Captivity by Debbie Lee Wesselmann
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(Hardcover)
- Pub. Date: February 2008
- 295pp
- Sales Rank: 762,997
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Product Details
- Pub. Date: February 2008
- Publisher: John F. Blair
- Format: Hardcover, 295pp
- Sales Rank: 762,997
- ISBN-13: 9780895873538
- ISBN: 0895873532
Synopsis
Publishers Weekly gave Captivity a starred review in its December 17, 2007 edition: "A South Carolina chimpanzee sanctuary affiliated with a university provides the unusual setting for Wesselmann's powerful second novel (after 1997's Trutor & the Balloonist). Dana Armstrong, a primatologist, acquired her understanding of chimpanzees at great personal cost, having been raised along with her younger brother, Zack, with a female chimp as a sibling (they communicated using sign language) until a tragic event ended the experiment. Now she must deal with an even more traumatic event. One day Dana arrives at the sanctuary, where she's the director, to discover that someone has damaged buildings and released chimpanzees unadapted to the wild. As Dana battles to save the sanctuary, personal and professional jealousies, campus politics, the fate of the chimpanzees and the stirring stories of Dana and her family play out in unforgettable fashion. With empathetic insight, the author precisely observes both human and animal behavior."
Melody Ballard - School Library Journal
Primatologist Dana Armstrong is passionate about making a difference in the lives of the animals living at a South Carolina chimpanzee sanctuary. But a break-in resulting in the escape of numerous chimpanzees forces Dana to not only determine who was responsible for the vandalism but also deal with her traumatic memories of the past-for Dana is a survivor of a psychological experiment, raised as a child with a chimp named Annie. She now faces opposition from the local community, political pressure from her university, and a ghost from her past who is bent upon her destruction. To further complicate matters, Dana's seldom-seen rogue brother appears on her doorstep, and a handsome journalist tugs at her heartstrings. Novelist Wesselmann (Trutor and the Balloonist; The Earth and the Sky)has once again combined a riveting plot with exciting characters to hold you spellbound until the last page. This novel, which raises many ethical and moral considerations, is most timely. On October 30, 2007, a chimpanzee named Washoe died at the age of 42. He was the first nonhuman known to communicate in a human language. [For your reading group, you might want to pair this with Elizabeth Hess's nonfiction Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human.-Ed.]
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More Reviews and RecommendationsBiography
Debbie Lee Wesselmann is the author of Trutor & the Balloonist and The Earth and Sky. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Fairleigh Dickinson University, she lives in Pennsylvania, where she teaches English at Lehigh University.
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Captivityby Anonymous
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September 11, 2008: At the South Carolina Primate Project, chimpanzees who were cruelly used in medical experiments or housed in substandard zoos are given a new life in a safe environment. As the story opens, the facility has been vandalized and chimps have been let loose. Director Dana Armstrong must find who was behind this sabotage while she deals with her wayward brother Zack, an attractive journalist named Sam, and her own troubled past. The main character, Dana, is very believable. She has her share of problems, both professional and personal. She has to please her donors and placate her neighbors, her druggie brother takes advantage of her, and she has no social life at all. I wanted to be Dana when she cuddled with the chimps, but not when she realized she was very much alone. The work of primatologists like Dana is fascinating to me and the suffering of animals in medical laboratories is heartbreaking. This part of the story is told with frightening realism that had me holding my breath from the tension. We also get a sobering look at drug addiction as well as a sweet romance. All the parts of the book are held together by Annie, the beloved chimp who was raised in Dana's home, and whose memory haunts Dana to this day. I really enjoyed reading 'Captivity' and heartily recommend it. It's a compassionate look at chimp rehabilitation with fascinating characters you'll love and hate.
Captivityby Anonymous
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September 11, 2008: 'There are no boring stories. There are only boring writers.' These were the words of my first newspaper editor, words conveyed to me after I had turned in an excrutiatingly dull story about a mechanical engineering conference. A good writer can take any subject, no matter how mundane, and make it an exceptional read. Take primatology, for example while certainly a topic of interest to some, it's not a theme one would expect for a novel. My interest in primate studies/behavior was nominal, which is why I picked up Debbie Lee Wesselmann's latest novel with some trepidation. My fears were for naught Wesselmann delivers a fast-paced, informative tale of intrigue and political posturing in her novel CAPTIVITY. Make no mistake: This is a novel far removed from Wesselmann's earlier title, 'Trudor & The Balloonist.' CAPTIVITY demonstrates how much the author has progressed as a novelist the descriptions of primate captivity and behavior and human interaction were fascinating, and indicative this author really did her homework. Furthermore, the narrative was strong, compelling, and thoroughly character-driven. Here's but one example: 'He followed her gaze and found he, too, was mesmerized by the proximity of the drug. The lull of it. The scratch of it that now clawed inside his veins, begging for release. The happiness that lay there, if only brief and illusory. The duality of freedom and enslavement. This he could share with Becca they could fall down the abyss together and enjoy the free fall like kids on a roller coaster who did not know the track would end suddenly, midair. Yes, he thought. Yes.' That's good stuff. This is a novel that examines the dynamic of trying to keep a university primate sanctuary afloat (amidst never-ending political posturing) while Dana Armstrong, the protagonist, tries to juggle a relationship with a most dysfunctional brother. I had no idea of the politics involved--all the behind the scenes machinations--in the field of primatology, so this novel informs as it entertains. Plus, a freelance journalist, for once, is presented in a favorable light, and that's a good thing. Primatology may not be your cup of tea, but Debbie Lee Wesselmann definitely makes it palatable CAPTIVITY is a page-turner, an enlightening and pleasurable read. --D. Mikels, Author, The Reckoning
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