“If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.”—St. Francis of Assissi
The One and Only Ivan is a story of loneliness and redemption that is uniquely told through the thoughts of a silverback gorilla named Ivan. Having been raised by people in an urban setting his entire life, he remembers little of his childhood in the jungle of Africa. Now, Ivan is in a circus-themed mall where he is kept in his very small domain for visitors to come and witness his boring life. He has his friends around him (a small stray dog, a female elephant, the custodian and his daughter), yet still Ivan is lonely. As a silverback gorilla, he should be the head of a family, and since he has seen no other gorillas, he wonders if he is the last one on earth. Continue reading To the Shelter of Compassion: A Review of ‘The One and Only Ivan’