Pierre Boulle's novel starts with a couple cruising in space who find a message in a bottle. It tells the story of Ulysse Mérou, a French journalist who travels with a professor and a younger scientist to a planet near Betelgeuse. On this planet, called Soror, intelligent apes rule, and humans are mute animals kept in cages and used in experiments. Ulysse is captured, studied by chimpanzee scientist Zira and her fiancé Cornelius, and has to prove he can think. The book is a satire on human arrogance.
Readers who know the films will find a different, more ironic story here. It suits those interested in classic French science fiction and in fiction that uses an inverted world to question who deserves the title of reason.
Balanced in tone; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Story Seeker. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2001
- Publisher
- ISBN
- 9782266118286
- Language
- FR
