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As a narrator, Bruno isn’t that unusual. He’s precocious, self-conscious, slightly unreliable and gets into a bit of trouble over the course of his story. The thing is, Bruno is also a chimpanzee. That’s the watered-down premise of Benjamin Hale’s debut novel, The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore, which he’ll read from and discuss tonight.
The book is equal parts humor and earnest philosophical discussion. “I knew I was having a good day writing when I was alone in my room, laughing,” Hale says. “I had to do a lot of thinking about how a conscious being who knows no language might see the world. It’s kind of a philosophical pretzel.”
In a sense, the book is satire that looks closely at what it means to be human; beneath that is a witty portrayal of an educated chimp trying to suppress his most primal urges, including, yes, interspecies relationships.
You’ll have a chance to meet the author at 7:30 p.m. at the Tattered Cover, 2526 East Colfax Avenue; admission is free. Call 303-322-7727 or visit www.tatteredcover.com for more information.
Thu., Feb. 24, 7:30 p.m., 2011
