Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Fawcett (1970), Mass Market Paperback, 318 pages
Description
The importance of communication between dolphins and humans becomes apparent when World War III becomes a a distinct possibility.
User reviews
LibraryThing member arubabookwoman
I tracked this book down and read it because it's on the 1001 List, one of the few spy thrillers to make the list. I was curious as to why it earned that honor. It's the story of a research program, funded by the government, to teach dolphins to talk--not merely to "communicate"--with humans. When
There's a lot of information about dolphins in this book, but since it was written in the 1970's I'm sure a lot of the information is outdated. In particular, I believe it is now thought that dolphins are not as intelligent as was once believed, although they are certainly intelligent. And, while I don't know one way or the other for sure, I can't believe that dolphins would have the anatomical capability to "speak" in grammatical English. (And since the novel was written in French, I'm not sure why the dolphins were taught English, rather than French, or even Esperanto :)., although the research facility was in the US.)
Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book. It is written in a strange stream of consciousness style, with a constant shifting of the point of view character. And the characters were well-developed, including some rather strange individuals, some at the training facility, and some in the government. I guess one of the whole points was how wonderful, innocent and good dolphins are--in this book dolphins in the wild looked on humans as somewhat Godlike--and how horrible it was for them to awaken to the evil that lurks in the heart of man.
3 stars
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the program proves successful, evil elements from the government abscond with the dolphins to force them to do evil deeds.There's a lot of information about dolphins in this book, but since it was written in the 1970's I'm sure a lot of the information is outdated. In particular, I believe it is now thought that dolphins are not as intelligent as was once believed, although they are certainly intelligent. And, while I don't know one way or the other for sure, I can't believe that dolphins would have the anatomical capability to "speak" in grammatical English. (And since the novel was written in French, I'm not sure why the dolphins were taught English, rather than French, or even Esperanto :)., although the research facility was in the US.)
Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book. It is written in a strange stream of consciousness style, with a constant shifting of the point of view character. And the characters were well-developed, including some rather strange individuals, some at the training facility, and some in the government. I guess one of the whole points was how wonderful, innocent and good dolphins are--in this book dolphins in the wild looked on humans as somewhat Godlike--and how horrible it was for them to awaken to the evil that lurks in the heart of man.
3 stars
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LibraryThing member Kristelh
[book:The Day of the Dolphin|94499] is a 1967 novel, 1001 Book, written by the French author, [author:Robert Merle|54354]. It is set in Florida during the period of time referred to as the cold war (1970 to 1973). The book itself is not that engaging and certainly dated as a sixties book and the
I found it interesting to read a novel written by a French author that was set in the US. I found it interesting to compare this book to another book I read this month, [book:Libra|400] by DeLillo, also a book espionage in the US. Both books question the assassination of JFK along the same points of logic. Both books also discussed the Bay of Pigs and how the CIA may have been manipulating the president. This book talks about a fictional election of a man that in all descriptions sounds like a Hollywood star. At this time Ronald Reagan had been elected as governor of California and the book mentions that. The US is engaged in fighting in Vietnam. A US ship is sunk and the US blames China and gives China an ultimatum. This is a story of how the agencies that are around the president can manipulate that position by what information is given, distorted, and withheld. There is mention of the sinking of the Maine by unknown etiology in the harbor of Havana that led US to declaring war on Spain in the Spanish American War.
Quotes:
"Freedom of the press is quite real, but it is ineffectual. In a country where all the new media are in the hands of money, the still small voice of truth is quickly drowned out by the powerful organs of falsehood and confusion."
"...issue of Le Monde (French newspaper) expressed this view with a clarity that would have impressed even the Americans if they had attached any importance to either the information or the opinions given in the European press. But American newspapers quoted only other American newspapers or, at the most, the British newspapers, in their columns."
"If there's one thing a President can neither reform nor control it's his own political police force, they are the real rulers, since it's they who give him information..."
"I am sure the CIA knew that the Bay of Pigs would be a failure. I'm sure the plan was to confront John (JFK) with a setback so serious, a loss of face so terrible that John would send the marines to Cuba, and John came close to doing it, such a disaster at the beginning of his Presidency, he was so mortified, so humiliated, so upset, but he pulled himself together, he said no, he knew how to say no, no to war against Cuba, no to war against China, no to segregation, they killed him because he knew how to say no, send him to Dallas and we'll take car of the rest, in Dallas we have policemen who can slice a cigar in two at thirty yards..."
I found it so interesting that I ended up reading two books so similar in themes. One written in 1967 by a foriegn author and the other in 1988 by an American author.
The book was set on the work of scientist John Lilly, a Minnesotan scientist who worked on dolphin language. Rating 3.3
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treatment of women (often referred to as girls) is certainly grating. This is a work of science fiction and in this book the SF part is that man is teaching dolphins to talk and learning to talk in dolphinese and dolphins. As often is the case with science fiction, this is a political statement against war, against government, politics and government involvement in research science. I found it interesting to read a novel written by a French author that was set in the US. I found it interesting to compare this book to another book I read this month, [book:Libra|400] by DeLillo, also a book espionage in the US. Both books question the assassination of JFK along the same points of logic. Both books also discussed the Bay of Pigs and how the CIA may have been manipulating the president. This book talks about a fictional election of a man that in all descriptions sounds like a Hollywood star. At this time Ronald Reagan had been elected as governor of California and the book mentions that. The US is engaged in fighting in Vietnam. A US ship is sunk and the US blames China and gives China an ultimatum. This is a story of how the agencies that are around the president can manipulate that position by what information is given, distorted, and withheld. There is mention of the sinking of the Maine by unknown etiology in the harbor of Havana that led US to declaring war on Spain in the Spanish American War.
Quotes:
"Freedom of the press is quite real, but it is ineffectual. In a country where all the new media are in the hands of money, the still small voice of truth is quickly drowned out by the powerful organs of falsehood and confusion."
"...issue of Le Monde (French newspaper) expressed this view with a clarity that would have impressed even the Americans if they had attached any importance to either the information or the opinions given in the European press. But American newspapers quoted only other American newspapers or, at the most, the British newspapers, in their columns."
"If there's one thing a President can neither reform nor control it's his own political police force, they are the real rulers, since it's they who give him information..."
"I am sure the CIA knew that the Bay of Pigs would be a failure. I'm sure the plan was to confront John (JFK) with a setback so serious, a loss of face so terrible that John would send the marines to Cuba, and John came close to doing it, such a disaster at the beginning of his Presidency, he was so mortified, so humiliated, so upset, but he pulled himself together, he said no, he knew how to say no, no to war against Cuba, no to war against China, no to segregation, they killed him because he knew how to say no, send him to Dallas and we'll take car of the rest, in Dallas we have policemen who can slice a cigar in two at thirty yards..."
I found it so interesting that I ended up reading two books so similar in themes. One written in 1967 by a foriegn author and the other in 1988 by an American author.
The book was set on the work of scientist John Lilly, a Minnesotan scientist who worked on dolphin language. Rating 3.3
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LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
The Day of the Dolphin is a 1967 science fiction novel by French novelist Robert Merle. The book is set in Florida in the early 1970’s when the cold war was still on-going. I struggled with this book as it did not engage me, was quite dated, and, from today’s prospective the plot was hard to
The first half of the book is spent in setting up the situation and explaining how the scientists have been researching dolphins and analyzing the sounds they make. They are trying to teach dolphins to speak English and of course, the government is watching closely and considering how these dolphins could be used in warfare. The second half of the book was more of a thriller but as I was never very engaged with the plot, I wasn’t able to get swept up in the danger and excitement.
The idea of dolphins being able to directly communicate with humans is an exciting and interesting idea, but having them learn to speak actual English just didn’t work for me. Overall I think the biggest problem with this book is that it just didn’t stand the test of time.
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swallow. Of course, as with many science fiction books written in this era, the author uses the story to highlight his anti-war and anti-government feelings. The first half of the book is spent in setting up the situation and explaining how the scientists have been researching dolphins and analyzing the sounds they make. They are trying to teach dolphins to speak English and of course, the government is watching closely and considering how these dolphins could be used in warfare. The second half of the book was more of a thriller but as I was never very engaged with the plot, I wasn’t able to get swept up in the danger and excitement.
The idea of dolphins being able to directly communicate with humans is an exciting and interesting idea, but having them learn to speak actual English just didn’t work for me. Overall I think the biggest problem with this book is that it just didn’t stand the test of time.
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LibraryThing member gypsysmom
A scientist discovers how to communicate with dolphins. So far, so good. Unfortunately, his work has come to the attention of others who are not altruistically inclined. This book was made into a movie starring George C. Scott.
LibraryThing member amerynth
While the book is probably a bit dated, (particularly in its attitude toward female scientists,) I enjoyed reading Robert Merle's "The Day of the Dolphin."
In this novel, scientists are working steadily to get dolphins to speak and understand English -- and two dolphins, Fa & Bi start to do so. It
I didn't care much for the relationships between the people in the book, but I did enjoy seeing the story about the dolphins unfold.
In this novel, scientists are working steadily to get dolphins to speak and understand English -- and two dolphins, Fa & Bi start to do so. It
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isn't much of a spoiler, given Merle says this early on, that the military has more sinister ideas about dolphins' capabilities. I didn't care much for the relationships between the people in the book, but I did enjoy seeing the story about the dolphins unfold.
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LibraryThing member TobinElliott
Well, that was a short one. 36 pages in, and I'm out. Why?
The writing.
Let me tell you about the writing...
First, for the initial 4 1/2 pages, the author does not use quotation marks whatsoever, then, about halfway down the fifth page, for no reason, he starts. He then uses them reasonably
The second is the habit of writing a paragraph full of useless, stream-of-conscious thoughts that not only don't add anything to the plot, but they actually detract from the pacing.
And then there's the run-on sentences.
I'll just give you the first two sentences that open chapter two...that should give you enough to go on...
The room was hygienically empty, not a magazine, not a scrap of paper, just three armchairs, a small table with an ashtray, and on the painted walls three engravings of full-rigged ships in foul weather, C looked at the ships wearily, he felt a twinge in the vicinity of his stomach, the pain was not sharp but constant, it did not seem to come from the inside of the organs but from their walls, it was more like a painful contraction of the muscles, it radiated downward to the abdomen and upward under the ribs, at times it reached the vertebrae, C felt that if he could just lie down, flex his legs, and relax his muscles his painful organs would return to normal but this was not true, the pain never went away, actually it wasn't a real pain, more of a pressure, vague, diffuse, insistent, unbearable, he could forget it for over an hour at a time if his attention was concentrated, but it returned with disturbing regularity, even at night he could not sleep, everything was breaking down, his nerves were shot, he tired more easily, recovery was slower, C sank into a chair and closed his eyes.
As he did so the blond head of Johnnie rolled against his arm, there was a brief spasm, his lips sucked the air with a convulsive shudder, there was a sudden slackening of the legs and it was all over, they were lying in a rice paddy surrounded by a cloud of mauve mosquitoes, bullets, and mortar fire, behind me a GI said, "He's had it," we had to wait for night so the helicopters could land, the orderly in the copter removed the dog tags from the dead, his eyes met mine, he looked sad and bitter, he shuffled the dog tags in the palm of his hand and said, "They don't take up much space: a dozen Americans."
There's so much wrong with those two sentences. They skip around various topics. They switch point of view. And they're deplorable to read.
Now, having said all that, this book was originally published in 1967 in French language, and then translated and released in English two years later.
I picked this book up, because I read it when I was roughly 13 or so, so, ballpark, around 1975 or so. I remember enjoying enough that I picked up the only other Robert Merle book I ever found, Malevil, and I remember enjoying that one too.
Here we are, not quite fifty years later, and I can only think, damn, I was a lot more patient with crap writing back then.
Anyway, I couldn't bear the thought of wading through another 282 pages of this dreck, no matter if there is a good story buried in there somewhere.
And, because it's a DNF, no rating.
The writing.
Let me tell you about the writing...
First, for the initial 4 1/2 pages, the author does not use quotation marks whatsoever, then, about halfway down the fifth page, for no reason, he starts. He then uses them reasonably
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consistently for 20-ish pages, then drops and then uses them again. So...yeah, it's gonna be like that.The second is the habit of writing a paragraph full of useless, stream-of-conscious thoughts that not only don't add anything to the plot, but they actually detract from the pacing.
And then there's the run-on sentences.
I'll just give you the first two sentences that open chapter two...that should give you enough to go on...
The room was hygienically empty, not a magazine, not a scrap of paper, just three armchairs, a small table with an ashtray, and on the painted walls three engravings of full-rigged ships in foul weather, C looked at the ships wearily, he felt a twinge in the vicinity of his stomach, the pain was not sharp but constant, it did not seem to come from the inside of the organs but from their walls, it was more like a painful contraction of the muscles, it radiated downward to the abdomen and upward under the ribs, at times it reached the vertebrae, C felt that if he could just lie down, flex his legs, and relax his muscles his painful organs would return to normal but this was not true, the pain never went away, actually it wasn't a real pain, more of a pressure, vague, diffuse, insistent, unbearable, he could forget it for over an hour at a time if his attention was concentrated, but it returned with disturbing regularity, even at night he could not sleep, everything was breaking down, his nerves were shot, he tired more easily, recovery was slower, C sank into a chair and closed his eyes.
As he did so the blond head of Johnnie rolled against his arm, there was a brief spasm, his lips sucked the air with a convulsive shudder, there was a sudden slackening of the legs and it was all over, they were lying in a rice paddy surrounded by a cloud of mauve mosquitoes, bullets, and mortar fire, behind me a GI said, "He's had it," we had to wait for night so the helicopters could land, the orderly in the copter removed the dog tags from the dead, his eyes met mine, he looked sad and bitter, he shuffled the dog tags in the palm of his hand and said, "They don't take up much space: a dozen Americans."
There's so much wrong with those two sentences. They skip around various topics. They switch point of view. And they're deplorable to read.
Now, having said all that, this book was originally published in 1967 in French language, and then translated and released in English two years later.
I picked this book up, because I read it when I was roughly 13 or so, so, ballpark, around 1975 or so. I remember enjoying enough that I picked up the only other Robert Merle book I ever found, Malevil, and I remember enjoying that one too.
Here we are, not quite fifty years later, and I can only think, damn, I was a lot more patient with crap writing back then.
Anyway, I couldn't bear the thought of wading through another 282 pages of this dreck, no matter if there is a good story buried in there somewhere.
And, because it's a DNF, no rating.
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Language
Original language
French
Original publication date
1967
Physical description
318 p.; 6.8 inches
ISBN
0449232409 / 9780449232408