The Woman and the Ape - by Peter Høeg (Paperback)

About the Book

Lonely and disillusioned, Madelene Burden is a modern-day sleeping beauty drowsing in a alcoholic stupor. And the prince whose kiss brings her to life is 300-pound ape named Erasmus, the victim of a smuggling gone awry. Enthralling readers with the same taut prose, enigmatic characters, thrilling suspense, and satirical humor that drove "Smilla" to the top of bestseller lists, Hoeg offers a daring and imaginative fable that poses searching questions about the nature of romance.

Book Synopsis

The Woman and the Ape is the story of a unique and unforgettable couple--Madelene and Erasmus. Madelene is the wife of Adam Burden, a distinguished behavioral scientist. Erasmus--the unlikely prince--is a 300-pound ape. Brought to the Burdens' London home after escaping from animal smugglers, Erasmus is discovered to be a highly intelligent anthropoid ape, the closest thing yet to a human being. Madelene decides to save Erasmus, and between them blossoms a profound affection as deep as any human relationship. A fable for our time, The Woman and the Ape poses searching questions about the nature of love, freedom, and humanity.

Review Quotes

"The Woman and the Ape has many arrestingly stylish and inventive passages and an overall brilliance of tone that shows once again the originality of Mr. Høeg's voice." --The New York Times

"A witty, compelling thriller that touches a primal nerve that has lain dormant since King Kong fell hard for Fay Wray." --Francine Prose, People

"This decade's most offbeat love story . . . Funny, often touching, and definitely inventive." --David Walton, St. Petersburg Times

"The Woman and the Ape is great fun to read. . . . Peter Høeg has written an intelligent novel of ideas and slyly disguised it as a lighthearted comedy. . . . He's figured out how to blend his various styles into a distinctive voice that's satiric, deadpan funny, at once warm and cool." --Brigitte Frase, Newsday

"No imaginative writer working today is any more daring than Danish novelist Peter Høeg, any more willing to shock readers with something that is genuinely new. . . . He does it again with this utterly original mix of fantasy, fable, myth, and love story." --Bill Ott, Booklist (starred review)

"This should confirm Peter Høeg's place as one of the most creative and interesting authors today." --Elizabeth D. Dickie, Richmond Times-Dispatch

"One of the most griping books I've read in years. It moved me so deeply that by the end I found myself weeping." --Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, The Village Voice Literary Supplement

"An engrossing fable." --Deloris Ament, The Seattle Times

About the Author

Peter Høeg, born in 1957 in Denmark, followed various callings--dancer, actor, sailor, fencer, and mountaineer--before turning seriously to writing. He is the bestselling author of five novels and one short story collection. His work has been published in thirty-three countries.