Review: Tastefully written... :)
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 23, 2013
In a future world there is a scientifically enhanced ape with a chip in his head, Mr. Towry, who is an expert on cybernetics has been invited to give a lecture in MIT and it is through him that the story is told.Mr. Towry is intelligent even more so than the humans but is conscious of his non-human status. He shows us a dark side of human dominated world where being different is unacceptable and anything out of the ordinary is either seen with pity or with ridicule. As the blurb says,"Unfortunately, the rules are still "No shirt, no shoes, no service."When I went head first into this book, I was hoping for a funny, light and literal "Monkey Talk" short story but this book is anything but light. A splendidly written piece of social critique, it talks about our need for acceptance and respect. Mr. Towry is also the same. He is intelligent, well dressed and well- spoken. Way better than most humans but still he craves acceptance and normalcy in his life just because he is an ape.I was specially impacted by the scene at the banquet hall where although he is invited to give a lecture but still is refused entry just because he is not wearing shoes. But how can he wear shoes? He is an ape!!But this does not matter to the banquet hall's manager who insists that they have stringent policies and so either he wear shoes or be led out of the building!"We have policies, sir. You really must wear shoes in the banquet hall.""Why would I wear shoes if I don't have feet?""You must wear something. It's unsanitary.""Why don't you wear gloves? You touch things with your hands all the time.""It's not- Sir", he composes himself. He's done being polite. The other guests have ended their private conversations."I'm going to have to ask you to leave."A very skillfully executed and a deep and thought provoking short story, I was very impressed by the author's clarity of thought and his writing skills. He brings forth serious issues without being boring and without adversely affecting the pace of the story.Though I loved the entire story, I was a bit dissatisfied with the Moira part. No clear history and details of the events regarding Moira's role in the story are given.Apart from this small glitch, this is a tastefully written story for the serious thinkers and anyone for that matter, people who are looking to read a different and novel-concept story and is sure to stimulate your thinking process. It has just the right mix of humor, critique, wit, seriousness and poignancy. A 3.8 out of 5 to Monkey Talk and kudos to the author for writing such a different and unusual story which strikes a cord within each of us.This review is also available on the blog Njkinny's World of Books..