- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition edition (29 Feb 1996)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140244727
- ISBN-13: 978-0140244724
- Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 11 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,341,767 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
"Engaging and touching . . . A remarkable book."--"The Denver Post" on "Jennie"
"Brilliant and complex. "Jennie "is a dazzling fiction debut."--"Los Angeles Times "
on" Jennie
"
"A poignant, thought-provoking story."--"The Wall Street Journal "on" Jennie
""""A haunting account of the nebulous line between man and animal. . . . Tragic, dark, irresistible."--"Boston Herald "on" Jennie
"
"I love "Jennie, " the book and the chimp . . . a very remarkable person and a very important book."--Jane Goodall, bestselling author of "In the Shadow of Man
"
"An amazing story."--"Entertainment Weekly" on "Jennie"
"Engrossing story of a chimp experiment . . . Jennie is a believable character, both hilarious and heart-breaking."--"Cleveland Plain Dealer" on "Jennie"
"An enchanting morality tale in which genes and evolution replace fates of ancient tragedy. . . . Preston sticks to scientific fact and so it's to his credit that he reader finds himself asking ' --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
"Brilliant and complex. "Jennie "is a dazzling fiction debut."--"Los Angeles Times "
on" Jennie
"
"A poignant, thought-provoking story."--"The Wall Street Journal "on" Jennie
""""A haunting account of the nebulous line between man and animal. . . . Tragic, dark, irresistible."--"Boston Herald "on" Jennie
"
"I love "Jennie, " the book and the chimp . . . a very remarkable person and a very important book."--Jane Goodall, bestselling author of "In the Shadow of Man
"
"An amazing story."--"Entertainment Weekly" on "Jennie"
"Engrossing story of a chimp experiment . . . Jennie is a believable character, both hilarious and heart-breaking."--"Cleveland Plain Dealer" on "Jennie"
"An enchanting morality tale in which genes and evolution replace fates of ancient tragedy. . . . Preston sticks to scientific fact and so it's to his credit that he reader finds himself asking ' --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Product Description
Hugo Archibald, a curator with the Boston Museum of Natural History, finds an infant chimpanzee on his journey to the Cameroons. He decides to bring her back and raise her in his own family, naming her Jennie. This novel is about the chimpanzee's struggle for love, freedom and dignity.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
I bought this book since I had read at university about experiments done on chimps to use sign language. It wasa really amazing, gripping, moving story written in an excellent manner by Preston. Highly recommended to everyone.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is a fantastic and realistic read. It would appeal to anyone who has a love of animals.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
22 reviews
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Excellent novel. Ignore harsh editorial reviews.
10 Oct 2003
Format:Mass Market Paperback
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.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Jennie Archibald: Very Good, Very Gentle, Very Brave
6 July 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
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.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Great story w/ intruiging Scientific/Philosophical Questions
4 Oct 2001
Format:Mass Market Paperback
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.
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