Reading Again

Okay. Back again from my 1/2 year hiatus.

Recently, I've been doing some reading. I just finished Lucy by Laurence Gonzales. Intriguing is the word for it right now. I'm still really trying to process it. In this fiction novel, Lucy is the child of a researcher working with Bonobos (a greater ape also known as a pygmy chimpanzee) in the Congo - and her mother is a bonobo. This novel works through a short period of Lucy's life as she is moved to live with other humans for the first time. Adopted by another scientific researcher, Lucy lives as a teenage girl in high school preparing for college until her biological history is made known. Gonzales writes the novel in a way that makes me feel as though I'm reading Jurassic Park (without as much of the technical jargon) and thinking it sounds so wrong, yet so very probably possible.

Gonzales pulls no punches against people and the blatant reactions of both left and right, Christian and non-Christian, military verses medical. He showcases characters who respond to Lucy with a sheer hatred and with heartfelt compassion. I haven't even begun to fully deal with my own feelings of how would I respond in that situation - would I go first to disgust? If I feel that it is ethically wrong to create a human hybrid, would I still respond in kindness, recognizing her as the creation, not the one who created? Never mind the consideration of has this already happened - we just don't know it. Life I said, definitely a book to make you think. I just need more time to think.

This isn't a thorough review - though I hope to start doing more consistent reviews....I read a lot. I do recommend this book if you enjoy Michael Crichton, like science fiction or want a thought-provoking read that may force you to consider the question - What is humanity?