Colossal Labs aims to introduce mammoth genes into the Asian Elephant for conservation purposes. The project claims: "The return of the Woolly Mammoth to the Arctic tundra it roamed thousands of years ago has significant benefits for combating climate change. Mammoths will stir up the icy surface of the landscape, stomp out-thick, low-oxygen trees, and expose healthy, carbon-trapping grasses. That action can restore the tundra, which in turn protects the climate and balances greenhouse gasses."
Read more: https://colossal.com/how-de-extinction-works/#:~:text=The%20return%20of%20the%20Woolly,healthy%2C%20carbon%2Dtrapping%20grasses.
My critiques:
My critiques:
- Dialog is clunky and unbelievable. All three female characters have the same voice and personality.
Eve’s and Vera’s young lives involve constant travel: “They had grown up on the road, on the move, in countries all over the world. They had been brave, or else they had had no choice.”
What does this nomadic life give to Jane and Sal’s daughters, and what does it take away?
Consider how the family functions when they are abroad versus when they are home in Berkeley. Which lifestyle do you think is better for them as individuals or as a family?
Jane is the only female scientist on her research team. In what ways does her gender hold her back? Do you think this phenomenon is limited to science? What does it mean that Jane’s daughters observe this kind of sexism in action? Do you think Jane would make the same daring choices in response to it all if her daughters weren’t in the picture?
How would you describe Eve and Veras relationship to each other. What do each of them desire in life?
How do Eve and Veras vision of the future differ?
In what ways does Jane fail and succeed at parenting the girls?
- Jane is a woman achieving alongside her family, not in spite of it
- When Pearl is born why isn't Jane documenting anything. Is this a science experiment or just a wild, fun adventure for her?
- On page 121 why all of the sudden does Jane give the girls a pass for drinking but reacts so strongly about Eve being sexually active?
- When Pearl is born Jane is totally unprepared. Has no idea what to feed her.
- Jane is constantly texting Helen about Pearl when Helen is in the hospital with George. She texts as if she is the priority.
- When Jane sends the girls out to get baby formula and coconut milk why didn't she think to tell them to get a bottle too!
- pg 211 the girls escape from the boat with a hole convinced Helen is trying to kill them all only to then go their mom and ask if they can leave her there alone and go find the place their dad died. If they were so concerned why on the next page are they trying to leave their mom alone with perceived danger?
- Jane avoids ever asking for her husbands police report of his death. Why?
Also WTF is up on page 180 when Jane instinctually tried to breast feed Pearl?
Describe Vera’s relationship with Lars. In what ways does this teenage romance point to shifting dynamics between Eve and Vera? Jane’s reaction to learning that they are dating causes Vera to do something very unusual with the remnants of her father’s research. What do you think she is trying to prove to her mother—and more importantly, to herself?
For a nonspeaking character, Pearl plays an essential role in this story. What did Pearl make you feel? What did she symbolize for you? What do Eve’s and Vera’s reactions to Pearl show us about their feelings toward their mother and their status in the family?
Do you think Helen was trying to kill the girls by sending them out on a boat with a hole in it? What motives would she have?
What events lead Eve and Vera to start becoming distrustful and suspicious of Helen and george?
Did The Last Animal make you think at all differently about the history or future of the planet?
Describe Vera’s relationship with Lars. In what ways does this teenage romance point to shifting dynamics between Eve and Vera? Jane’s reaction to learning that they are dating causes Vera to do something very unusual with the remnants of her father’s research. What do you think she is trying to prove to her mother—and more importantly, to herself?
For a nonspeaking character, Pearl plays an essential role in this story. What did Pearl make you feel? What did she symbolize for you? What do Eve’s and Vera’s reactions to Pearl show us about their feelings toward their mother and their status in the family?
Do you think Helen was trying to kill the girls by sending them out on a boat with a hole in it? What motives would she have?
What events lead Eve and Vera to start becoming distrustful and suspicious of Helen and george?
Did The Last Animal make you think at all differently about the history or future of the planet?
What do you think of the idea of bringing back extinct species? What might happen if science takes gene editing more into its own hands?
