Very pleasant, elegant and fast read - and immediately gripping. It's hard not to be fascinated by our bonobo ape cousins; the way Gruen portrays the human-ape connection made me want to give this five stars, but the plot was lacking something. I have a feeling she was on a deadline and wasn't able to craft the story as well as she could have.

I have not read any of her other books yet, but Water for Elephants is towards the top of my list now.