Tõnis Tootsen

Pâté of the Apes: One Primate’s Thoughts and Memories is, as far as anyone knows, the first book written by a monkey. Ergo, who has been exiled to solitude on the Isle of the Dead, pens his memoir. Acquiring literacy takes him to the very brink of humanity. He has the opportunity to live as a person, though nothing good comes of it. The absurdity of humankind is instead highlighted in exceptionally rich and luxurious detail.  Observing the world through simian eyes allows us to step back and form striking generalizations. Both the ape’s autobiographical experiences and the period during which Estonia was freed of Soviet occupation and endeavored to restore its status as a free European state are viewed through a funhouse mirror. Human modes of behavior and societal hierarchies, which can easily be upended in the shifting winds of politics, are put under a microscope. “Red” and “blue” apes clash in the story – unintentional but foretelling in light of the present war in Ukraine.  The book explores marginalization and colonization through satire like in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, and the occasional over-the-top humor. Obviously, the title contains a direct reference to Planet of the Apes. Pâté of the Apes can similarly be read as a critique of anthropocentrism and a strong blow to the idea that humankind is evolution’s crown jewel.​