About a year ago, I read Kenneth Oppel’s The Boundless. I did enjoy it, but it wasn’t a book that wowed me. I read it, quite liked it and moved on. That’s why Half Brother was not high on my list of books to read. I knew I would read it, but it sat on my shelf for a bit, while I read other books, including Nomad’s Land and To Night Owl from Dogfish.
And then, Half Brother made me sob the way only the best books can. Just like Pig Heart Boy, it raises all kinds of questions – about experiments on animals and human selfishness.
Thirteen-year-old Ben’s father is a behavioural scientist. He is convinced that chimps, being closest to humans, can be taught to use language to communicate. And he’s determined to prove it.
Ben’s mother, who is doing her thesis on cross-fostering, is delighted with the experiment. They bring home and eight-day old chimpanzee, whom they call Zan, and begin to teach him American Sign Language. Ben is told that Zan is part of the family; Zan must learn to be human. So Zan is Ben’s brother, not a pet. He’s part of the family.
Right through the book, every emotion Ben experiences comes alive. He resents his father, who seems unemotional and distant, refusing to see Zan as anything beyond an experiment. It is an elaborate experiment, to be sure, but sentimentality and attachment would get in the way of objectivity and Mr Tomlin cannot let that happen. Ben grows attached to Zan, only to reach a point where he must make a choice. If the experiment does not succeed, Zan has no place in the Tomlin family. Zan is just a pretend brother, a chimpanzee. And chimpanzees aren’t human.
Half Brother ripped me apart. It made me think about how often the word ‘practical’ serves as a synonym for ‘selfish’. How do we choose whom to love? And once we have made our choices, do we have the freedom to change our minds?
| Title | Half Brother |
| Author | Kenneth Oppel |
| Tags | Young Adult, Animals, Science |
| Rating (out of 5) | 5 |
| Age-group | 13+ |
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