IN “Three Weeks in December”, Audrey Schulman’s novel of 2012, an American ethno-botanist heads to Rwanda in search of a potentially life-saving vine. She befriends a family of gorillas, but their bond is threatened by a group of Congolese child soldiers. Ms Schulman’s new novel, “Theory of Bastards”, also revolves around a female scientist who interacts with an endangered great ape—in this case the bonobo, or pygmy chimpanzee. What begins as a fascinating study of evolution turns into a taut battle for survival.
This time the setting is not Africa but a futuristic Midwest. Francine (“Frankie”) Burk—Canadian like the author—takes a placement at a research institute outside Kansas City. There she observes the mating behaviour of bonobos, to verify her controversial theory about the “Benefits of Bastards”. She also begins to walk again after an operation for endometriosis. Aiding her little steps and scientific leaps is an ex-soldier, David Stotts.
Gradually the pair develop a common language, he no longer “Kansas-polite”, she no longer “Manhattan-rude”. More important for Frankie, though, is the ability to communicate with the bonobos. But just as she begins to make progress, a dust storm approaches—“Like death or anaesthesia, an inching thief”—and wreaks havoc. Days later, with supplies exhausted and rescue elusive, Frankie, Stotts and 14 apes, all hungry, thirsty and dirty, take their chances outside.
The main section of the book, chronicling Frankie’s initial spell at the Foundation, is devoted to relationship-building and fact-finding. Occasionally those facts, evolutionary and psychological, are intrusive. Fortunately, Ms Schulman’s imagined future is intriguing, an all-too-credible realm of self-driving cars, talking fridges, printable food and data-accessing BodyWare, plagued by extreme weather and cyber-attacks. Her cast, human and simian, is compelling, particularly her heroine, who rebounds from one cruel blow after another.
The novel changes gear when the storm sweeps in, disabling technology and bringing Frankie and Stotts closer. Their final, desperate trek across a treacherous, post-apocalyptic landscape is expertly rendered. The reader’s mounting dread proves that the characters’ fates have come to matter. Ms Schulman’s finest novel yet is an examination of sexual relations, the “careful theatre” of civilisation, and humanity’s responsibilities in a rapidly changing world. It is both an edifying read and an exhilarating one.
