Description
In this darkly comic and surreal novel, successful London painter Simon Dykes awakens one morning to discover that his girlfriend has inexplicably transformed into a chimpanzee—a nightmarish metamorphosis that sets off a cascade of absurdist consequences. As Simon navigates this bewildering new reality, his carefully constructed life of artistic pretension, hedonistic excess, and shallow relationships begins to unravel in increasingly bizarre and disturbing ways. Will Self's audacious narrative explores themes of identity, consciousness, and the thin line between civilization and primal nature, using grotesque body horror and philosophical dark comedy to interrogate what it truly means to be human. The novel's Kafkaesque premise serves as a vehicle for Self's incisive social satire, skewering the pretentiousness of the London art world and the moral bankruptcy of contemporary urban life. With his distinctive blend of linguistic inventiveness and transgressive humor, Self crafts a provocative meditation on desire, alienation, and the fragility of the rational mind.
Available Editions
paperback
Grove Press
Published Aug 11, 1998
416 pages
ISBN: 9780802135766
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Details
First Published
1998
Language
eng
Content Warnings
Content and trigger warnings for Great Apes by Will Self.