Lynne Hugo

A man. A woman. A chimp. Each carries secret pain. Each must learn to trust, to communicate, to find healing.

Kate and Marc work for the Dayton Zoo, specialists in primates, both peers and rivals. Kate’s time in the field convinced her of the importance of habitat protection and naturalization of chimpanzees. Marc argues that zoos are “a finger in the extinction dyke.” They don’t trust each other, and are attracted to each other.

In comes Eve, a chimpanzee violently taken from her mother when a baby, then used as a lab animal. She is traumatized, unsocialized, and pregnant. Kate wants to quickly socialize Eve with the gentler chimps. Marc wants to give Eve time to trust and adapt. Marc’s gentleness and care is making advances, teaching Eve to communicate through sign language.

The zoo director is concerned about the bottom line. He pressures the staff to quickly advance Eve’s introduction to the pack so he can use her and her baby as promotion for financial profit. It brings conflict between Marc and Kate, threatening their new relationship.

Communication is a central theme. There is Marc communicating with Eve. Marc’s mother is deaf and mute; sign language was his first language. His mother has retreated from the world, overly dependent on him. He rushes home from work so she isn’t alone after the day help leaves. Kate’s mother has primary progressive aphasia, unable to communicate in words. The assisted living care facility doesn’t know how to cope with her limitations.

It takes time for Marc and Kate to trust each other with their stories. To trust each other at work. When they do, it impacts both their families in a positive way, Marc’s mother showing Kate’s mother a new way of communicating.

This is how we fail, again and again…but language is what we have and if we give up and let it fail, there is nothing left.
from Language of Kin by Lynne Hugo

Our family has adopted puppy mill breeder dogs. The females spent years in cages, giving birth, and the male lived outdoors, suffering from untreated broken bones, frostbite, and allergies. Like Eve, shut down and scared when she arrives at the zoo, our Suki hid in a corner, untrusting and fearful. It took days of sitting and talking with her, caring for her, before she would come to me in the evening for doggie cookies. It took a year before she began to act like a real dog, and even into her senior years, she shyly came from her corner in the evening, smiling, to shake and roll on her back and beg for treats. We had adopted Kara, the male dog from a puppy mill, so she could socialize with another dog. When he came and snuggled next to her, she was uncertain. But they bonded, and Kara taught Suki how to play.

So I understood the methods employed by both Kate and Marc, the need for an animal to socialize with their own kind, and the need for them to learn to trust those who care for them.

I read this book over 24 hours. The original setting, the central issue of how to deal with Eve, and the deep understanding of human nature elevated the story and kept my interest.

I received a free book from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.… (mere)

This was an intense read with powerful messages about communication in both the human and animal existence. It's also one of the few books that I've read recently that I wish I could give more than 5 stars to. I went into the story completely blind of the plot and was hooked by the first chapter.

Eve was a chimpanzee who was taken by poachers to sell to a research lab for animal experiments. When she's moved to the Dayton Zoo, after years of experiments, she has to be taught how to live with other animals and learn that not all people are cruel and uncaring. At the Zoo, Kate and Mark are her main trainers. Kate has worked in the jungle and worked with animals at the zoo for a long time. She feels that no animal should be kept in captivity and should be left in their own habitat and Mark fees that zoos are the last chance to keep animals from becoming extinct when their world is diminishing from less jungle space available due to modern buildings. Mark is given the lead role in getting Eve ready to join the other animals but then he goes off track and tries to teach Eve how to truly communicate with humans by using sign language. Even though Kate and Mark, see things differently, they have a lot in common. Kate's mother is in a nursing home but has pretty much given up on life. She has aphasia and is unable to communicate. The nursing home wants to move her to assisted living but Kate is sure that her mother still has thoughts but is unable to express them. Mark's mother is deaf and has sequestered herself in her apartment and she has made Mark her main person to communicate with. Even though they greatly differ in their views of animals in zoos, they find common ground when they discover that they are the main caregivers for their mothers and that both mothers have issues with communication with the outside world. Will this common ground lead to a relationship between Kate and Mark or will their divergent views on animals at the zoo, keep them from exploring a relationship with each other?

I really enjoy reading a book that is so well researched that I learn new things. Lynne Hugo has done considerable research on chimpanzees and shared much of it her novel. I had no idea how close the DNA is between humans and chimpanzees - 98% plus the same dna. After I finished the book, I spent time goggling information about chimpanzees and how they'd been used in medical experiments - often in a very cruel manner.

This book basically had everything that I look for in a five star plus read - a fantastic plot with likeable main characters who are very well written plus the opportunity to learn something new. Trust me, this is not a book that you want to miss!!… (mere)

Thanks to Book Club Cookbook & Kensington Publishing for a gifted copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

This was a heartwarming story of sisters, long-time friends who are now both widows but with very different lifestyles. After the death of husband Charlie, CarolSue moves from Atlanta to the farm at the invitation of her sister Louisa. What starts out as a tedious, predictable farm experience for CarolSue turns into a game of cat and mouse as the introduction of an abandoned baby awakens maternal longings in CarolSue.

The plot thickens with humorous hijinks as CarolSue and Louisa babysit little Gracie for Louisa's incompetent son Gary, while he tries to locate the mother - a young immigrant who fears deportation. They try to keep the baby hidden from Louisa's boyfriend, Gus, who is also the sheriff.

Themes of trust, love, redemption, faith, and family are woven throughout this sweet and humorous novel.… (mere)