Kinsey Swartz read and liked Alex's review of Eva:

"My favorite thing about Eva echoes that of a book I treasure above just about all others: Speaker for the Dead—that thing being an alien society that really feels alien. In the case of Speaker those aliens were the Pequeninos, the only other senti...more My favorite thing about Eva echoes that of a book I treasure above just about all others: Speaker for the Dead—that thing being an alien society that really feels alien. In the case of Speaker those aliens were the Pequeninos, the only other sentient species known in the universe. In the case of Eva, the aliens are much closer to home: chimpanzees. And yet Peter Dickinson makes them come alive in a way that feels strange and exhilarating. Their culture, communication, and personalities are every bit as real as those of humans, because Dickinson gets in their heads, both literally and figuratively.

It is interesting, then, that with the exception of the title character, all of the human characters struck me as hollow and dimensionless. Their movements are predictable and empty, and yet overly potent, like children who found their dad’s gun. People have overdeveloped the planet, far beyond irretrievable loss of biodiversity. Dickinson’s future humanity is full of Icarian hubris, yes, but also bumbling and doe-eyed innocence, not unlike the future presented in WALL-E. As such, I read humanity’s hollow dimensionlessness in Eva as a conscious storytelling choice. Humanity is seen that way because the story isn’t really about humanity.

By contrast the chimpanzee characters are the passionate, sympathetic underdogs. They grow to dominate the book. Humanity fades to the periphery and the primary narrative evolves (no pun intended) to follow the chimps. It’s in the chimps where the heart of the story lies.

I won’t even outline the plot here, because for me so much of the joy of this book comes from its fresh strangeness. Its premise is truly bizarre, and I liked not having a chance to get used to it before delving deep into the book. So if you haven’t already spoiled it for yourself, I recommend keeping it that way until you have a chance to read this singular novel. It’s a quick read that charts strangely enjoyable and utterly unique alien territory.(less) "