Planet of the Apes: In progress or finished (hide spoilers please.)

[Adelaide]

This topic is for those who are in the process of reading the book. No spoilers please.

[Cheryl]

I got this book a bit early and since it's so short, I finished it already.

I was surprised how different it was from the film. I did enjoy it. It gave a different take on the whole "advanced apes, devolved humans" theme.

[Cheryl]

I noticed that the main characters in the book acted in a similar way to their film counterparts. I was also happy to see the familiar names of Cornelius, Zira, Dr. Zaius, and Nova in the book.

[Cheryl]

Spoiler included in post. Do not click on it if you have not finished reading the book.

I found it interesting that the book (view spoiler)[ did not involve time travel, like the original film did (hide spoiler)]. So I see how the book's ending has to be different from the film.

[Sarah]

I thought it was interesting when they pulled the human-doll out of the rubble and the narrator was like "no little girl would dress up an animal with such care." I mean really? Has he ever been around a little girl? 1/5th of my daughter's room consists of teddy bear clothes.

[Cheryl]

Sarah wrote: "I thought it was interesting when they pulled the human-doll out of the rubble and the narrator was like "no little girl would dress up an animal with such care." I mean really? Has he ever been ar..."

Yes, I thought about all the stuffed animals sold in stores that have clothing on. The real kicker was (view spoiler)[ that it talked. (hide spoiler)]

[Kirsten]

I think it's interesting that a French space mission has a scientist, a physician, and a journalist. As opposed to who Americans send off...

[Adelaide]

So I enjoyed this, although this one one of the rare instances where I think the changes in the movie were more interesting.

I could not help reading this through the lens of what is currently happening in France, and this book reminded me that they have always been somewhat concerned about preserving French culture. One could read this as a plea to hold on to "civilization" lest the barbarians come in, take it over, and water it down. Not sure if this is an accurate reading, but it's what struck me late last night.

[Cheryl]

Adelaide wrote: "So I enjoyed this, although this one one of the rare instances where I think the changes in the movie were more interesting."

I thought so, too.

[Cheryl]

Adelaide wrote: " One could read this as a plea to hold on to "civilization" lest the barbarians come in, take it over, and water it down. Not sure if this is an accurate reading, but it's what struck me late last night.  "

Interesting take on it. I imagine a French reader would've seen the novel differently than an American reader would have.

[Cheryl]

The book was written in 1963. During this time France was losing alot of its African colonies (i.e. Algeria) and had recently (1954) lost its Southeast Asia colonies (i.e. Vietman, Laos, etc.). Do you think the book was written in an atmosphere of fear that these "lesser" peoples would eventually become stronger than France, and also a fear of France losing its ranking as a major power in the world? (Here's a Wikipedia link to a listing of France's colonies and when France lost them : https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_... )

[Kirsten]

I remember reading this book many years ago and then I read it again recently. It is a very crisp narrative and I especially like the ending. One would have to expect the French to be a little different with science fiction.