Primal Tears [Paperback]

Kelpie Wilson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 14, 2005

A cross between a human and a bonobo? Carl Sagan and others have speculated: Is it possible? What kind of creature would it be? And how might this affect our world? Kelpie Wilson takes the premise and runs with it in this engaging novel. Primal Tears is the story of Sage, born to a young woman who has volunteered to be a surrogate mother for an endangered species of chimpanzee. The process goes awry, and Sage, a lovable youngster, is neither completely one species nor the other. When her existence becomes public knowledge, she needs all the best characteristics of both species to find a place for herself in our human-dominated world.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"What a great book! I loved it, and found it to be totally enthralling. As I read, I felt drawn deeper and deeper into a primal sense of hope. Not a naive hope, not wishful thinking, but a hope arising out of a sense of the immensity of human evolution and the profundity of our interconnectedness with all of life. I hope everyone on our dear and endangered Earth reads this book."
—John Robbins, author Healthy at 100 and Diet For a New America

"Primal Tears is a novel of tremendous power. Passionate and erotic, at times tenderly lyrical, it confronts head-on, without flinching, brutal environmental and feminist politics. Its protagonist, Sage, is unique, magical, and haunting."
—Kate Wilhelm, author of The Unbidden Truth, Clear and Convincing Proof, and Skeletons

"Kelpie Wilson's Primal Tears has rounded, memorable characters, evocative descriptions, lively dialogue, an exciting plot, and an understated, evenhanded wit that is very engaging...It is a clear-eyed, courageous look at some of the most denied and neglected threats to the biosphere and the place of humans in it."
—David Rains Wallace, author of The Monkey's Bridge and The Bonehunters' Revenge

"Primal Tears is primal storytelling, thoughtful and passionate. Kelpie Wilson wonderfully expands our definitions of human and family."
—Greg Bear, author of Blood Music, The Forge of God, Darwin's Radio, and Quantico

About the Author

Writer, editor, and engineer Kelpie Wilson is well known as an environmental activist. Her articles have appeared in Wild Earth, The Progressive, and the Earth First! Journal. She is currently an editor and writer for www.truthout.org, an online news service with a worldwide audience. Wilson lives with her husband in a solar-powered cabin in the Siskiyou Mountains of Oregon. Visit her at www.kelpiewilson.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Frog Books (October 14, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583941339
• ISBN-13: 978-1583941331
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #763,455 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Thought-Provoking and Entertaining Read, January 8, 2006

By 

Karen Wood-Campbell (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Primal Tears (Paperback)

Kelpie Wilson has written a truly fascinating story with her first novel. Taking a little-known endangered primate, the bonobo, and weaving it together with environmental and population politics, the breathtaking setting of the Klamath-Siskiyou mountains, and fascinating personalities, Wilson has produced a tale - and an unforgettable character in Sage - that will get under your skin and stay there.

Wilson's storytelling talent really shines in this first novel. The people and places come alive, and the main character will feel like a good friend by the time you finish the book. And you'll finish it fast - she has written a real page-turner full of action and suspense that takes the reader from the wilderness of southwest Oregon to the war-ravaged hills of the Congo and back again.

All along the way, Wilson challenges you to think and to challenge some of your assumptions. In addition to raising some serious issues, she has permeated the book with spirit and hope, particularly in the person of the main character, Sage, whose sweetness is like hope itself.

_Primal Tears_ is highly recommended, entertaining read; I hope this is just the beginning from a very talented writer. And make sure you visit www.bonobo.org to read about the very real struggles of the real bonobos.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing and funny, it will capture your imagination!, February 9, 2006

By 

Karen Pickett (Berkeley, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Primal Tears (Paperback)

Primal Tears is a funny, deep, exciting and-biologically correct-novel springing from an innovative idea: What if efforts to bring back endangered species from the brink are taken another step through a captive breeding program with human surrogate mothers increasing birth rate of the threatened species? Not possible for snail darters or tiger salamanders, but it is not so far flung a concept for bonobo chimps, as close to humans genetically as horses are to donkeys. Sarah Carrigan, author Kelpie Wilson's character in her first novel, Primal Tears, decides to host a bonobo embryo in her womb in just such an ecologically-driven experiment. She got more than she bargained for when the fertilized egg failed to implant, but some left-over bonobo sperm fertilizes one of her eggs. Thus starts the story of Sage, the human-bonobo girl.

Sage draws from both worlds, being extremely agile and strong, smart and curious, but decidedly different from her peers, sporting a slightly protruding brow and a hairy back. When she finally learns the truth about her conception, trouble comes galloping in from the Child Welfare agency, followed by the local Sheriffs and federal agents, fired up by the bible-thumping Kristian Kommand, who call her "Satan's spawn". All hell breaks loose as the family flees to prevent Sage from being taken away. We are along for the ride on Sage's adventures, exploring her early-arriving sexuality, living in the forest with the bears, running from the right-wing crazies and hooking up with "Tree Nation", a group of young tree-sitters determined to keep the chain saws at bay in the old growth forest. She and her teenage friends form an organization to save the bonobos from extinction-a present danger in the real world today.

There are lots of surprises in this fast-moving story, but Kelpie Wilson did her research well, and the story line will resonate not only with environmental activists, but scientists and research biologists. Besides delving into fascinating ideas, it's a fun and exciting story. We learn about the differences in apes and humanoids in their ability to vocalize, and the fact that apes cannot create tears. But we also learn that perhaps we have more in common with other species that we share space with on this blue green planet than we might think at first glance.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I absolutely loved this book, January 7, 2007

By 

John E. Robbins (Soquel, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Primal Tears (Paperback)

What a great book! I loved it. First of all, I found it to be totally enthralling. I finished it the day I started it, even though there were about a thousand things I had planned for the day and needed to get done. The phrase "I couldn't put it down" is a cliche, but in this case literally true. And as I read, I felt drawn deeper and deeper into a primal sense of hope. Not a naive hope, not wishful thinking, but a sense of the immensity of human evolution and the profundity of out interconnectedness with all of life. Thanks, Kelpie. I hope everyone on our dear and endangered Earth reads this book.