CLJ Reviews The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris
What we read
Walking down the Granville Strip on a Saturday night, you may be alarmed to hear a lot of young men ‘whooping’ or ‘bellowing’, often matched by equally trill demonstrations of ‘caterwauling’ and ‘yawping’ from young females. What does it all mean? Why are they so lame? You may find answers to at least one of these questions in Desmond Morris’ seminal dissertation, The Naked Ape. In it, Morris looks at human beings through the objective eyes of a zoologist, and in doing so, strips away any pretenses of self-importance that the human race has for itself. Man is seen as he truly is, a naked ape, complex and varied, but at his essence, not at all unlike his simian kin in the jungle. (Yes, I said ‘man’ and ‘his’, but I’m just echoing Morris’ style — the book was written in 1967 after all — peace and free love man).
What we did
We ate some kind of half-realized pork and papaya dish, an awkward attempt at symbolizing man’s / human’s (whatever) transition from tree-dwelling swinger to savannah-hunting wolf-monkey-man-beast (not Morris’ term). After overcoming indigestion, the group called forth deep-seated primal urges and engaged in some kind of debaucherous primate orgy, accompanied by much ‘whooping’ and ‘bellowing’. There was also a game of monkey jeopardy.
What we thought
Despite some unwarranted poop-flinging, most members enjoyed the book, especially the naughty bits, like the extensive description of chimpanzee teats (they’re very long). I particularly liked Morris’ ability to regard humans as animals, free from moral or ethical interference. Now, whenever someone says something intelligent or does something better than me, I say: “Oh big deal, you’re just an ape!” and I feel better. Humans are merely an over-hyped race of bald-bodied homochimpanzapiens who seek companionship in groups. For what is a book club really, other than a social gathering of ape-people seeking sexual gratification by engaging in competitive displays of bravado and base seduction? I know Desmond Morris would back me up on this.
As told by Phil Skipper
Did you enjoy this post?
May we also suggest:
Persepolis CLJ Reviews Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi What We Read Persepolis is the story of a young girl growing up in … Continue reading →...
CLJ Reviews The World Without Us CLJ Reviews The World Without Us by Alan Weisman What We Read In The World Without Us, author Alan Weisman … Continue reading →...