Published in the Huffington Post
Writing Half Brother: Love, Control, and Talking Animals
I only recently realized how fitting (and possibly ironic) it was that, after writing four bestselling “talking animal” fantasies featuring bats (the Silverwing series), I’d go on to write a realistic novel about an animal who truly did talk.
The seed for my novel Half Brother was planted in my mind over twenty years ago, but didn’t germinate until late 2007 when I came across the obituary for Washoe, an extraordinary chimpanzee who had learned over 250 words of American Sign Language.
It wasn’t the first time I’d heard about Washoe, or the radical language experiments performed on chimps in the 1960s and 70’s. As a first year undergrad at the University of Toronto, I’d read with fascination about Project Nim, in which a baby chimp was raised as a human child to determine whether chimps were capable of learning human language. Nim was dressed in diapers and clothes, he ate at a high chair, had books and toys -- and a very large surrogate human family.
At first blush, the experiment had a beguiling Doctor Dolittle charm to it – an attempt to communicate with another species in a truly meaningful way. Not nearly so charming was what happened when the experiment ended two years later – after being deemed a failure. Nim was abruptly stripped of his human identity, his clothes and toys and favourite foods, separated from the people he’d come to think of as mothers and fathers and siblings, and shipped off to another primate research institute. I found the image of Nim, looking out through the bars of a cage, incredibly sad – and I’d never considered myself someone who was sentimental about animals.
When, years later, I read Washoe’s obituary, I wondered what it would be like to write a story from a chimpanzee’s perspective. When I’d written my Silverwing series -- I’d imbued the bats with full human awareness and vocabulary. But what would it be like to try to tell a story with only the words Nim or Washoe had learned? The idea had a powerful appeal, but I decided that limiting myself to a two-hundred-and-fifty-word vocabulary – heavy on nouns, and light on verbs – would probably create something that might generously be called brave and avante-garde; or ungenerously, an unreadable mess.
Any attempt to write from an animal’s perspective inevitably involves anthropomorphization, and with Half Brother I wanted to steer clear of that. In the end I chose to tell the story through human eyes – those of Ben, a teenager whose father is a hotshot behavioural psychologist conducting a language study with a baby chimpanzee called Zan, in the family home.
Certainly I was interested in the controversial animal rights issues inherent in the story – chimps have been used and abused by humans in the entertainment industry, the US Space Program, and, perhaps most upsetting, the biomedical research industry. But equally fascinating to me were the human dynamics of the story. Imagine, as a teenager, being told to treat a chimp like a baby brother, while never forgetting that it was also a lab specimen. Imagine watching your mother and father indulge in a bizarre form of parenting – one in which the baby was nurtured, but also emotionally manipulated, and ultimately coerced into performing. To the father, the baby is only of value as long as it gives him what he needs.
But is human parenting -- or human relationships in general -- so very different? The more I worked on Half Brother, the more it seemed to me the story was really about love in all its possible forms – how and why we decide to bestow it, or withdraw it; how we decide what is more worthy of being loved, and what is less. We are masters of conditional love.
During my research for Half Brother I read numerous accounts of people who had worked with chimps and many of them, I believe, truly did love the animals, and were heart-broken when they were separated from them. One of the most moving experiences I had was visiting the Fauna Foundation, a chimp sanctuary outside Montreal, which is home to thirteen chimpanzees who have been “retired” from zoos, the entertainment industry, and biomedical research facilities. These chimps, no longer deemed “useful” by their previous owners, now have a wonderful home where they are cared for by director Gloria Grow and her staff. Some are old and ill, some are HIV positive as the result of medical research. But they no longer have to perform or deliver, and it was clear to me that they were truly and unconditionally loved.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Half Brother Interview
Exclusive Q&A with Kenneth Oppel
By Teen Editor at Indigo Books
"I am so excited to bring you this exclusive Q&A with one of my personal favourites, Canada's own Kenneth Oppel in which he talks about writing his new novel, Half Brother."
TE: How did this idea of a family adopting a chimpanzee develop for you? Were you inspired by a particular story or study that you’ve read?
KO: As a first year undergrad at the University of Toronto, I read about Project Nim, in which a baby chimp was raised as a human child to determine whether chimps were capable of learning human sign language. Nim was dressed in diapers and clothes, he ate at a high chair, had books and toys -- and a very large surrogate human family. But when the experiment ended two years later – after being deemed a failure, Nim was stripped of his human identity, his clothes and toys and favourite foods, separated from the people he’d come to think of as mothers and fathers and siblings, and shipped off to another primate research institute. I found the image of Nim, looking out through the bars of a cage, incredibly sad. It stayed with me for over twenty years.
TE: Half Brother is a bit of a departure for you from your other books, such as Airborn and Silverwing. What were some of the challenges you encountered writing it?
KO: Ironically, the subject matter of Half Brother is even more fantastical and strange than that of my earlier books, so I was quite at home! But certainly it’s a much more realistic book, and a more intimate one, so the characters and their relationships are more intricate. So I found it both challenging and invigorating, after so many fantasies in alternate worlds, to be grounded in our own.
TE: You set the novel in the early 1970s Victoria. What made you chose that particular time and place? Were you interested in pursuing some of the popular ideas around behavioural science and psychology?
KO: The real chimp language experiments that inspired Half Brother took place in the late 60s and 70s so I wanted to stay true to that time period. They were some of the first attempts to teach another species our language. Followers of the psychologist BF Skinner thought any behaviour – including language -- could be taught; followers of the linguist Noam Chomsky believed that language was intrinsic to human beings only. So these experiments were quite radical, and still controversial to this day. Also, there seemed to be such a fascination with chimps in popular culture at the time. They were everywhere on TV and in movies – namely the Planet of the Apes franchise which imagined a world in which chimps and the other great apes had evolved beyond humans. As for setting the story in Victoria, I mostly grew up there in the mid 70s to mid 80s, and I found it just gave me another way of entering tangibly into Ben’s world.
TE: I noticed that family dynamics continue to play an integral part in all of your novels, from Matt’s devotion to his mother and loss of his father in Airborne, to Dusk’s complicated relationship with his father in Darkwing. In this novel, it really all about that isn’t it? Who is the Alpha Male in the family and outside of it and what that means for Zan and Ben’s relationships?
KO: All drama is really about the dynamics between the characters – whether they’re bats, aeronauts in an alternate past, or the members of a uniquely dysfunctional family in 1970s Canada. Father-son relationships fascinate me, how a boy inevitably moves from seeing his father as impervious and all-knowing, to fallible and frail – simply human, in other words. But I think that all kids seek reassurance in dominance and power and control – boys in a more physical manifestation than girls – but every kid wants to be an alpha. Despite his ambivalence towards his father, Ben models himself after him by trying to control his environment and relationships – and the results are far from triumphant in some cases
TE: What kind of research did you do for this novel? Did you learn American Sign Language?
KO: I’d learned a bit of sign language to use with my youngest daughter, and it was amazing to see how it helped her communicate with us before words came. Then we used it simultaneous with speaking, and then the sign language just faded away as spoken language took over. My other research included reading up on all the famous chimp studies – Project Nim, Project Washoe, as well as some other accounts – including one of a scientist who lived with a chimp and truly thought of her as his daughter. I tried to learn as much as I could about chimp behaviour, especially baby chimps, and was fortunate enough to visit an amazing chimp sanctuary outside of Montreal.
TE: What do you think of the evolution of Teen/YA literature in the last five years and your place within it? Do you think that there are things you have to do differently now?
KO: Teen/YA literature definitely experiences trends like any form of literary and popular culture. Harry Potter gave us a good decade of wizardry and magic that spurred a huge general interest in fantasy which included period gothic fiction and steampunk. About five years ago the trend took a turn into contemporary gothic with Twilight, and now the shelves are groaning with books about hot vampires and werewolves and fallen angels and any other kind of paranormal creature you could wish for. I would say that trends rule the marketplace as never before – and it’s probably harder to launch books that are not considered trendy. But almost inevitably, the next great big doesn’t belong to the clique: it bravely charts its own course. No one really knows what’s going to take off, so as a writer all you can do is write the story that you fall in love in, and have to tell.
TE: Do you hope that this book raises awareness around animal cruelty and what kids can do about it?
KO: Certainly I hope that kids will take an interest in chimpanzees and the way they’ve been used and abused by humans. But the more I worked on Half Brother, the more it seemed to me the story was really about love in all its possible forms – how and why we decide to bestow it, or withdraw it; what’s worthy of being loved, and what isn’t? We are masters of conditional love. As the dominant species on the planet we have incredible power, and an incredible responsibility to treat our planet and all the creatures on it with respect and care.
TE: Abba or Zepplin?
KO: My feet say Abba, but my heart says Zeppelin.
By Teen Editor at Indigo Books
"I am so excited to bring you this exclusive Q&A with one of my personal favourites, Canada's own Kenneth Oppel in which he talks about writing his new novel, Half Brother."
TE: How did this idea of a family adopting a chimpanzee develop for you? Were you inspired by a particular story or study that you’ve read?
KO: As a first year undergrad at the University of Toronto, I read about Project Nim, in which a baby chimp was raised as a human child to determine whether chimps were capable of learning human sign language. Nim was dressed in diapers and clothes, he ate at a high chair, had books and toys -- and a very large surrogate human family. But when the experiment ended two years later – after being deemed a failure, Nim was stripped of his human identity, his clothes and toys and favourite foods, separated from the people he’d come to think of as mothers and fathers and siblings, and shipped off to another primate research institute. I found the image of Nim, looking out through the bars of a cage, incredibly sad. It stayed with me for over twenty years.
TE: Half Brother is a bit of a departure for you from your other books, such as Airborn and Silverwing. What were some of the challenges you encountered writing it?
KO: Ironically, the subject matter of Half Brother is even more fantastical and strange than that of my earlier books, so I was quite at home! But certainly it’s a much more realistic book, and a more intimate one, so the characters and their relationships are more intricate. So I found it both challenging and invigorating, after so many fantasies in alternate worlds, to be grounded in our own.
TE: You set the novel in the early 1970s Victoria. What made you chose that particular time and place? Were you interested in pursuing some of the popular ideas around behavioural science and psychology?
KO: The real chimp language experiments that inspired Half Brother took place in the late 60s and 70s so I wanted to stay true to that time period. They were some of the first attempts to teach another species our language. Followers of the psychologist BF Skinner thought any behaviour – including language -- could be taught; followers of the linguist Noam Chomsky believed that language was intrinsic to human beings only. So these experiments were quite radical, and still controversial to this day. Also, there seemed to be such a fascination with chimps in popular culture at the time. They were everywhere on TV and in movies – namely the Planet of the Apes franchise which imagined a world in which chimps and the other great apes had evolved beyond humans. As for setting the story in Victoria, I mostly grew up there in the mid 70s to mid 80s, and I found it just gave me another way of entering tangibly into Ben’s world.
TE: I noticed that family dynamics continue to play an integral part in all of your novels, from Matt’s devotion to his mother and loss of his father in Airborne, to Dusk’s complicated relationship with his father in Darkwing. In this novel, it really all about that isn’t it? Who is the Alpha Male in the family and outside of it and what that means for Zan and Ben’s relationships?
KO: All drama is really about the dynamics between the characters – whether they’re bats, aeronauts in an alternate past, or the members of a uniquely dysfunctional family in 1970s Canada. Father-son relationships fascinate me, how a boy inevitably moves from seeing his father as impervious and all-knowing, to fallible and frail – simply human, in other words. But I think that all kids seek reassurance in dominance and power and control – boys in a more physical manifestation than girls – but every kid wants to be an alpha. Despite his ambivalence towards his father, Ben models himself after him by trying to control his environment and relationships – and the results are far from triumphant in some cases
TE: What kind of research did you do for this novel? Did you learn American Sign Language?
KO: I’d learned a bit of sign language to use with my youngest daughter, and it was amazing to see how it helped her communicate with us before words came. Then we used it simultaneous with speaking, and then the sign language just faded away as spoken language took over. My other research included reading up on all the famous chimp studies – Project Nim, Project Washoe, as well as some other accounts – including one of a scientist who lived with a chimp and truly thought of her as his daughter. I tried to learn as much as I could about chimp behaviour, especially baby chimps, and was fortunate enough to visit an amazing chimp sanctuary outside of Montreal.
TE: What do you think of the evolution of Teen/YA literature in the last five years and your place within it? Do you think that there are things you have to do differently now?
KO: Teen/YA literature definitely experiences trends like any form of literary and popular culture. Harry Potter gave us a good decade of wizardry and magic that spurred a huge general interest in fantasy which included period gothic fiction and steampunk. About five years ago the trend took a turn into contemporary gothic with Twilight, and now the shelves are groaning with books about hot vampires and werewolves and fallen angels and any other kind of paranormal creature you could wish for. I would say that trends rule the marketplace as never before – and it’s probably harder to launch books that are not considered trendy. But almost inevitably, the next great big doesn’t belong to the clique: it bravely charts its own course. No one really knows what’s going to take off, so as a writer all you can do is write the story that you fall in love in, and have to tell.
TE: Do you hope that this book raises awareness around animal cruelty and what kids can do about it?
KO: Certainly I hope that kids will take an interest in chimpanzees and the way they’ve been used and abused by humans. But the more I worked on Half Brother, the more it seemed to me the story was really about love in all its possible forms – how and why we decide to bestow it, or withdraw it; what’s worthy of being loved, and what isn’t? We are masters of conditional love. As the dominant species on the planet we have incredible power, and an incredible responsibility to treat our planet and all the creatures on it with respect and care.
TE: Abba or Zepplin?
KO: My feet say Abba, but my heart says Zeppelin.
Friday, August 27, 2010
A star from School Library Journal
Thrilled to get this starred review for HALF BROTHER in the September issue of School Library Journal!
*OPPEL, Kenneth. Half Brother. 375p. Scholastic. Sept. 2010. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-22925-8. LC number unavailable.
Gr 7-11–Thirteen-year-old Ben Tomlin’s whole world is changing. His parents, research scientists, have moved them across Canada to be with their newest subject, Zan. Intending to prove that chimpanzees are capable of intelligent thought and communication, the Tomlins teach the baby chimp sign language and incorporate him into their daily lives. Thrust into a new school and, essentially, a new family, Ben is caught in a whirl of new emotions, especially when the lovely Jennifer comes onto the scene. Though Zan learns sign language relatively well, his animal instincts gradually become more pronounced and Ben and his parents must make some important decisions about the chimp’s future. Oppel has taken a fascinating subject and molded it into a top-notch read. Deftly integrating family dynamics, animal-rights issues, and the painful lessons of growing up, Half Brother draws readers in from the beginning and doesn’t let go. The carefully crafted characters will be an easy connection for teens and the interpretation of the animal-testing controversies of the 1970s will provide an alternate viewpoint for animal-book lovers.– Sara Saxton, Tuzzy Consortium Library, Barrow, AK
*OPPEL, Kenneth. Half Brother. 375p. Scholastic. Sept. 2010. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-22925-8. LC number unavailable.
Gr 7-11–Thirteen-year-old Ben Tomlin’s whole world is changing. His parents, research scientists, have moved them across Canada to be with their newest subject, Zan. Intending to prove that chimpanzees are capable of intelligent thought and communication, the Tomlins teach the baby chimp sign language and incorporate him into their daily lives. Thrust into a new school and, essentially, a new family, Ben is caught in a whirl of new emotions, especially when the lovely Jennifer comes onto the scene. Though Zan learns sign language relatively well, his animal instincts gradually become more pronounced and Ben and his parents must make some important decisions about the chimp’s future. Oppel has taken a fascinating subject and molded it into a top-notch read. Deftly integrating family dynamics, animal-rights issues, and the painful lessons of growing up, Half Brother draws readers in from the beginning and doesn’t let go. The carefully crafted characters will be an easy connection for teens and the interpretation of the animal-testing controversies of the 1970s will provide an alternate viewpoint for animal-book lovers.– Sara Saxton, Tuzzy Consortium Library, Barrow, AK
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Six Weeks and Counting...
Here's one of the strange things about writing a novel: once I've finished it, and it's been edited by the publishers, there is usually a nine to twelve month lag before it appears in bookstores and libraries and people actually start reading it. Of course, a few people have already read it: my wife and kids, my literary agents, my editors in Toronto and New York and London, and various other marketing and sales people at my publishers....But the fact is, I have to wait a long, long time before I start seeing magazine reviews of the book, and hearing back from my readers. Fortunately, so I don't go insane, I'm busy with other things, namely writing a whole new book -- but it is a bit agonizing to have to wait so long before I know what people think of the one that's about to be published.
Luckily, over the past weeks, I've started getting some early feedback from people who have read advanced readers copies (ARCs) of Half Brother.
As publication day fast approaches (September 1st) I thought I'd share some of these early comments here on my blog. They are from a wide variety of people across North America: teachers, librarians, university instructors, and teenaged fans of my earlier books.
So here's what readers are saying about Half Brother:
"It's a brilliant book. I can't say enough great things about it My son (he's 12) read Half Brother in two days. He said it was the best of all your books. I would have to agree!"
--Kim Akana
"Just finished Half Brother -- stayed up until midnight and hated to put it down, but wrapped it up this aft. What a COOL book. So different from anything else out there. Really made me think.... I like the way you did so much with characterization in this book. Everyone f elt very three-dimensional and real... heartbreakingly so at times.
--Martha Brack Martin
"I just finished Half Brother today with tears streaming down my face. What a great read! So glad I won the ARC. Thanks.
--Lena Coakley
"I finished reading Half Brother and it was one of my favourite books you have written. This is a beautiful story about the value and importance of family. It made me think about what really counts and matters in a person. Your writing keeps evolving and growing. I hope Half Brother receives all the success and praise it deserves.
--Colin, age 19
"I finished the advanced copy of Half Brother you sent. Wonderful! Fantastic writing once again. I won't hesitate to buy copies for my libraries and recommend it to students. A pleasure, as always, to read one of your books. Thanks again and best of luck and much success with this new one!
--Nancy Runstedler
"I finally had a chance to sit down and read Half Brother (I'd been waiting until I had a couple of days without too much else going on) -- great book! It was both precisely what I'd expect from an Oppel book (well-written, great characters, suspenseful plot, intelligent) and not at all what I'd expect (seems to me that you're charting new directions in your writing?). I was particularly impressed by the complicated mixture of personal (Ben's budding adolescence), political (animal rights) and social (subtle explorations of class struggle and gender relations). Setting it in the early 1970s was also very effective (and not just because it was like a visit to my own boyhood... minus the chimp).
--Mac Fenwick
"I thought Half Brother was incredibly awesome. I really didn't know what to expect given that I'm most familiar with your Airborn series, but this was a pleasant surprise. I love how you were able to give the story a teenager's perspective -- a very believable one at that. The relationship between Zan and Ben was so sweet; I especially liked the part where Zan is comforting Ben.... Your book was very honest in the sense that if shows that not everything works out the way you planned, and that you have to be willing to meet in the middle to ensure that it's not only you that will be happy in the end. In sum, your book was refreshing. Thank you for letting me have the chance to read such a great book.
--Ruchita, age 16
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Half Brother Galley Tour
Do you want to join the Half Brother galley tour?
HarperCollins Canada is sending copies of Half Brother on tour across Canada!
HarperCollins is looking forward to getting them back filled with your comments, photos, and anything else that reveals where they have been in their travels.
As you read the book, put sticky notes, photos—whatever you like— on the pages for others to see along the way.
When you’re finished reading, give the galley to a friend. If you're the 10th person to read the galley, mail it back to the contact name in the galley, and HarperCollins will send you a free book (from the genre of your choice) in exchange for any shipping charges you may incur.
Send me a private facebook message before noon on Monday June 28th and you might be the one to kick-off the galley tour!
Friday, June 18, 2010
HALF BROTHER gets highlighted preview in Quill&Quire
Quill & Quire, the Canadian trade magazine, has given a highlighted preview to my upcoming novel Half Brother.
I am thrilled with the coverage, and delighted to know that "the story will surely be as classy a crowd-pleaser as the Silverwing and Airborn series," but would just like to point out that the main character in the book, Ben Tomlin, is not eight years old, but 13, 14 and 15 through the course of the novel!
More news and info to come as publication date approaches...
I am thrilled with the coverage, and delighted to know that "the story will surely be as classy a crowd-pleaser as the Silverwing and Airborn series," but would just like to point out that the main character in the book, Ben Tomlin, is not eight years old, but 13, 14 and 15 through the course of the novel!
More news and info to come as publication date approaches...
Sunday, June 13, 2010
HALF BROTHER named "Hot Read" by Globe and Mail
My upcoming novel Half Brother has been included in this weekend's Globe and Mail as one of the "Hot Reads" of the summer. I'm delighted by the mention. The novel will actually be released at the very end of August, and showing up in bookstores the very first week of September.
Advance reader reviews are starting to come in, and I'll try to post some of them here...
Advance reader reviews are starting to come in, and I'll try to post some of them here...
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