Brazzaville Beach — William Boyd

A primatologist flees her broken marriage for a job in war-torn Africa in the renowned author's “brilliant . . . stunningly magical” novel (Washington Post Book World).

William Boyd's classic Brazzaville Beach has been called a “bold seamless blend of philosophy and suspense . . . [that] nevertheless remains accessible to general readers on a level of pure entertainment.” (Boston Globe).

When her marriage to a brilliant but unstable mathematician finally shatters, Hope Clearwater leaves England to join a team of primate researchers in a remote African country. Though she is there to study chimps, the greater challenge is her attempt to grapple with her own recent past -- as well as her fellow scientists. And when she discovers evidence of supposedly peaceful chimps engaging in extreme violence, Hope finds herself drawn into a war of desperate egos and ruthless ambitions.