Not Every Novel That Wants To Be

Mom Was A Smoker. My Grandfather Was A Smoker. My Aunts Were Smokers. My Uncles Were Smokers. I Don't Know Any Smokers Now, Not Even My Mom.

My Mom Was Paranoid About My Safety.

People Are Quite Frequently Eccentric.

The Essence Of Charity ... Was Not Deciding What Others Needed And Giving It To Them, But Giving Them What They Wanted.

'ape House' Is An Ambitious Novel In Several Ways, For Which It Is To Be Admired, And It Is Certainly An Easy Read, But Because Gruen Is Not Quite Prepared For The Philosophical Implications Of Her Subject, It Is Not As Deeply Involving Emotionally Or As Interesting Thematically As It Could Be.