What do you think?
Rate this book
The Study of Animal Languages
"An exuberant, wise, and darkly funny novel about love, talent, ambition, envy, and the bungled ways we try to connect and care for each other." --Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, author of The Nest
Meet Ivan and Prue: a married couple - both experts in language and communication - who nevertheless cannot seem to communicate with each other
Ivan is a tightly wound philosophy professor whose reverence for logic and order governs not only his academic interests, but also his closest relationships. His wife, Prue, is quite the opposite: a pioneer in the emerging field of biolinguistics, she is bold and vibrant, full of life and feeling. Thus far, they have managed to weather their differences. But lately, an odd distance has settled in between them. Might it have something to do with the arrival of the college's dashing but insufferable new writer-in-residence, whose novel Prue always seems to be reading?
Into this delicate moment barrels Ivan's unstable father-in-law, Frank, in town to hear Prue deliver a lecture on birdsong that is set to cement her tenure application. But the talk doesn't go as planned, unleashing a series of crises that force Ivan to finally confront the problems in his marriage, and to begin to fight - at last - for what he holds dear.
A dazzlingly insightful and entertaining novel about the limitations of language, the fragility of love, and the ways we misunderstand each other and ourselves, The Study of Animal Languages marks the debut of a brilliant new voice in fiction.
Meet Ivan and Prue: a married couple - both experts in language and communication - who nevertheless cannot seem to communicate with each other
Ivan is a tightly wound philosophy professor whose reverence for logic and order governs not only his academic interests, but also his closest relationships. His wife, Prue, is quite the opposite: a pioneer in the emerging field of biolinguistics, she is bold and vibrant, full of life and feeling. Thus far, they have managed to weather their differences. But lately, an odd distance has settled in between them. Might it have something to do with the arrival of the college's dashing but insufferable new writer-in-residence, whose novel Prue always seems to be reading?
Into this delicate moment barrels Ivan's unstable father-in-law, Frank, in town to hear Prue deliver a lecture on birdsong that is set to cement her tenure application. But the talk doesn't go as planned, unleashing a series of crises that force Ivan to finally confront the problems in his marriage, and to begin to fight - at last - for what he holds dear.
A dazzlingly insightful and entertaining novel about the limitations of language, the fragility of love, and the ways we misunderstand each other and ourselves, The Study of Animal Languages marks the debut of a brilliant new voice in fiction.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published February 19, 2019
53 people are currently reading
3186 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 165 reviews
May 19, 2024
Catching up…
Communication.
I believe, we can agree that communication is important to a marriage. And when it doesn’t exist within a marriage, the relationship will suffer.
In this case, this book emphasizes the crisis that exists within the relationship/marriage between Ivan and Prue because of their lack of communication.
And for university professors, especially the fact that Prue is in the emerging field of biolinguistics, which emphasizes the study of the evolution of language, how could she do so poorly with her own husband?
Even though it appears that they sustain their marriage adequately, Ivan does feel the distance. He knows that Prue talks more to his father-in-law, Frank, than to him.
So, what will help change things?
To gain insight, we as readers would need to feel connected to the characters. The author does her best to show the missteps in communication, and a fairly good job in developing Ivan and Frank’s characters.
But for this reader, Prue was hard to get close to and feel any sense of emotional closeness. And considering she was the one who was most responsible for the evolution of language, the limitations of interpersonal communication became too blatantly uncomfortable.
Making this story fall a bit flat for me.
Communication.
I believe, we can agree that communication is important to a marriage. And when it doesn’t exist within a marriage, the relationship will suffer.
In this case, this book emphasizes the crisis that exists within the relationship/marriage between Ivan and Prue because of their lack of communication.
And for university professors, especially the fact that Prue is in the emerging field of biolinguistics, which emphasizes the study of the evolution of language, how could she do so poorly with her own husband?
Even though it appears that they sustain their marriage adequately, Ivan does feel the distance. He knows that Prue talks more to his father-in-law, Frank, than to him.
So, what will help change things?
To gain insight, we as readers would need to feel connected to the characters. The author does her best to show the missteps in communication, and a fairly good job in developing Ivan and Frank’s characters.
But for this reader, Prue was hard to get close to and feel any sense of emotional closeness. And considering she was the one who was most responsible for the evolution of language, the limitations of interpersonal communication became too blatantly uncomfortable.
Making this story fall a bit flat for me.
February 1, 2024
Ivan and Prue both work in academia in the fields of language and communication; however, it’s soon apparent that they are struggling to communicate in their marriage. Add in a visit from Prue’s father, who is bipolar and off his meds, and their life is thrown into chaos.
This was a book club pick and I listened to the audiobook. The characters are hard to connect with, and yet there is something about the book that I think will stick with me. The idea that we all want so hard to connect, and these individuals in particular made this field their profession… yet they struggled personally to break down barriers, to be vulnerable and authentic with each other. It’s an interesting book.
This was a book club pick and I listened to the audiobook. The characters are hard to connect with, and yet there is something about the book that I think will stick with me. The idea that we all want so hard to connect, and these individuals in particular made this field their profession… yet they struggled personally to break down barriers, to be vulnerable and authentic with each other. It’s an interesting book.
April 11, 2019
It took about 190 pages for this book to become interesting. Until then it was about as dry as reading an academic journal. Two pretentious career-obsessed academics ignore their marriage until some misunderstandings and miscommunication help propel them toward a talk that’s long overdue. Unfortunately by the time we actually hear about the real problem with their relationship, the book ends.
Prue, the wife, is never fully fleshed out and Ivan, her husband, is an insecure shallow mess. Their friends are equally self-congratulatory and arrogant. In the end, the only personal I remotely cared for was their niece.
This book is not about relationships, character development, or communication, it’s about using as many impressive words in one book as humanly possible. What a disappointing mess.
Prue, the wife, is never fully fleshed out and Ivan, her husband, is an insecure shallow mess. Their friends are equally self-congratulatory and arrogant. In the end, the only personal I remotely cared for was their niece.
This book is not about relationships, character development, or communication, it’s about using as many impressive words in one book as humanly possible. What a disappointing mess.
October 3, 2021
It's not that I didn't like this novel, but that I didn't feel it in any way whatsoever. The Study of Animal Languages is narrated by fortysomething philosophy professor Ivan Link, who believes himself to be happily married to his wife, Prue. However, this is tested the weekend Prue presents her lecture for her upcoming tenure case, which her mentally ill father comes to see.
From the beginning of the novel, I knew I didn't really like Ivan. He was too sure in his own opinions, and too unfeeling towards everyone else. He only stepped up when there was imminent danger, and before that he brushed a lot of things to the side and downplayed everything.
Prue, on the other hand, was never straightforward, and her character left a lot to be desired. She was absent for a good part of the novel, while Ivan spent the time with her father and niece. Despite the fact that she was trying to overcome her botched lecture, I still think she should have been more involved in general.
I was kind of rooting for them to work out their differences, but also really not. They're just two very flat characters who only change superficially throughout the novel, and it makes sense that they don't belong together.
I find it really hard to read books about characters that stay this flat. Character and character development are a big part of what makes a novel great, and this novel was lacking in that aspect. If they were stronger characters, it would have made for a better story.
Disclaimer:
From the beginning of the novel, I knew I didn't really like Ivan. He was too sure in his own opinions, and too unfeeling towards everyone else. He only stepped up when there was imminent danger, and before that he brushed a lot of things to the side and downplayed everything.
Prue, on the other hand, was never straightforward, and her character left a lot to be desired. She was absent for a good part of the novel, while Ivan spent the time with her father and niece. Despite the fact that she was trying to overcome her botched lecture, I still think she should have been more involved in general.
I was kind of rooting for them to work out their differences, but also really not. They're just two very flat characters who only change superficially throughout the novel, and it makes sense that they don't belong together.
I find it really hard to read books about characters that stay this flat. Character and character development are a big part of what makes a novel great, and this novel was lacking in that aspect. If they were stronger characters, it would have made for a better story.
Disclaimer:
January 27, 2019
4.5/5 Stars
I won an ARC for The Study of Animal Languages by @lindsayostern from a #goodreadsgiveaway (my first win from them ever). I wasn't sure what to expect - a debut work by an unknow author that I had never heard of before entering the giveaway could be many things, but let me say: I was pleasantly surprised and very impressed by this novel.
This is the story of two married professors: a philosopher of knowledge and an ornithologist that studies bird communication who, despite their expertise, have never quite learned how to talk to each other.
First, the writing is beautiful. I could tell Ms. Stern put a lot of work into the prose. The character development was very good and she does a great job putting in enough plot to keep me engaged enough to finish this novel in less than 24 hours. At times humorous and at others just plain sad, I do recommend this novel, especially to anyone that enjoys reading about academia and marriage.
My one tiny critique is that I felt this novel could have used maybe another 50 pages to more fully illustrate the relationship at the heart of the novel. All said, though, this was a great debut and I look forward to whatever Ms. Stern does next.
I won an ARC for The Study of Animal Languages by @lindsayostern from a #goodreadsgiveaway (my first win from them ever). I wasn't sure what to expect - a debut work by an unknow author that I had never heard of before entering the giveaway could be many things, but let me say: I was pleasantly surprised and very impressed by this novel.
This is the story of two married professors: a philosopher of knowledge and an ornithologist that studies bird communication who, despite their expertise, have never quite learned how to talk to each other.
First, the writing is beautiful. I could tell Ms. Stern put a lot of work into the prose. The character development was very good and she does a great job putting in enough plot to keep me engaged enough to finish this novel in less than 24 hours. At times humorous and at others just plain sad, I do recommend this novel, especially to anyone that enjoys reading about academia and marriage.
My one tiny critique is that I felt this novel could have used maybe another 50 pages to more fully illustrate the relationship at the heart of the novel. All said, though, this was a great debut and I look forward to whatever Ms. Stern does next.
May 5, 2019
This novel follows Ivan as he picks up his wife's father, who is definitely not on his meds, and chauffeurs him back to his house. Prue is seen as a shoo-in to be awarded tenure and she's giving a speech which is seen as the capstone of her career so far. Ivan feels that he's losing Prue, but can't put a finger on why or how, only that she seems removed from him somehow. When the lecture is not well-received and the subsequent house party goes even more badly, Ivan is left scrambling to keep everything together, even as he is losing it.
Lindsay Stern's debut novel is a look at communication -- between spouses and within families. It's also a send up of Academia and is often funny and absurd, but the focus remains on Ivan and his dealings with his own feelings as chaos swirls around him in the form of his distant wife, his all-too-present Father-in-Law and his niece, May, who is delightful, but also a lot of work for an over-extended, childless man who is losing his tightly held control over his environment. It reminded me of Anne Tyler's writing. It was a slight but entertaining and well-written novel and I look forward to reading Stern's next novel.
Lindsay Stern's debut novel is a look at communication -- between spouses and within families. It's also a send up of Academia and is often funny and absurd, but the focus remains on Ivan and his dealings with his own feelings as chaos swirls around him in the form of his distant wife, his all-too-present Father-in-Law and his niece, May, who is delightful, but also a lot of work for an over-extended, childless man who is losing his tightly held control over his environment. It reminded me of Anne Tyler's writing. It was a slight but entertaining and well-written novel and I look forward to reading Stern's next novel.
May 24, 2019
Decent read but didn’t enjoy as much as I expected. Had great writing and flawed characters which are two of my favourite things in a novel. Topped off with an unreliable narrator, which is probably by third favourite thing in a novel, and then capped with a bit of a comedy of errors at the end - even if it was a particularly black comedy. Something felt missing though. Even if one of the main characters was a zoologist. Would still recommend.
May 31, 2019
I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway. Thank you to the publisher and Goodreads for making this giveaway possible.
It's a shame - I was looking forward to reading this book because the summary sounded fascinating. Unfortunately, Lindsay Stern's The Study of Animal Languages left a lot to be desired. As I trudged through the story, waiting for something - anything - clever or interesting to happen, I realized that perhaps academics should stick to writing academic works - not fiction about academia. (Side note: that's a stance I don't usually take, as I often wish that academic writing could be made more broadly accessible to those who exist beyond and adjacent to the ivory tower).
I did have hope, at the beginning of the novel, that it would fulfill my literary expectations. The main characters, Ivan and Prue, are two egotistical, disconnected academics who are unable to make sense of their own marriage - much less anything else. They are thoroughly unlikable, which I thought might have been okay had the author intended to write them as wholly satirical characters, but it soon became clear that either Stern doesn't know how to write satire or genuinely wanted her audience to empathize with her pathetic, narcissistic protagonists. Yet another character, Prue's father, Frank, enters the story as a sharp contrast to these learned, respected, self-absorbed academics. Frank is formidably well-read despite lacking the formal education Ivan and Prue received. He struggles with bipolar disorder and does some pretty manic things throughout the course of the book. I had hope for Frank, too - at first, he seemed to be a sort of "fool" character who everyone assumes is an idiot, but actually is the only one who speaks the truth. Instead, he slowly progresses into a sad, crazed caricature without much purpose.
To spare you the multitudinous details about why I disliked this novel, I'll condense a few here. One of my gripes is that the author included the transcript of an entire academic presentation delivered by Prue as a chapter in the novel. While the context of the transcript is supposedly reflected in the themes of the novel, there was really no need whatsoever to include an entire speech as a chapter. It was boring and didn't really add much to the story. Likewise, I could tell the author has worked in academia, because there was an obvious compulsion on her part to include several meaningless characters just to tick representational boxes. In one instance, a visiting Chinese professor appears at a faculty meeting - and is named - for no reason whatsoever. Nothing is ever done with his character aside from noting that he's Asian, which does a disservice both to the character himself and the representational box Stern attempted to tick. She includes so many obvious minority side characters that it becomes simultaneously comical and sad - the desire to present diverse characters is there, but she doesn't give them any truly meaningful interactions to make them interesting. While that could be construed as a clever comment on the state of modern academia, it falls flat because I really don't think Stern understands how to employ satire to make a point. Finally, let me just note that Prue (supposedly a main character) hardly shows up in the novel aside from a stolen five minutes here and there; Frank shoves a steel-tipped umbrella through a shark tank at a local aquarium and somehow in all the ridiculousness, no one (human or animal) dies; a brother-in-law and niece are introduced and woven throughout the plot for no tangible reason other to exist and then disappear 2/3 of the way through the book. It was just an odd story, veering off in different directions without much of a point.
At the end of the day, people who want to read fiction want to do just that. If they wanted something more academic in nature, surely they'd search through a database to read scholarly articles and monographs published by university presses. Stern seemingly can't separate these two enough to craft a readable and thought-provoking piece of fiction, and that's precisely where this novel fails.
It's a shame - I was looking forward to reading this book because the summary sounded fascinating. Unfortunately, Lindsay Stern's The Study of Animal Languages left a lot to be desired. As I trudged through the story, waiting for something - anything - clever or interesting to happen, I realized that perhaps academics should stick to writing academic works - not fiction about academia. (Side note: that's a stance I don't usually take, as I often wish that academic writing could be made more broadly accessible to those who exist beyond and adjacent to the ivory tower).
I did have hope, at the beginning of the novel, that it would fulfill my literary expectations. The main characters, Ivan and Prue, are two egotistical, disconnected academics who are unable to make sense of their own marriage - much less anything else. They are thoroughly unlikable, which I thought might have been okay had the author intended to write them as wholly satirical characters, but it soon became clear that either Stern doesn't know how to write satire or genuinely wanted her audience to empathize with her pathetic, narcissistic protagonists. Yet another character, Prue's father, Frank, enters the story as a sharp contrast to these learned, respected, self-absorbed academics. Frank is formidably well-read despite lacking the formal education Ivan and Prue received. He struggles with bipolar disorder and does some pretty manic things throughout the course of the book. I had hope for Frank, too - at first, he seemed to be a sort of "fool" character who everyone assumes is an idiot, but actually is the only one who speaks the truth. Instead, he slowly progresses into a sad, crazed caricature without much purpose.
To spare you the multitudinous details about why I disliked this novel, I'll condense a few here. One of my gripes is that the author included the transcript of an entire academic presentation delivered by Prue as a chapter in the novel. While the context of the transcript is supposedly reflected in the themes of the novel, there was really no need whatsoever to include an entire speech as a chapter. It was boring and didn't really add much to the story. Likewise, I could tell the author has worked in academia, because there was an obvious compulsion on her part to include several meaningless characters just to tick representational boxes. In one instance, a visiting Chinese professor appears at a faculty meeting - and is named - for no reason whatsoever. Nothing is ever done with his character aside from noting that he's Asian, which does a disservice both to the character himself and the representational box Stern attempted to tick. She includes so many obvious minority side characters that it becomes simultaneously comical and sad - the desire to present diverse characters is there, but she doesn't give them any truly meaningful interactions to make them interesting. While that could be construed as a clever comment on the state of modern academia, it falls flat because I really don't think Stern understands how to employ satire to make a point. Finally, let me just note that Prue (supposedly a main character) hardly shows up in the novel aside from a stolen five minutes here and there; Frank shoves a steel-tipped umbrella through a shark tank at a local aquarium and somehow in all the ridiculousness, no one (human or animal) dies; a brother-in-law and niece are introduced and woven throughout the plot for no tangible reason other to exist and then disappear 2/3 of the way through the book. It was just an odd story, veering off in different directions without much of a point.
At the end of the day, people who want to read fiction want to do just that. If they wanted something more academic in nature, surely they'd search through a database to read scholarly articles and monographs published by university presses. Stern seemingly can't separate these two enough to craft a readable and thought-provoking piece of fiction, and that's precisely where this novel fails.
April 1, 2019
Picked this up because...well, not sure why. One of the library-related Facebook groups had a question about finding a book for a patron, patron couldn't remember title of the book or the author, but thought it was new and that there was a tree with birds on the cover. And that the title had something to do with life? Anyway, turns out I was the one that pinpointed the correct book, and after reading the synopsis, I commented about how it sounded interesting.
Yeah, it's not. Well, not as nearly as much as I thought it would be. Told in first-person POV, this is really Ivan's story. Prue, his wife, does play a role, but considering how their marriage is possibly heading into the toilet due to infidelity, it seemed like she should have made more of an impact. And I'm not entirely sure what was going on with her father, Frank, other than he was off his meds and having a manic episode during what should have been Prue's finest moment (delivering an academic paper to an assembly hall full of students and colleagues). About the only character I really liked and felt anything for was the little girl, Ivan and Prue's niece, May.
Overall, can't really recommend. Slow-going, with characters that felt exactly that way - characters, not real people. Also have to wonder if Ivan is really supposed to be an unreliable narrator...could be the case. Meh.
Yeah, it's not. Well, not as nearly as much as I thought it would be. Told in first-person POV, this is really Ivan's story. Prue, his wife, does play a role, but considering how their marriage is possibly heading into the toilet due to infidelity, it seemed like she should have made more of an impact. And I'm not entirely sure what was going on with her father, Frank, other than he was off his meds and having a manic episode during what should have been Prue's finest moment (delivering an academic paper to an assembly hall full of students and colleagues). About the only character I really liked and felt anything for was the little girl, Ivan and Prue's niece, May.
Overall, can't really recommend. Slow-going, with characters that felt exactly that way - characters, not real people. Also have to wonder if Ivan is really supposed to be an unreliable narrator...could be the case. Meh.
February 27, 2019
Thank you NetGalley and Viking for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book. This is the story of Ivan and Prue who have spent their lives studying linguistics and communication and unfortunately have seemed to miss the boat when it comes to themselves. Through the book their are scenarios they cannot seem to get themselves out of. I thought this book was good in some areas but to me it was a little lacking. I like to get immersed in the characters themselves and I never quite became invested.
October 17, 2023
1.5 stars
i genuinely thought this was written by a man
i genuinely thought this was written by a man
February 28, 2019
via my blog: https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com/
The usual wreckage drifts towards me…
Ivan and Prue are married and couldn’t be any different. Ivan is a philosophy professor who lives in a controlled manner, lover of language that longs for it to be exact, ‘like symbols of mathematics’, a languge that can be played with, twisted to mean anything other than what is is. Like philosophy it would ‘eliminate misunderstandings once and for all’ here in lies the humor in the novel, for his marriage crumbles under that exact invader, misunderstanding. Wife Prue studies biolinguistics whose discoveries leads her to believe one day people could understand their ‘birdsong’ as language, not senseless chatter. This form of communication could be very much alive in the animal kingdom, as much as human’s relate to one another, why not they? Certainly studying ‘sounds’ of birds, monitoring them cannot truly tell us what they are saying, feeling, thinking? What about we humans, superior animals and our gorgeous vocabularies? Aren’t our words often fraught with unintended outcomes, consequences, errors, comedies? Words used as camoflauge to hide our real feelings? Words to strip and bare our souls, just as misunderstood depending on whose ears they fall? Prue’s lecture scares Ivan, because he fears no one will take her, nor her intelligence seriously and it all unravels.
Prue’s father Frank comes into town to hear his brilliant daughter lecture, but he is on a downward spiral, his highs and lows having long navigated Prue’s entire childhood. Strange that his inability to corral his thoughts and behavior somehow makes him the most solid character in the novel, and the most likable. Prue and Ivan’s marriage is tested too by writer Dalton Field, whose book she has taken an interest in reading, the attractive visiting author infuriating Ivan. He sees an easy intimacy between them, but no, it has to be his imagination? There are clues something is going on, he can feel a rupture in their love. To make matters worse, people are always surprised that Prue chose a man like him as husband, bland and predictable. Then there is Prue’s niece May, witness to the adults falling apart around her, which gives insight into what life with Frank must have been like for Prue, the fear of his mania as well as the thrill of it. Which makes the reader wonder if that could be why Prue fell in love with someone as stable as Ivan. “It may come as a surprise to you, Dad, but you’re not a prophet. You’re a provocateur.” I was focused more closely on Frank and the influence his mental illness had on his daughter’s life. It was beautiful and sad because he does love her. Ivan loves Prue as well, without a doubt, but he never feels quite worthy while at the same time feels superior, it’s so odd.
Ivan is methodical until he let’s his fear of losing Prue ravage his common sense. He is going to stay on the sinking ship until the end. Will he save their love? Salvage the wreckage of his marriage, patch up the cracks caused by his misinterpretations of their love language? Ivan thinks he is nothing like Frank, there seems to be a condescending attitude toward his father-in-law, but as he unravels he may find he has more in common with him than he ever imagined. A novel that speaks in more than words or birdsong.
It’s a clever story of academics turned foolish. I enjoyed it, but some may not as the excitement is quiet.
Available Now
Penguin Group
Viking
The usual wreckage drifts towards me…
Ivan and Prue are married and couldn’t be any different. Ivan is a philosophy professor who lives in a controlled manner, lover of language that longs for it to be exact, ‘like symbols of mathematics’, a languge that can be played with, twisted to mean anything other than what is is. Like philosophy it would ‘eliminate misunderstandings once and for all’ here in lies the humor in the novel, for his marriage crumbles under that exact invader, misunderstanding. Wife Prue studies biolinguistics whose discoveries leads her to believe one day people could understand their ‘birdsong’ as language, not senseless chatter. This form of communication could be very much alive in the animal kingdom, as much as human’s relate to one another, why not they? Certainly studying ‘sounds’ of birds, monitoring them cannot truly tell us what they are saying, feeling, thinking? What about we humans, superior animals and our gorgeous vocabularies? Aren’t our words often fraught with unintended outcomes, consequences, errors, comedies? Words used as camoflauge to hide our real feelings? Words to strip and bare our souls, just as misunderstood depending on whose ears they fall? Prue’s lecture scares Ivan, because he fears no one will take her, nor her intelligence seriously and it all unravels.
Prue’s father Frank comes into town to hear his brilliant daughter lecture, but he is on a downward spiral, his highs and lows having long navigated Prue’s entire childhood. Strange that his inability to corral his thoughts and behavior somehow makes him the most solid character in the novel, and the most likable. Prue and Ivan’s marriage is tested too by writer Dalton Field, whose book she has taken an interest in reading, the attractive visiting author infuriating Ivan. He sees an easy intimacy between them, but no, it has to be his imagination? There are clues something is going on, he can feel a rupture in their love. To make matters worse, people are always surprised that Prue chose a man like him as husband, bland and predictable. Then there is Prue’s niece May, witness to the adults falling apart around her, which gives insight into what life with Frank must have been like for Prue, the fear of his mania as well as the thrill of it. Which makes the reader wonder if that could be why Prue fell in love with someone as stable as Ivan. “It may come as a surprise to you, Dad, but you’re not a prophet. You’re a provocateur.” I was focused more closely on Frank and the influence his mental illness had on his daughter’s life. It was beautiful and sad because he does love her. Ivan loves Prue as well, without a doubt, but he never feels quite worthy while at the same time feels superior, it’s so odd.
Ivan is methodical until he let’s his fear of losing Prue ravage his common sense. He is going to stay on the sinking ship until the end. Will he save their love? Salvage the wreckage of his marriage, patch up the cracks caused by his misinterpretations of their love language? Ivan thinks he is nothing like Frank, there seems to be a condescending attitude toward his father-in-law, but as he unravels he may find he has more in common with him than he ever imagined. A novel that speaks in more than words or birdsong.
It’s a clever story of academics turned foolish. I enjoyed it, but some may not as the excitement is quiet.
Available Now
Penguin Group
Viking
May 11, 2019
i have enjoyed this account of a marriage in academic sorroundings, between a biologist specialized in ornithology, more specific investigating the language of birds, and a philosopher. especially in the first half, where ivan, the husband, is picking up frank, his father-in-law, who wants to attend the public lecture of his daughter, prue, on animal language. i loved the details and the dialogues and appreciated the transcribed « talk » and the debate which followed. in the second half, where frank (who is described as « bipolar » and reluctant to medicate) is « loosing it » at the party following the talk, and the trip to the acquarium, i felt there was too much unnecessary exageration. the dissolution of the marriage following a chain of misunderstandings also seemed a bit contructed and superficial. but overall, this is an interesting novel about interesting people and questions.
May 27, 2019
An absorbing portrait of marriage and mental illness told through the point of view of a 40 something year old philosopher and how he sees his brilliant scientist wife, versus the reality of their relationship- brought to light by a brief visit from her father. The story moves quickly through the before and after effects of an academic speech she gives that spirals his life as he knows it, in both good and bad ways. Ivan's father-in-law, Frank, suffers from, more than anything- the inevitability to deal with life fully, punctured by bipolar or delusions, we never know. But his character brings more light to Ivan's life and how his wife has slowly unraveled away from him, and what each must do to find truth and love once again. An Iowa Writer's Workshop graduate, I look forward to more from Lindsay Stern.
April 16, 2019
A scholarly and academic novel that ultimately touches on very human conditions and behaviors: mental health, marriage, ambition, communication, misunderstanding, mid-life maybe?
I found it ironic; a little funny and a little sad. Sometimes profound.
I think for the right audience, it accomplishes something, it has that special ingredient that makes literary fiction beautiful in the eye of the literary-fiction-loving beholder.
Admittedly, I'm not always a fan of literary novels that are often prize winning pieces works, and so I probably wasn't the ideal reader for this ARC. That said, the fact that I have given it 3 stars meaning "I liked it" says a lot!
My thanks to Goodreads and Viking for the Advance Reader Copy I received.
I found it ironic; a little funny and a little sad. Sometimes profound.
I think for the right audience, it accomplishes something, it has that special ingredient that makes literary fiction beautiful in the eye of the literary-fiction-loving beholder.
Admittedly, I'm not always a fan of literary novels that are often prize winning pieces works, and so I probably wasn't the ideal reader for this ARC. That said, the fact that I have given it 3 stars meaning "I liked it" says a lot!
My thanks to Goodreads and Viking for the Advance Reader Copy I received.
May 29, 2019
Did not finish. Characters are not very compelling. Just not finding it something I feel like continuing. It feels like it's headed on a predictable path.
Read
January 15, 2025“where do we go, when we go to sleep?”
2:52:57 may
damn, i kinda loved that. the emotional tension, the self-loathing, the fragmenting relationships. this only ever got on my radar because of julia whelan and macleod andrews, my bestie didn’t have too many lines, but other bestie was not here to play. i think his performance is a big proponent of why i enjoyed this. the absolute train wreck this book was becoming was giving me life. i fucking loved when prue and ivan fought, idk why, but it scratched the inch for unadulterated conflict i have.
i thought ivan was such an interesting character where you can see his insecurities plainly, but the effort he puts in with may and even frank (tbh i don’t think i’d have the patience), shows he’s not entirely a bad person. barring the end events, this showed some amazing depictions of the coexistence of good and bad in people. his end actions, i can’t condone or sympathize with, so i’m going to forget about them. he went nuclear way too freaking quick. frank was also hella interesting, but i also just have a spot soft for sad old people.
i loved the writing style, the words were hitting. i guess some people would call it pretentious, but it was like layman pretentious because i understood. historically, i’m against reading white people dilemmas, but obviously now i know it can be done in a way i like lol.
with prue, i wasn’t entirely there when they were talking about her bio-linguistics, but i think i got the gist of what she was trying to say with my basic knowledge.
january 14, 2025
overdrive wishlist since february 9, 2020
2:52:57 may
damn, i kinda loved that. the emotional tension, the self-loathing, the fragmenting relationships. this only ever got on my radar because of julia whelan and macleod andrews, my bestie didn’t have too many lines, but other bestie was not here to play. i think his performance is a big proponent of why i enjoyed this. the absolute train wreck this book was becoming was giving me life. i fucking loved when prue and ivan fought, idk why, but it scratched the inch for unadulterated conflict i have.
i thought ivan was such an interesting character where you can see his insecurities plainly, but the effort he puts in with may and even frank (tbh i don’t think i’d have the patience), shows he’s not entirely a bad person. barring the end events, this showed some amazing depictions of the coexistence of good and bad in people. his end actions, i can’t condone or sympathize with, so i’m going to forget about them. he went nuclear way too freaking quick. frank was also hella interesting, but i also just have a spot soft for sad old people.
i loved the writing style, the words were hitting. i guess some people would call it pretentious, but it was like layman pretentious because i understood. historically, i’m against reading white people dilemmas, but obviously now i know it can be done in a way i like lol.
with prue, i wasn’t entirely there when they were talking about her bio-linguistics, but i think i got the gist of what she was trying to say with my basic knowledge.
january 14, 2025
overdrive wishlist since february 9, 2020
January 19, 2021
Do I not like this novel because the main character, Ivan, is a pretentious prick who only seems to appreciate his wife's physical attributes? Or do I not like the book itself?
The book seemed more of a story of the relationship between Ivan and his father in law, Frank, rather than Ivan and Prue. The reader has to put up with Ivan's narcissistic narrative that completely lacks self awareness or empathy. Because of that, we really don't get to know his partner's character other than her appearance and there fact they they have good sexual chemistry despite that they are emotionally disengaged. This may be part of the point, though, as it is a novel about a strained marriage.
I think the book is missing something. I was more engaged at the end and wish there was more of that and less of the beginning of the narrow minded narrative of Ivan's.
Another problematic thing is when Ivan sexually assaults his TA and this seems okay since he resigned and wrote an apology email?
Hmm.
The book seemed more of a story of the relationship between Ivan and his father in law, Frank, rather than Ivan and Prue. The reader has to put up with Ivan's narcissistic narrative that completely lacks self awareness or empathy. Because of that, we really don't get to know his partner's character other than her appearance and there fact they they have good sexual chemistry despite that they are emotionally disengaged. This may be part of the point, though, as it is a novel about a strained marriage.
I think the book is missing something. I was more engaged at the end and wish there was more of that and less of the beginning of the narrow minded narrative of Ivan's.
Another problematic thing is when Ivan sexually assaults his TA and this seems okay since he resigned and wrote an apology email?
Hmm.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 15, 2019
Meet Ivan and Prue: a married couple — both experts in language and communication — who nevertheless cannot seem to communicate with each other.
A very human piece of literary fiction that left me feeling a lot of things all at once - I laughed, I cried, I cursed the idiocy and the brilliance of this complex set of characters that may have a vast knowledge of truth and language, just not when it comes down to their own lives and marriage. Detailed and complex but lacking a plot that feels fulfilling at the conclusion, I still very much enjoyed what was on the page - I didn’t even realize I’d read past midnight, I was fully engrossed.
** Received an advanced copy from the publisher through Goodreads for review **
A very human piece of literary fiction that left me feeling a lot of things all at once - I laughed, I cried, I cursed the idiocy and the brilliance of this complex set of characters that may have a vast knowledge of truth and language, just not when it comes down to their own lives and marriage. Detailed and complex but lacking a plot that feels fulfilling at the conclusion, I still very much enjoyed what was on the page - I didn’t even realize I’d read past midnight, I was fully engrossed.
** Received an advanced copy from the publisher through Goodreads for review **
June 3, 2019
This week I have read three books that speak to marriages falling apart and/or inappropriate relationships between professors and students. I think I am going to have to read something more inspiring like a thriller or WWII novel (seriously).
I did not like the first part of this book at all. It did get better at the end, but not good enough.
I did not like the first part of this book at all. It did get better at the end, but not good enough.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 2, 2019
2.5 stars. Not so much about animal languages as a couple who has forgotten how to communicate. Is it weird I wanted more about the animals? I enjoy short reads, but here the characters, the bird study, the side plots... everything just could have been a little more developed.
Disclosure: I won a copy of this book as a Goodreads Giveaway.
Disclosure: I won a copy of this book as a Goodreads Giveaway.
March 19, 2019
Thank you, Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Viking for the ARC!
Shoutout to my home state of Rhode Island! I loved the actual info on animal languages, how animals communicate. I liked that the resolution felt realistic.
But overall I struggled with this. It was uneven. There were times where something intense happened and I couldn’t read fast enough for about ten pages. But more often it was slow, dense, and/or wordy. I don’t usually have a problem with big words in a book (I usually learn something!) but the big words used here were...I don’t know if they were supposed to show how some of the characters struggled to relate to others? It just didn’t work for me—it made it harder to read and didn’t serve the story enough to outweigh the struggle in reading it. The book also sometimes got too deep into the weeds of science or academia or other complicated things, without serving the story or the reader’s experience.
Shoutout to my home state of Rhode Island! I loved the actual info on animal languages, how animals communicate. I liked that the resolution felt realistic.
But overall I struggled with this. It was uneven. There were times where something intense happened and I couldn’t read fast enough for about ten pages. But more often it was slow, dense, and/or wordy. I don’t usually have a problem with big words in a book (I usually learn something!) but the big words used here were...I don’t know if they were supposed to show how some of the characters struggled to relate to others? It just didn’t work for me—it made it harder to read and didn’t serve the story enough to outweigh the struggle in reading it. The book also sometimes got too deep into the weeds of science or academia or other complicated things, without serving the story or the reader’s experience.
June 13, 2019
The Study of Animal Languages by Lindsey Stern tells the story of the breakdown of Ivan and Prue’s marriage through the lens of a chaotic week with Prue’s father, Frank, an elderly bipolar man who comes to stay with the couple to watch his daughter, and ornithologist, give an important speech about her research on bird language. Anyone who has experienced a love one’s struggles with mental illness will immediately recognize the stress and dread swirling around the family. Through it all, though, Stern handles Frank sensitively and compassionately, making him a sympathetic character; Frank’s emotions are so real and his remorse so deep that I found myself crying on the subway toward the end of the book. In fact, in spite of their flaws and unlikeable moments, I found that I understood and cared about all of the characters in this book. My only regret is that it was so short - I would have happily read 3x more of this story. Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review - reading and reviewing this was a pleasure!
September 5, 2022
I enjoyed this book well enough as a way to pass the time. But then I got to the part where someone said the protagonist is probably on the spectrum, as a criticism, to dismissively explain away all the characteristics they didn’t like about him.
As an autistic myself, with an autistic husband, I am so tired of allistics (non autistics) using the outdated, uneducated cliches about autistics because they lack the creativity to do anything else. Being autistic, I can confidently tell you that the least empathetic and least warm people I’ve known in my life are the non autistics.
I’m not even going to bother finishing after that.
As an autistic myself, with an autistic husband, I am so tired of allistics (non autistics) using the outdated, uneducated cliches about autistics because they lack the creativity to do anything else. Being autistic, I can confidently tell you that the least empathetic and least warm people I’ve known in my life are the non autistics.
I’m not even going to bother finishing after that.
November 21, 2018
Wonderfully amusing first novel about a married couple who study language in different ways as university professors, but have completely forgotten how to talk to each other. Over a frantic few days the couple finally has to examine who they are and ask why are they together. Really smart and filled with fun insights and moves at a wonderful pace.
February 6, 2019
Didn’t care for this one. I’m not a fan of either philosophy or ornithology, the study subjects of the two main characters, and found the academic details very dull. Hated the bipolar father-in-law, in fact found no empathy with any of the characters. Opaque, much ado about nothing
March 16, 2025
i honestly expected nothing from this, but left with just sadness, how we destroy ourselves by focusing on things instead of our surroundings, how we choose to ignore things and wake up one day and having done all the bad decisions.
it honestly was a beautiful book but felt very rushed at the end.
it honestly was a beautiful book but felt very rushed at the end.
May 25, 2021
This was more of an idea for a book than a fully formed book. It was well-written & some parts worked well, but it didn’t hang together effectively as a novel.
March 14, 2019
The Study of Animal Languages by Lindsay Stern is a recommended novel about a marriage in crisis due to a lack of communication.
Prue, a professor of in the emerging field of biolinguistics, the study of the biology and evolution of language, is delivering the college's annual lecture in the Life Sciences about birdsong. Her husband, Ivan, a philosophy professor of epistemology at the same college in Rhode Island, has gone to Vermont to pick up her father, Frank, who is determined to attend her lecture. She doesn't want him there as his bipolar disorder can make him and his actions unstable and unpredictable. Ivan is driving Frank to hear the lecture and he is supposed to make sure Frank takes his meds.
Ivan and Prue are very different personalities but so far have made their marriage work, although Ivan now feels a distance between them. The expectation is that this lecture and weekend will represents an important step in her career since Prue's lecture on birdsong will likely result in tenure for her. Both the lecture and the weekend don't go as planned at all. Not only is Frank not taking his meds and causes several problems, Prue's lecture is not at all what Ivan and the college expected. Adding to the drama is Ivan's suspicions that Prue is interested in a visiting professor.
The Study of Animal Languages follows Ivan and one crisis, misunderstanding, and incident after another. Communication is lacking between everyone in this novel. This is really a chronicle of one disastrous weekend and the breakdown of a couple's marriage. There really is no right or wronged party. Both Ivan and Prue are making errors, although the focus in the novel is about Ivan's mistakes and misreading of situations. For example, Ivan is placed in charge of medicating Frank, while Prue is never proactive, following-up on this important detail until the disastrous end results. Prue also lets Ivan know in front of colleagues that she hasn't turned down a fellowship that he thought she had. Both of these people are disastrous at communication.
The prose is very descriptive - erudite and dense at times - but also insightful. "The more incisive her contributions, she once remarked, in a rare display of cynicism, the more likely they were to elicit from her male interlocutor a bashful deference, disguised as respect." The relationship between Ivan and Prue, as well as with the other characters, is a series of one misstep after another. Stern does capture the limitations of language and how we misunderstand each other and ourselves in numerous ways every day.
As a character, Ivan is well-developed, as is Frank to some extent, but Prue, remains a bit of a cipher with limited character development. It might have helped the novel out to either know Prue better or provide Ivan with a more complete background. I just kept thinking that the novel, although good, was missing a key piece, an important piece of the puzzle that needed to be communicated. Perhaps that is intended in this novel about limitations of interpersonal communication, but it still felt like it missed the mark.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Penguin Random House.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2019/0...
Prue, a professor of in the emerging field of biolinguistics, the study of the biology and evolution of language, is delivering the college's annual lecture in the Life Sciences about birdsong. Her husband, Ivan, a philosophy professor of epistemology at the same college in Rhode Island, has gone to Vermont to pick up her father, Frank, who is determined to attend her lecture. She doesn't want him there as his bipolar disorder can make him and his actions unstable and unpredictable. Ivan is driving Frank to hear the lecture and he is supposed to make sure Frank takes his meds.
Ivan and Prue are very different personalities but so far have made their marriage work, although Ivan now feels a distance between them. The expectation is that this lecture and weekend will represents an important step in her career since Prue's lecture on birdsong will likely result in tenure for her. Both the lecture and the weekend don't go as planned at all. Not only is Frank not taking his meds and causes several problems, Prue's lecture is not at all what Ivan and the college expected. Adding to the drama is Ivan's suspicions that Prue is interested in a visiting professor.
The Study of Animal Languages follows Ivan and one crisis, misunderstanding, and incident after another. Communication is lacking between everyone in this novel. This is really a chronicle of one disastrous weekend and the breakdown of a couple's marriage. There really is no right or wronged party. Both Ivan and Prue are making errors, although the focus in the novel is about Ivan's mistakes and misreading of situations. For example, Ivan is placed in charge of medicating Frank, while Prue is never proactive, following-up on this important detail until the disastrous end results. Prue also lets Ivan know in front of colleagues that she hasn't turned down a fellowship that he thought she had. Both of these people are disastrous at communication.
The prose is very descriptive - erudite and dense at times - but also insightful. "The more incisive her contributions, she once remarked, in a rare display of cynicism, the more likely they were to elicit from her male interlocutor a bashful deference, disguised as respect." The relationship between Ivan and Prue, as well as with the other characters, is a series of one misstep after another. Stern does capture the limitations of language and how we misunderstand each other and ourselves in numerous ways every day.
As a character, Ivan is well-developed, as is Frank to some extent, but Prue, remains a bit of a cipher with limited character development. It might have helped the novel out to either know Prue better or provide Ivan with a more complete background. I just kept thinking that the novel, although good, was missing a key piece, an important piece of the puzzle that needed to be communicated. Perhaps that is intended in this novel about limitations of interpersonal communication, but it still felt like it missed the mark.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Penguin Random House.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2019/0...
February 15, 2019
Ivan and Prue both live for their careers, Ivan in philosophy and Prue as an ornithologist. For some time already, things have not run very smoothly between them, yet, it is not very clear why this is so. Maybe the fact that Prue is a lot more successful than Ivan and close to getting a tenure, or it is the arrival of one of Prue’s favourite authors who joins their circle of friends. When Prue is to give a public lecture which might finalise her post at the college, her father Frank joins them against his daughter’s wish. Frank has been struggling with his bipolar disorder and Prue fears the worst. Just a couple of days and nothing is like it was before anymore in their life.
Lindsay Stern’s debut novel leaves me a bit pondering. On the one hand, she addresses so many important topics that are worth mentioning and thinking about, on the other hand, when I finished it, I had to ask myself: and now? So what? It is a snap-shot of her characters’ life without a clear aim, I just didn’t get her intention for narrating this story.
As said before, there are interesting aspects such as the father’s way of coping with his mental issues, but also what the bipolar disorder does to him. I always find it worth writing and reading about these kinds of issues simply to raise awareness, but also to foster understanding and knowledge and I think literature can be a big help here. I also appreciated the way Stern shows the slight imbalances in the relationship between Ivan and Prue. They are professionals in different fields and certainly should not compete with each other, nevertheless, this is one of their main issues: how can a husband cope with a wife being more successful? In general, Ivan’s behaviour is worth taking a closer look at: he only starts to pay real attention to Prue when he becomes aware of other men’s attraction to her. The war they start is nasty, but I guess this is quite authentic in their situation.
There is a whole lot of theory about languages and especially bird communication. Even though I am a linguist, this did not really grab my attention since I already found the idea behind so strange that I didn’t want to go any deeper in this weird theory. Her style of writing though is quite promising and I surely would try another novel of the author.
Lindsay Stern’s debut novel leaves me a bit pondering. On the one hand, she addresses so many important topics that are worth mentioning and thinking about, on the other hand, when I finished it, I had to ask myself: and now? So what? It is a snap-shot of her characters’ life without a clear aim, I just didn’t get her intention for narrating this story.
As said before, there are interesting aspects such as the father’s way of coping with his mental issues, but also what the bipolar disorder does to him. I always find it worth writing and reading about these kinds of issues simply to raise awareness, but also to foster understanding and knowledge and I think literature can be a big help here. I also appreciated the way Stern shows the slight imbalances in the relationship between Ivan and Prue. They are professionals in different fields and certainly should not compete with each other, nevertheless, this is one of their main issues: how can a husband cope with a wife being more successful? In general, Ivan’s behaviour is worth taking a closer look at: he only starts to pay real attention to Prue when he becomes aware of other men’s attraction to her. The war they start is nasty, but I guess this is quite authentic in their situation.
There is a whole lot of theory about languages and especially bird communication. Even though I am a linguist, this did not really grab my attention since I already found the idea behind so strange that I didn’t want to go any deeper in this weird theory. Her style of writing though is quite promising and I surely would try another novel of the author.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 165 reviews