Family (1976)

John Donovan

Dell Books

First-ape account of a group of apes who escape from a research facility somewhere in the mid-Atlantic. Should be enjoyed by all who have an interest in how one narrates a story from outside our species. We learn here what apes think about humans, religion, philosophy, and various other heady topics. Often you forget an ape is narrating, but the constant rewriting of actions like "we laughed" into "we ape-laughed" helps re-primate you at key junctures. In one rather extraordinary scene, our narrator-ape discusses the difference between apes and humans in relation to the earth, and in so doing basically gives a quick gloss on Heidegger's concept of "standing reserve" from The Question Concerning Technology!