2. Theory of Bastards by Audrey Schulman

read on my iPhone
2018 Europa Editions
416 pgs.
Adult dystopia
Finished 1/3/2019
Goodreads rating: 4.11 - 775 ratings
My rating:  4
Setting:  Somewhere in the midwest, 40 to 50 years in the future.

First line/s: "When Frankie's vehicle pulled in, she saw a whole group of them waiting for her, exactly what she hated. Dressed up, milling around, eager supplicants.  Ten or eleven researcher in all, probably every PhD at the Foundation."

My comments:  Most misleading cover of all time!!! Much of this book was written more like non-fiction than fiction, even omitting quotation marks for any spoken word. The story was primarily about the watching of and research about a group of 14 bonobos (a type of ape, a very smart type) who lived together in a research facility a few years in the future. When an unknown catastrophe changes the world, Frankie and Stotts have to work together and use their wits To save the bonobos  – and themselves. I truly can’t believe how much I enjoyed this book, it’s not the sort of book I would usually go for.

Goodreads synopsis:  “Stage four. Surgery. Recovering.” While those are the simple words that once described Dr. Francine Burk’s situation, the reality is much more complex. Her new reality is bacon rinds for breakfast and feeling unduly thrilled by her increasing ability to walk across a room without assistance. And it’s being offered a placement at a prestigious research institute where she can put to good use her recent award money. With the Foundation’s advanced technological resources and a group of fascinating primates, Francine can begin to verify her subversive scientific discovery, which has challenged the foundations of history—her Theory of Bastards.
          Frankie finds that the bonobos she’s studying are as complex as the humans she’s working alongside. Their personalities are strong and distinct, and reigning over it all is Mama, the commanding matriarchal leader of the group. Frankie comes to know the bonobos and to further develop her groundbreaking theory with the help of her research partner, a man with a complicated past and perhaps a place in her future. And then something changes everything, and the lines that divide them—between subject and scientist, between colleague and companion—begin to blur. 
          With deft skill and heartbreaking honesty, Audrey Schulman delves into the very nature of her characters. Her newest novel explores the nuances of communication, the implications of unquestioned technological advancement, and the enduring power of love in a way that is essential and urgent in today’s world. This thrilling literary novel will resonate, long after the final page is turned..