The Dolphin House

By: Audrey Schulman

Narrated by: Alex Picard

Based on the true story of the 1965 “dolphin house” experiment, this spellbinding novel captures the tenor of the social experiments of the 1960s in award-winning author Audrey Schulman’s tightly paced and evocative style.

It is 1965, and Cora, a young, hearing impaired woman, buys a one-way ticket to the island of St. Thomas, where she discovers four dolphins held in captivity as part of an experiment led by the obsessive Dr. Blum. Drawn by a strong connection to the dolphins, Cora falls in with the scientists and discovers her need to protect the animals.

Recognizing Cora’s knack for communication, Blum uses her for what will turn into one of the most fascinating experiments in modern science: an attempt to teach the dolphins human language by creating a home in which she and a dolphin can live together.

As the experiment progresses, Cora forges a remarkable bond with the creatures, until her hard-won knowledge clashes with the male-dominated world of science. As a terrible scandal threatens to engulf the experiment, Cora’s fight to save the dolphins becomes a battle to save herself.

©2022 Audrey Schulman (P)2022 Europa Editions

Fascinating story

I really appreciate this story based on reality. I loved the main character Cora, who brilliantly represents the deaf community she comes from. And I loved the dolphins and just how much I learned about them :-) There were many themes explored - sexuality, beastiality, disability, morality and more. I really enjoyed the broad nature of this book and learned a lot about the incidents around this story in real life.

Long winded and repetitive

I couldn't wait for this book to end. Lots of repetitive information and nearly exact sentences made it painful to make it through some chapters. I little editing could have moved things along and provided a better story line. Very unsatisfactory character development and many unanswered questions about peoples lives. Overall wish I had skipped it.

This book was terrible

How does a book like this get published? Don’t waste your time on this one. In the end, so much emphasis was on the whale masturbating. And so many sentences repeated. I listened to the end but it was painful.