The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore

Benjamin Hale

From Shelf: Creatures Talk Back: Novels Narrated by Animals and Things

A star is born: with this brilliant and blazing novel, Benjamin Hale has produced the most unforgettable and original debut since Everything is Illuminated.

'A brave and visionary work of genius . . . touching and quirky... brash, glittering, engaging... The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore is a major accomplishment' - San Francisco ChronicleBruno Littlemore; linguist, artist, philosopher. A life defined by a soaring mind, yet bound by a restrictive body. Born in down-town Chicago, Bruno's precocity pulls him from an unremarkable childhood, and under the tuition of Lydia, his intellect dazzles a watching world. But when falls in love with his mentor, the world turns on them with outrage: Bruno is striving to be something he is not, and denying everything that he is. For despite his all too human complexities, dreams and frailties, Bruno's hairy body, flattened nose and jutting brow are, undeniably, the features of a chimpanzee.Like its protagonist, this novel is big, abrasive, witty, perverse, earnest and accomplished. The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore goes beyond satire by showing us not what it means, but what it feels like be human - to love and lose, learn, aspire, grasp, and, in the end, to fail.

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