A Sentient Animal
Encyclopedia
A Sentient Animal is a 1967 science fiction thriller novel by French novelist Robert Merle
. The plot concerns dolphins that are trained to communicate with humans, and their use in espionage. The central character is a government scientist with similar ideas to those of John C. Lilly
.
The novel was the basis for the film The Day of the Dolphin
, though the film's plot was significantly different from that of the book, even in inconsequential details. For instance, in the book, the dolphins are named Ivan ("the terrible
") and Bessie and call themselves Fa and Bi; in the film, they are instead named Alpha and Beta and call themselves Fa and Be.
The book was published in English in 1969 under the title The Day of the Dolphin, ISBN 0-671-20182-4, translated by Helen Weaver
.
described The Day of the Dolphin as "pure commodity: written by the yard to be bought by the yard." and dismissed it as a "vast, contentless, commercial megathere."
Robert Merle
Robert Merle was a French novelist.-Biography:Born in Tébessa in French Algeria, he moved to France in 1918. A professor of English Literature at several universities, during World War II Merle was conscripted in the French army and assigned as an interpreter to the British Expeditionary Force...
. The plot concerns dolphins that are trained to communicate with humans, and their use in espionage. The central character is a government scientist with similar ideas to those of John C. Lilly
John C. Lilly
John Cunningham Lilly was an American physician, neuroscientist, psychoanalyst, psychonaut, philosopher and writer....
.
The novel was the basis for the film The Day of the Dolphin
The Day of the Dolphin
The Day of the Dolphin is a 1973 American science-fiction thriller film directed by Mike Nichols and starring George C. Scott. Loosely based on the 1967 novel, Un animal doué de raison , by French writer Robert Merle, the screenplay was written by Buck Henry.-Plot:A brilliant and driven scientist,...
, though the film's plot was significantly different from that of the book, even in inconsequential details. For instance, in the book, the dolphins are named Ivan ("the terrible
Ivan IV of Russia
Ivan IV Vasilyevich , known in English as Ivan the Terrible , was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 until his death. His long reign saw the conquest of the Khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia, transforming Russia into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state spanning almost one billion acres,...
") and Bessie and call themselves Fa and Bi; in the film, they are instead named Alpha and Beta and call themselves Fa and Be.
The book was published in English in 1969 under the title The Day of the Dolphin, ISBN 0-671-20182-4, translated by Helen Weaver
Helen Weaver
Helen Weaver is an American writer and translator. She has translated over fifty books from French. Antonin Artaud: Selected Writings was a Finalist for the National Book Award in translation in 1976...
.
Reception
Joanna RussJoanna Russ
Joanna Russ was an American writer, academic and feminist. She is the author of a number of works of science fiction, fantasy and feminist literary criticism such as How to Suppress Women's Writing, as well as a contemporary novel, On Strike Against God, and one children's book, Kittatinny...
described The Day of the Dolphin as "pure commodity: written by the yard to be bought by the yard." and dismissed it as a "vast, contentless, commercial megathere."