His Monkey Wife or Married to a Chimp

Rating:
Summary: What she said!
Review: I totally agree with the previous reviewer. "His Monkey Wife" is a tour-de-force of English light humorous fiction on the order of "The Canterville Ghost" or "Three Men And A Boat"; as fantasy or literary pastiche it rates with "Orlando." And as Eva Brann emphasizes in her introduction, no heroine of English literature since Jane Eyre can match Emily for moral sensitivity, wit, grace, and spirit. Any woman who's lost her heart to some unworthy Mr. Fatigay and suffered nobly for it will love Emily and recognize her as a sister, if not a biological cousin.

Rating:
Summary: What she said!
Review: I totally agree with the previous reviewer. "His Monkey Wife" is a tour-de-force of English light humorous fiction on the order of "The Canterville Ghost" or "Three Men And A Boat"; as fantasy or literary pastiche it rates with "Orlando." And as Eva Brann emphasizes in her introduction, no heroine of English literature since Jane Eyre can match Emily for moral sensitivity, wit, grace, and spirit. Any woman who's lost her heart to some unworthy Mr. Fatigay and suffered nobly for it will love Emily and recognize her as a sister, if not a biological cousin.

Rating:
Summary: delightful reading
Review: If this is not a lost treasure, I don't know what is. "His Monkey Wife" is exceptionally unique and delightful to read. I found myself identifying with and empathising with Emily (the "chimp") and rooting for her throughout.

Rating:
Summary: Delightful wit
Review: It's good to see this offbeat little classic back in print. John Collier is perhaps better known for his short stories, but this first novel was an exquisitely funny satire. It tells the story of Emily, a chimpanzee who pines for a certain Englishman, Mr. Fatigay, while he teaches school in Africa. When Fatigay returns to England, he takes the friendly chimp with him as a companion, for he realizes that she is clever... though he has no idea that the silent chimp is able to read and to recite literature in her head, nor that she loves him. Emily is handed over to Mr. Fatigay's human girlfriend in England, who will tolerate no rival of any sort and treats her new servant shabbily. Still, Emily finds time to dress up and sneak out to London and the British Museum Reading room (where she is taken for a fascinating woman of mystery!) among other absurd adventures. Though the book is lighthearted, we do feel for its protagonist and her hidden love. Collier has a keen eye for the petty foibles of humankind, and of course the big joke is that the chimp is more intelligent and sensitive than any human here. The premise is somewhat outrageous, but the good writing allows us to suspend disbelief and go along for a ride filled with subtle giggles and wicked belly laughs.