Finished Unsaid by Neil Abramson. I received a copy from the publisher at BEA.
Summary (from Goodreads):
“As a veterinarian, Helena had mercifully escorted thousands of animals to the other side. Now, having died herself, she finds that it is not so easy to move on. She is terrified that her 37 years of life were meaningless, error-ridden, and forgettable. So Helena haunts– and is haunted by– the life she left behind. Meanwhile, David, her shattered attorney husband, struggles with grief and the demands of caring for her houseful of damaged and beloved animals. But it is her absence from her last project, Cindy– a chimpanzee who may unlock the mystery of communication and consciousness– that will have the greatest impact on all of them.
When Cindy is scheduled for a research experiment that will undoubtedly take her life, David must call upon everything he has learned from Helena to save her. In the explosive courtroom drama that follows, all the threads of Helena’s life entwine and tear as Helena and David confront their mistakes, grief, and loss, and discover the only way to save Cindy is to understand what it really means to be human.”
This was another impulse grab at BEA. (It apparently came out last year and they were promoting the paperback release, which has a gorgeous chocolate lab face staring at me.) (Yes, I AM a sucker for books with pictures of dogs on them.) I’m so glad I did end up snagging it; it was so good! I think there are a lot of potential discussions to have with this book (the ethics of testing products on animals chief among them) and I think this would be a great pick for book clubs.
Despite the adorable dog face on the cover, this actually dealt more with Cindy, a chimpanzee. (And just as much with humans as with animals at all.) I have such a fondness for books and movies about all things primate, I can’t even tell you. (Shameful secret: when they were discussing how much Cindy understood, all I could think of was Amy from the movie Congo.)
Recommended.
