imagination. How much were these various journal entries, interviews, notes, and memoirs based real ones, and how much were they the creation of a talented writer?

I found that the book left me wanting to know more, but that's not necessarily a bad thing: Jennie prompted me to learn more about the actual events surrounding the life of this amazing chimpanzee.