Original, thought-provoking and very entertaining, this novel about animal consciousness is a great read. Chimpanzee Sam is being brought up amongst humans and is being taught sign language – at which he seems to excel, sometimes expressing quite complex ideas. But a child chimp in the house is one thing – a fully grown adult male is quite another. And then teaching chimps to “speak” starts to go out of fashion and Sam’s future is in jeopardy, to the horror of young woman researcher Aimee who has grown to love him – to an uncomfortable extent. I don’t want to talk too much about what actually happens in the book as part of the joy of it is following the narrative stream, but it raises some interesting and controversial issues, not least animal consciousness, the ability to communicate with animals, the idea that animals have a soul, what right do we as humans have to use animals for research merely to gratify our own desires, whether for knowledge, scientific discovery, fame, ambition or perhaps our longing for love and connection. My only gripe with the novel is that some chapters are from Sam’s perspective and in his voice and I didn’t find this convincing. Trying to imagine what level of consciousness he actually has was one step too far and he was far too articulate. These chapters seemed forced and manipulative. But as a good read the book succeeds on many levels and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Talk To Me is a lively, thought-provoking novel exploring animal consciousness, what it means to be human, to communicate with another and to truly know another person—or animal. It's the late 1970s when animal behaviourist and brilliant young professor of psychology Guy Schermerhorn, disciple of the pioneering Dr Moncrieff, demonstrates on an American TV game show that he has taught Sam, his two-year-old chimpanzee, to reliably and coherently communicate. He begins to make a name for himself as Sam can not only order a cheeseburger but also say his name using sign language. Like a child, he grows up cared for by scientists, researchers and nannies in Schemerhorn's foster family. Guy aimed to demonstrate that primates, like humans, are programmed to use language. His boss, Professor Moncrief, is more sceptical, partly because of new research refuting the claim. Then off the back of his now myriad television appearances, timid undergraduate Aimee Villard volunteers to become Guy’s live-in assistant at his ranch. A very unique and close relationship develops: Sam reciprocates her feelings and literally develops into an individual. A romantic and intellectual attachment soon morphs into an interspecies love triangle that pushes hard at the boundaries of consciousness and the question of what we know and how we know it. However, when Schemerhorn's vision, which believed in the human element in animals, failed to set a precedent, Sam is confiscated and presented to another university for them to perform experiments upon. Devastated, Aimee comes up with a crazy plan to save her best friend.

This is a compelling, original and fascinating story in which award-winning and bestselling writer Boyle is both funny and compassionate about the question of whether animals are more like us than we suspect. It has many unexpected facets to it including a profound sadness running throughout, an almost cinematic quality and some interesting and wonderful bonds between the characters and Sam, although I did find Guy rather unsympathetic as a person. The author has written an impressive tale about animal research featuring a fluid and distant writing style, and I particularly liked that the perspective of the individual chapters alternates between the chimpanzee and the other characters involved, which in turn increases the tension. The chapters from the perspective of the chimpanzee Sam moved and touched me very much highlighting the plight of animals and their rights, considerations so frequently overlooked; you can tell that the author has carried out extensive research as he has packed a lot of intriguing scientific knowledge into his novel. It's a beautiful, captivating and richly emotive tale penned by an eminent storyteller, and I found myself pretty rapidly being caught up in the engaging, pacy narrative unable to foresee some of the twists and surprises that unexpectedly came about. Above all, the heart and soul of the book reminded me how we are not so different to the likes of Sam, a species we share 99% of DNA with, but that we as the dominant of the two must protect all animals from exploitation wherever humanly possible no matter their level of sentience.

I loved Boyle’s “Water Music”, weird and gory that it was.
I had real trouble with the ethics of this book. Humanising a chimp for research under the thin guise of communicating with another species?
The chapters (presumably) the POV of Sam, the chimp, I did not get.
Aimée, the research assistant, I did not get - her character seemed to oscillate between timid mousey lab girl and fiercely independent chimp Mum. The whole premise of dragging a chimp to various TV shows and let him be “interviewed” in sign language, I found very questionable and disturbing.
I could see the ending from miles off, so it wasn’t a riveting read. Expected much better from Boyle.