Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle

In this simian world, civilization is turned upside down: apes are men and men are apes; apes rule and men run wild; apes think, speak, produce, wear clothes, and men are speechless, naked, exhibited at fairs, used for biological research. On the planet of the apes, man, having reached to apotheosis of his genius, has become inert.

To this planet come a journalist and a scientist. The scientist is put into a zoo, the journalist into a laboratory. Only the journalist retains the spiritual strength and creative intelligence to try to save himself, to fight the appalling scourge, to remain a man.

Enjoy!!

I read this book in a day and a half and liked it a lot.
It is so different from the movies in so many ways-more thoughtful and descriptive of the society-especially the relationships between the Chimpanzees, Orangutans and Gorillas.

I’m just waiting to pick this up from the library. Looking forward to it.

No copies at my library :( So I had to buy this one.

I'll start this one soon. I'm interested to see how different it is from the movie.

I have been meaning to read this for years, and seeing that the group was reading through it, I decided to get myself a copy and take a short break from some of my other reads to zip through this one. I anticipated it being an easy fast-paced scifi read, and it certainly has been so far! (Not "easy" as in shallow or any such thing - its very premise is extremely thought-provoking; I just mean "easy to read a lot in one sitting.") I just started last night and am 77 pages in. It's fascinating and very difficult to put down. I grew up on the original film series (and have enjoyed the newer ones released in the past few years as well), so I wasn't sure what I would think of the book. So far I have enjoyed both versions of the story equally! Apart from the general premise and (so far) one character, the book and films are so different that I can separate them in my mind - something I'm not always good at with books and film adaptations.

What does everyone else think of the book so far? (Or what did you think, if you've already finished?) Maybe it's just me, but I am wondering if Pierre Boulle took any of his inspiration from The Time Machine.

I think it is likely that he took some inspiration from Wells, and also from the many time travel stories published after Wells.

I just started. A few weird technical details:(view spoiler)[He said it would only take a few hours longer to travel 200 light years than 4 at sublight speed? A woman just strangled a chimp? They're strong! (hide spoiler)]

Hope you are all enjoying it!

I finished it...the night before last, I believe? (The days are running together!) and thoroughly enjoyed it! Having grown up on the Charlton Heston film and its sequels, I wasn't sure I would appreciate the book after waiting so long to read it. Well, I found that the book and the films were different enough that each can be appreciated on its own merits. None of the films follows the book completely, but you can see which elements of the book each film used, even if they took these elements in slightly different directions. If that makes sense. In turn, I can see where the 2001 film and the newest Caesar series took inspiration from both the book and the original film series. There were also two television series (one live action, one animated), which I want to go back and watch again to see if they included elements of the book or were simply their own standalone plots. (Sorry...this probably belongs in the "Classics in Movies" thread.)

Back to the book, I thought the ending was absolute perfection. Just as abrupt and dramatic as in the film, if in a slightly different way. I only wish there were sequels (sequels by Pierre Boulle, that is - I know there are movie novelizations by various authors...which I am also tempted to delve into now, just to have more Apes stories to read). I love the way Boulle writes (at least, if we are getting a clear enough idea from the translator), and am now going on to read his other famous work, The Bridge over the River Kwai.

I forgot to mention that I read this as well - It is and is not like the film, but ever so canny. Loved it.

PS I bought it as well. I usually buy all my books because I have to or I cannot read them.

Jazzy wrote: "PS I bought it as well. I usually buy all my books because I have to or I cannot read them."

I buy most of my books as well, including this one. When I borrow books, I'm almost afraid to even open them.

Brianna wrote: "Jazzy wrote: "PS I bought it as well. I usually buy all my books because I have to or I cannot read them."

I buy most of my books as well, including this one. When I borrow books, I'm almost afrai..."

Yeah and it's really fun to be able to give your books away to people afterward as well :)

Brianna wrote: "There were also two television series (one live action, one animated), which I want to go back and watch again to see if they included elements of the book or were simply their own standalone plots."
Don't forget the musical!
Stop the Planet Of The Apes I Want To Get Off

I haven't finished yet but apparently this takes place on a different planet unless it is somehow going to be revealed to be earth. It also makes more sense that the apes speak another language.

I like how he descends into savagery at the drop of a hat basically just because it's expected.

And the triangle between him, Nova, and Zira.

Book Nerd wrote: "Brianna wrote: "There were also two television series (one live action, one animated), which I want to go back and watch again to see if they included elements of the book or were simply their own ..."

Ahh yes, best Simpsons episode ever. In all seriousness, I have wished for a long time that Planet of the Apes really did have a stage musical adaptation. Maybe someday...

Yes, the apes having their own language makes so much more sense! I suppose that might have been a bit difficult to portray in the film, so they opted for using Taylor's injured throat as the (temporary) communication barrier instead.

Once you've finished, please share your thoughts on whether you think it takes place on earth or another planet! The ending is verrrry interesting.

Yes, the Simpsons version was brilliant.

Hi everyone.
It's a good read, I liked it a lot. It's fast-paced, so I managed to read it in a very short time.
Story is told from a very interesting point of view, provoking thoughts on social segregation and underestimation, vanity between humans (especially in intellectual circles), qualities of humanity (mostly compassion) and scientific research.
It was very suspenseful and tense at moments. Unfortunately, I didn't had the luxury to be surprised by the ending, since I watched the movie from 2001 and could predict it.

I liked the pace as well. It managed to cover a lot of ground in under 200 pages.

Bernard wrote: "Yes, the Simpsons version was brilliant."

Doctor Zaius! Doctor Zaius!

I really liked this too. It was nice and fast paced. I would have finished it faster but I was mostly just reading it on my breaks at work

(view spoiler)[Those experiments were pretty gruesome. I know similar experiments have been performed on apes and hopefully still aren't. But I couldn't escape the feeling that Cornelius was showing that to him to warn him off Zira. (hide spoiler)]

A couple of things I didn't like:
(view spoiler)[The whole racial memory thing was pretty dumb. They could have talked about the previous human civilization by just finding archeological evidence.

The framing story(I guessed that the couple would be apes from the beginning) but the idea of finding a bottle in space is ridiculous and where his narrative ended it made no sense that he would have been able to throw the bottle out into space. (hide spoiler)]

Brianna wrote: "Once you've finished, please share your thoughts on whether you think it takes place on earth or another planet! The ending is verrrry interesting."
(view spoiler)[I'm sure it was a different planet. The sun was much bigger than earth's and the system was different. For that to have been earth's sun it would have had to be billions of years later, not just a couple of hundred.
I'm guessing the author was going with a 60s Star Trek kind of logic where all planets basically develop life the same way. In this case a human civilization develops and eventually gives way to an ape civilization. When he got back to earth after more than a thousand years by my count the apes had started to take over there too. (hide spoiler)]

Armin wrote: "Hi everyone.
It's a good read, I liked it a lot. It's fast-paced, so I managed to read it in a very short time.
Story is told from a very interesting point of view, provoking thoughts on social s..."

I was very surprised by the ending - I expected it to be more similar to the original film; instead, it turns out the 2001 film's ending came the closest.

Brianna wrote:
Story is told from a very interesting point of view, provoking though..."

I loved the ending of the 2001 movie. It was the most shocking scene and the one scene I remember :)
When I was finishing the book, I kinda saw it coming.

I preferred the film from the 60s with the cheeky Roddy McDowell as a cheeky chimp!

Armin, I saw that version as well. Now that I've read the book, the ending makes a lot more sense.

Rosemarie wrote: "Armin, I saw that version as well. Now that I've read the book, the ending makes a lot more sense."

I agree :)

Jazzy wrote: "I preferred the film from the 60s with the cheeky Roddy McDowell as a cheeky chimp!"

Haha, haven't seen that movie, maybe sometime as a kid. But, I saw the trailer not long ago, the costumes were very funny :D

Armin wrote: "Rosemarie wrote: "Armin, I saw that version as well. Now that I've read the book, the ending makes a lot more sense."

I agree :)

Jazzy wrote: "I preferred the film from the 60s with the cheeky Ro..."

Ahh, Armin, you must see the original, it's a classic! Charlton Heston is fantastic in everything he does, and of course all the apes' actors are great. And the costumes are impressive and entertainingly goofy at the same time. The sequels are fun too. If you watch the original series of films and then the newest Caesar series, you see so many connections.

Brianna wrote: "Ahh, Armin, you must see the original, it's a classic! Charlton Heston is fantastic in everything he does, and of course all the apes' actors are great. And the costumes are impressive and entertainingly goofy at the same time. The sequels are fun too. If you watch the original series of films and then the newest Caesar series, you see so many connections."

You made a point, I will have to watch the movie, it looks like the 1968 movie matches the books story. I still remember Charlton Heston from Soylent Green movie :)

Armin wrote: "Brianna wrote: "Ahh, Armin, you must see the original, it's a classic! Charlton Heston is fantastic in everything he does, and of course all the apes' actors are great. And the costumes are impress..."

They are made of (view spoiler)[people (hide spoiler)]!

And Nova was gorgeous!