He was born to be a fierce and powerful troop leader, the mighty silverback, a gorilla's gorilla, but Ivan was forced out of that life when he was stolen from the rainforest. Living in a suburban mall has created a life shrouded by confusion for Ivan. Where the Wild Things Aren'tĪs you know, gorillas aren't typically found living next to Sears and across the parking lot from Wing Stop. What is the natural world and how does Ivan fit into it from his cage inside a mall? Ivan wants to locate himself on the map, and his attempts to do so drive the plot. Humans have so many words… Still they have no word for what I am. Instead, his curiosity is driven by his time in captivity and the tension is clues him into between humans and the natural world, the divides people insist on between their realm and the animal kingdom. Ivan asks some big questions in this book, but not just to show off how smart he is. Kind of like a road trip, but Ivan doesn't drive-he evolves (which leaves a much lighter carbon footprint). Call Me Ivanĭid someone say journey? Yes, as a character he's on a journey. Unsurprisingly, then, figuring out who he is becomes a big part of his journey in this book. 27), there's a bit of uncertainty about who he is mixed into his confident storytelling style. So while Ivan is telling us about himself, saying stuff like, 'I am too much gorilla and not enough human'(the exit 8 big top mall and video arcade. (how I look.18)Ĭonfident though he is about our shared ape status, Ivan also has a bit of an identity crisis going on. I am a great ape, and you are a great ape, and so are chimpanzees and orangutans and bonobos, all of us distant and distrustful cousins. But we're glad he's not because Ivan needs less screen time.Īs our narrator and main dude, Ivan has made it his job is to tell it like it is, which he does: If Ivan were on Facebook, you would see that he has a gazillion friends and admirers. He's wise, funny, modest, self aware and just angst-ridden enough to be interesting and not too perfect. If Ivan had a regular column in the New York Times, everyone would read it and quote it.

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