Commoditization of enlightenment ( )

Didn't get on too well with this to start with - I found the protagonist to be whiny and self-obsessed - but the subtle dystopia gradually grew on me. The slow unravelling of comfortable middle-class expectations as economic depression hits, and the small acts of rebellion that slowly accrete into a larger revolt all rang true and the story held my interest even when the protagonist's philosophical ramblings didn't. ( )

My original Chimpanzee audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

The economy has collapsed. The government is overwhelmed, crushed by national and personal debt and the corresponding lack of revenue. Benjamin Cade has lost his teaching job, and like so many others, has defaulted on his student loans. Technology and economics have come up with a solution. If you don’t pay for your education you lose it. Cade must now go through the grueling brain therapy that repossesses his PhD while simultaneously working in a government work detail – translation: chain gang. When they’re done, he won’t be able to remember the things he learned or discovered during his doctoral program.

This innovative novel is not for everyone, but for the right audience is an exceptional work of fiction and performance. Part pedagogy and part Sci-Fi dystopia, the listener is constantly challenged both intellectually and philosophically. Is the American Dream really this banal?

This is not simply a narrated novel; it is a performance piece with multiple voices, music and sound effects. It is generally well done and effective, giving us ambiance when Cade goes to a party, or static when Cade’s education is being blocked. The production is odd at times however, giving unnecessarily long pauses between character dialogue or scene changes. This is sometimes confusing (intentionally?), but not enough to detract from an otherwise excellent and unique performance audio-book. The author is the main narrator and does an excellent job reading his own novel. No one knows the story better than its author. The music is great and you will want to find out who the bands are (listed at the end of the novel).

Pick up Chimpanzee because you want to be challenged, want to think about the future, about real possibilities and important ideas. If you are a lover of Philip K. Dick’s last novels, paranoid and identity confusing, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 or Cory Doctorow’s many near-future dystopian novels, you will likely enjoy this book. At six hours, it is a relatively short listen, but packed with a lot of information. Yes, it is good enough to listen to several times, and you will want to, to catch the nuance and philosophical density. It is not a light listen, you have to pay attention, stop what you are doing, really listen and think about the author’s ideas. You may not agree, but you will appreciate the chance to use your mind for a change.

Audiobook purchased for review by ABR. ( )