Alfred Fidjestøl

Alfred Fidjestol’s Almost Human: The Story of Julius the Chimpanzee Caught Between Two Worlds Is a remarkably compelling biography that takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Julius was born in captivity in a zoo in the small city of Kristiansand in Norway in 1979. Rejected by his mother, Julius was raised in the home of one of the zookeepers. This necessary decision resulted in a long struggle to successfully integrate Julius into a safe environment amongst his own species. His growing celebrity status further complicated matters as the zookeepers sought to maintain his image while trying to ensure the safety of both Julius and the zoo patrons. The author provides fascinating insights into the behavior and social structure of chimpanzees, and effectively lays out the pros and cons of the very concept of zoos. And kudos to Becky L. Cook for the smoothly flowing English translation.… (plus d'informations)

I received an ARC of this book as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Julius was a chimpanzee who was rejected by his mother and the group, so he was raised by humans in a zoo environment.

I enjoyed the act of reading this book --- Fidjestal wrote a book that read like a novel and the story was intriguing.

I laughed and cried while reading this book...I understand that the humans did what needed to be done in raising Julius, but.....

I recommend this book. It gives great insight about what it means to be human.… (plus d'informations)

Julius, a chimpanzee born in captivity in a Norway zoo, is rejected by his mother. He is raised in the zookeeper's home until he is old enough to return to the zoo to live with the other chimpanzees. Because Julius has been raised by humans, he is not well-accepted by the other chimps. His plight captures the heart of the nation, and he is the star of the media. While all this is good for the zoo, bringing attention to the animals there, it is not good for Julius, who struggles daily with who he really is. The book was released during Julius' fortieth year of life.
"ALMOST HUMAN explores more than this unique chimpanzee's life - it examines how our treatment of animals in captivity has changed over the decades, how the mind of a chimpanzee works, and how much we have in common with the primates who share 98.6% of our DNA. This powerful story shows how Julius was faced with the same challenges we humans experience - the need for food and safety, the desire for love and sex, how to negotiate status and power, and finding ways to deal with loneliness, sorrow and death..." (from Barnes and Noble book review)
I received an ARC of this book from Greystone Books and Library Thing, in exchange for a review.… (plus d'informations)

Almost Human: The Story of Julius, the Chimpanzee Caught Between Two Worlds from Alfred Fidjestøl is a compelling roller coaster of a read. Like many people now, I find zoos largely offensive but that is a sensibility that is more recent than the time period when Julius was first in the zoo. The book acknowledges the inherent cruelty (though it doesn't state it that harshly) of caging wild animals but that doesn't diminish the value of any single animal in a zoo and this is a story about one such beloved animal.

This is one of those rare nonfiction books that live up to the hype of "reading like a fictional drama." The book as a whole is the story of Julius, a chimp that had been rejected by his mother and the group at the zoo. Raised by humans and then the arduous process of that separation and reintroduction to the world of chimps living in a zoo environment forms the bulk of the narrative itself. This arc will both make you laugh at some things and cry at others. Bittersweet is a word that often came to mind here.

Interspersed within the narrative is the story of a zoo, and in some ways zoos in general, trying to learn how to make a miserable caged existence less negative. There is both administrative backstory and scientific research discussed so the reader can better understand what the humans were wanting and trying to do.

Probably the biggest impediment for a reader enjoying this book will be the opposition to the idea of a zoo. I don't mean places where animals might be kept for health reasons or to battle extinction, though many zoos have taken on this role. I mean the caging of animals for the amusement of human beings. While I obviously fall into this group and have actively advocated against many zoo policies, that does not keep this from being a compelling read. You will get angry at some parts. You will feel an existential heaviness during some portions, since we are not so different from these species that we so easily treat as disposable. But this is still about an individual, named Julius, who struggles with what life throws at him. He and his story will move you and he deserves your attention not because of human folly but in spite of it.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves animals and is willing to ride the roller coaster that is the life of a zoo animal, even one that gained immense popularity.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via LibraryThing Early Reviewers.… (plus d'informations)