'Howlingly marvellous ... Gripping and inescapably bittersweet' Boston Globe 'Hits the mark ... Real and relevant' BookTrib ____________________ Guy Schermerhorn, brilliant young professor of psychology and disciple of the pioneering Dr Moncrieff, is making a name for himself on the talk show circuit with an unusual protégé in tow: a chimp by the name of Sam. Sam lives in Guy's apartment, wears diapers and neckties, devours pizza and Macdonalds - and, through Guy's careful training, can communicate through sign language. But living with Sam is wreaking havoc on Guy's personal life, and when shy, meek undergraduate Aimee Villard volunteers to take on babysitting for him, he can't believe his luck. Aimee and Sam have an immediate rapport, and before Guy knows it she's moved in, proudly devoting herself to Sam's care and Guy's project. Aimee has never known purpose and happiness like this; but when Guy's funding is imperilled, and Sam is taken away by the sinister Moncrief, her world falls apart. Aimee discovers just how far she'll go to, and just what she'll risk, to be united with the chimp she's come to love so much. _____________ 'Boyle tells this story with clear-eyed, flinty intelligence' Spectrum, Sydney Morning Herald 'An engaging tale' The Blurb, Australia One of our finest chroniclers . Boyle is always going outside himself, jumping into foreign skins . The best of Boyle's novels warn against the varieties of human extremism: our problems may be grave, he often says, but we make them worse by acting on our unexamined impulses and convictions