"Planet of the Apes" by Pierre Boulle

Hove Book Group came together, once again, on the evening of Thursday 6th September 2012 at The Poets Corner pub.

We discussed Robin's choices.  The first book under discussion was "Sum" by David Eagleman.

Robin had heard about the book whilst enjoying an arts programme on his radiogram.  He was attracted to it because it was short and interesting.  Like so many of the best things in life.  Robin was keen to understand which of the group were believers in the afterlife (sadly none of us).   Robin felt that, in terms of the afterlife, most of the world’s major religions have fairly prosaic stuff on offer. Only occasionally will a cosmology be really colourful, as it is in Greek mythology, where some interesting eschatological options are available. In terms of this book Robin felt that after a while the stories - whilst enjoyable and provocative - started to merge into one. 7.5/10

Nigel explained that it was the second time he'd read this book.  The first time was just after it was published.  The short stories that comprise the book are clever, occasionally funny, and generally thought provoking.  Those stories that offer life lessons, and ideas about enjoying a fulfilling life, were the ones he enjoyed the most.  Nigel confessed that towards the end of the book the cleverness started to pall, and the stories started to merge together.  Ultimately it's enjoyable and interesting but not quite as wonderful as many of the reviews suggest.  7/10

Don... didn't read it.

Keith was impressed by how the book attempted to do something different with complex issues.  "We are our interactions with other people" resonated.  Speculating about who, if anyone, created us and what lies ahead of us can be intellectually engaging and entertaining too.    Another example that delighted Keith: “There are three deaths,” Eagleman writes. “The first is when the body ceases to function. The second is when the body is consigned to the grave. The third is that moment, sometime in the future, when your name is spoken for the last time.” In this scheme, when we die, we go to a cosmic waiting room where we mark time until our name is never again mentioned. The famous are trapped here, of course, for a very long time; they wish for obscurity, but it may take an eternity to arrive. 7/10

Tristan was also coming to the book for a second time.  Quirky and original, was his pithy summary.  Although Tristan did not actually say this, Sum invites comparison with two great books, which offer visions of the limitations and unbounded possibilities of imagination: Michael Frayn’s satire Sweet Dreams, a bourgeois liberal vision of heaven, and Italo Calvino’s fantastical gazetteer, Invisible Cities. 7/10

Nick enjoyed reading a book on the afterlife that was neither by a Dawkinsesque staunch atheist, or a person with strong religious convictions.  "How does anyone believe in only one story?" queried Nick.  By combining scientific knowledge with creativity and an inventive imagination, Eagleman has written a book worthy of a massive 9/10.

A very respectable average rating of 7.5/10

After a pause for some refreshments, we pressed on with Robin's second choice: "Planet of the Apes" by Pierre Boulle...

Unexpectedly Robin confessed that he was expecting the book to be "complete trash".  His main motivation for selecting the book had been his passion for saving animals around the world.  Most days Robin is involved in cutting free and caring for dancing bears in India; rescuing primates from animal traffickers in Indonesia; and treating stray dogs and cats in developing countries.  

Planet of the Apes begins with Jinn and Phyllis sailing across space in their small craft on holiday and eventually coming across a bottle drifting in the void -- a bottle that they get on board, only to discover a manuscript in it. It is the manuscript, an account by the journalist Ulysse Mérou, that makes up the bulk of the novel, though the book closes with Jinn and Phyllis again, after they have finished reading it.  Whilst flawed, Planet of the Apes is nevertheless an entertaining read. Boulle simplifies a few too many ideas in the book, but the action is good and the book entertains.  Robin "loved it".  8/10

Nigel

Nigel had high hopes having read some excellent science fiction from the 1960s - and having concluded it was something of a golden age for the genre.  Nigel also had fond, albeit hazy, memories of the Planet Of The Apes television series, and the original films, which he'd enjoyed as a child.

The first couple of chapters were very promising however by the end of the book Nigel had concluded this was, at best, a short story that had been stretched to a 200 page novel.  The basic idea is a good one, and the book highlights issues like slavery, animal experimentation, racism and closed-mindedness, but Pierre Boule labours these themes and the story.  After finishing the book Nigel discovered that Pierre Boulle was a Prisoner of War during World War 2, being held captive by the Japanese.  He wrote 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' based on his experiences.  Nigel wondered about the extent to which his wartime experiences might have informed Planet of the Apes. 6/10

Don

Don also recalled the popular seventies films starring Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowell.  Don's edition included a pair of 3D glasses and this ensured his rating was automatically increased by one extra point.  Don decreed that it was a quick, fun read, with some poignant scenes where the intelligent human witnesses his fellow humans  subjected to degrading biological and mental experiments.  Don forgave the book its saggy middle and concluded by lavishing the Monkey Planet with 7/10.

Tristan

Tristan described the book as "cheesy shit" before condemning the tale to a sub-Asimov genre.  This book does not bear comparison with the titans of the 1960s - take a bow Michael Moorcock, Kurt Vonnegut and even (and whilst not to Tristan's taste) Philip K Dick.  To Tristan this book felt Victorian.  As a science fiction fan Tristan was disappointed, however - he was willing to concede - the book placed humankind under a lens and raised a few interesting issues.  Tristan then lambasted the idea that this monkey business was floating around in space in a bottle.  When did the narrator write out his account of the journey? Did he fly back into space to launch his bottle?  Tristan neither knew nor indeed cared.   5/10 (just).

Keith

Keith's opening gambit was that this book was "a neat little choice" going on to describe  it as "a decent yarn".  Keith felt the scientific detail was flimsy, often implausible and frequently illogical.  When someone suggested that the story was an allegory, Keith retorted that "it might be allegory but it was shit allegory".  That's you told Pierre Boulle. 5/10

Nick... didn't read it.

An average rating of 6.2/10

And so concluded another enjoyable gathering of Hove's premier book group.  Next time out we will be discussing "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain.