If Baboons Could Talk: 'Mr. Thundermug'

Published February 7, 2007 at 3:24 PM EST

A baboon with "an unsettling mastery of human speech" is the chief protagonist in Mr. Thundermug, the first book by author Cornelius Medvei.

With just over 100 pages, the novella takes place in a small English city, where the lead character's odd appearance goes largely unnoticed. The idea for a story about a talking baboon sprang from a dream that one of Medvei's friends described to him. In it, baboons moved into a construction site on a residential street.

Medvei thought the scenario was intriguing, though he did not know much about baboons at the time. When one baboon somehow learns to speak, it brings some trouble to him and his family.

Michele Norris talks with Medvei.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

Protect Connecticut Public