Talk to Me

A Novel

By: T.C. Boyle

Narrated by: Stacey Glemboski

From bestselling and award-winning author T.C. Boyle, a lively, thought-provoking novel that asks us what it would be like if we could really talk to the animals

When animal behaviorist Guy Schermerhorn demonstrates on a TV game show that he has taught Sam, his juvenile chimp, to speak in sign language, Aimee Villard, an undergraduate at Guy's university, is so taken with the performance that she applies to become his assistant. A romantic and intellectual attachment soon morphs into an interspecies love triangle that pushes hard at the boundaries of consciousness and the question of what we know and how we know it.

What if it were possible to speak to the members of another species—to converse with them, not just give commands or coach them but to really have an exchange of ideas and a meeting of minds? Did apes have God? Did they have souls? Did they know about death and redemption? About prayer? The economy, rockets, space? Did they miss the jungle? Did they even know what the jungle was? Did they dream? Make wishes? Hope for the future?

These are some the questions T.C. Boyle asks in his wide-ranging and hilarious new novel Talk to Me, exploring what it means to be human, to communicate with another, and to truly know another person—or animal…

classic TC Boyle

I've read most of Boyle's books so as soon as this came out, I read it! Excellent story about love between species.

Another great read from a master story teller.

TC Boyle spins a tale inspired by Sam the Chimp.... full of passion and love. Exciting parts are described through the eyes of two or three of the characters including Sam. Very cool.

utterly brilliant

several days after listening to this novel, it remains deeply in my thoughts. this is one I'm certain to revisit. it's unique and poignant. seriously worth it. beautifully narrated.

Themes Better Covered Elsewhere

Perfectly adequate non-fiction books frequently suffer from comparison to better books on the same subject. That is less frequent in fiction, but I think it is the case here. For fiction that addresses the capacity of humans and apes to relate to each other, and to be transformed by the relationship, Karen Joy Fowler's "We are all Completely Beside Ourselves" is a much more nuanced novel. For themes of women living in a world of problematic men who mix love, self-interest, and control, you won't beat Katie Kitamura's "Intimacies". A well-performed audiobook, "Talk to Me" will get you down the highway but lacks the insightful depth of the other two.

Excellent!

This novel is engaging, refreshing, touching and when it needs to be, as dark as life itself. An entertaining ride. And a story in which the capacity for language expands and momentarily transcends the exclusive territory of humans, then implodes, proving ultimately useless against the machinery of man’s self-righteousness, greed and stupidity.