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Planet of the Apes (Penguin Modern Classics)
 
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Planet of the Apes (Penguin Modern Classics) (Paperback)

by Pierre Boulle (Author), Brian W. Aldiss (Introduction), Xan Fielding (Translator)
4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition edition (26 Jul 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 014118681X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141186818
  • Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.8 x 1.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 225,354 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #19 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > A > Aldiss, Brian

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Product Description

Product Description
A witty, ironical tale a la Voltaire, full of sharp views about the relationship between men and animals. Boulle depicted a world where humankind has lost its position at the dominant species and apes rule over human savages. The story is set in the year 2500. In the spirit of Gulliver's Travels, a French journalist travels to another planet, where the apes are intelligent and humans are exhibited in zoos. The book differs in many ways from the film. When Boulle wanted to question our superiority above other animals, the film reveals in the climax the past and destroyed glory of the humankind, symbolised by the ruined, half-buried remains of the Statue of Liberty.

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Frequently Aped (sorry), 29 Nov 2001
By A Customer
I do not think that it would be right to review this book with reference to the 2 films that it has spawned. In it's own right it is a wonderful forray into the self-righteousness of man as a species. While the original film may well have been about sex, the book is far deeper and slightly more light-hearted in its cynicism, making the ending all the more shocking.

In fact, the book has little in common with either of the film adaptations although I would probably go so far as to say the new Tim Burton 're-imagining' is closer to the original text. That is why the original film is, in my opinion, much better than the recent production. If you are going to take somebody else's idea, at least put your own stamp on it.

Planet of the Apes is both funny and portentous. It is a ridiculous premise, of course, but it does put our own existence to the fore, making us look at how we treat others, be they animal or human. A Gulliver's Travels for the 20th Century.

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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Well worth a read, 29 Mar 2007
By John Hopper (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Planet of the Apes (Mass Market Paperback)
An interesting read. The main narrative takes place as a story recounted in a message in a bottle, topped and tailed with an overarching storyline with a fairly predictable twist. Most of the main narrative is actually very similar to the film, except that the ending, while quite dramatic, lacks the punch of the film's ending (won't give spoilers here, but the shock revelation seems more ambiguous and there is no Statue of Liberty in the book, ironically as my edition has the famous landmark plastered all over the cover!). The writing is actually very simple, almost like a children's book, and I read it very quickly. But it does contain some haunting imagery, such as the scenes of experimentation, the regression of Professsor Antelle, and the snippets we learn about how simians took over from humans.
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5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An odd read., 12 Aug 2001
Despite the ridiculous central principal this book reads very well, it takes the form of a manuscript left in a bottle (floating through space!) by journalist and primate enthusiast Ulsse Merou. The book shares a lot with the film despite some fundemental differences, infact if you swap apes with humans this book actually shares more with the third film (note: I thought the films were stupid and only watched them on sunday afternoons as an alternative to watching my extensive archive of 'Due South' videos). This is a good read overall and the definitely the zenith of post apocalyptic monkey based pessimism, and it has naked people.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Just finished this
I have just finished this book today.I saw the film last year and loved it so I thought it was about time I read the book. Read more
Published on 4 Sep 2004 by Snail

5.0 out of 5 stars It is just a story?
I know different media calls for different handling of the story. And most movies do not live up to the book. However some exceed the book. Read more
Published on 21 Jun 2004 by bernie

5.0 out of 5 stars It is just a story?
I know different media calls for different handling of the story. And most movies do not live up to the book. However some exceed the book. Read more
Published on 1 Dec 2002 by bernie

1.0 out of 5 stars Planet of the bores?
This was extremely dull. I was expecting something like Due South but all I got was over laboured french metaphors. Read more
Published on 16 Aug 2001 by fields0fheadlesschix@hotmail.com

5.0 out of 5 stars Apes rule in this parady of human civilization
In Planet of the Apes, astronaughts from Earth's present travel to space and into the distant future only to crash land on a planet inhabited by talking apes. Read more
Published on 29 April 2001 by dg1081@aol.com

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