This one was definitely an interesting one, based on a part of history most people likely do not know a lot about. It was very literary and I got a little lost in that, but it was very well written. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book.

When I look this book up on goodreads, it tells me that readers also enjoyed "House of Hollow" and "A Thousand Ships," both of which I loved, so that's always a good sign. However, what drew me to the book initially was that it was based on the controversial studies done in the 1960s, where scientists were trying to teach dolphins language and one scientist lived with them 24 hours a day. Dolphins are intelligent and caring creatures, and Cora is a wonderful character, even as she has to put up with the requisite misogynistic male researchers. The dolphins are developed characters unto themselves, in a way I've never read in a book. It's a very moving story.

This book for me stayed on a level that felt brittle and breezy where I was always aware that I was looking at an artificial construct of language vs. immersing myself in a story, for its relevance or its beauty or for some other reason. The words on the page never coalesced for me.

This book was delightful and completely eye opening. As someone who is definitely a marine biologist in another life, I love to learn all about this sort of stuff. A lot of it was painful and hard to read. We live in a time where people love animals more then ever and we are lucky enough to know so much about them, but who even considers all that was done to learn these things?

I really loved Cora and how she naturally had an ability to communicate with the dolphins, even before she worked on their language skills. It was insanely thought provoking how she would learn about even other animals and apply that to her interactions with humans. She was absolutely lovely and charming and such an interesting character. It was so fascinating to just watch her break in and learn and make so much progress so quickly. It was a lovely illustration to show that education doesn’t necessarily make you smarter. I just loved how she learned to stand up for herself, use her voice and her whole arc was just so great.

It was so beneficial to have the author’s notes in the back about where she took liberties and what was true. From further research after finishing, I learned even more was true or drew very strong parallels.

Really and truly thought-provoking and enjoyable, even more so than Schulman's Theory of Bastards. This time, she's written a historical novel about scientific experimentation upon dolphins in the 1960s, and created an immersive world of human interaction with animals.

The premise of this novel sounded interesting, especially given the fact that it’s loosely based on real events. I had difficulty getting through it at times because of because of the (albeit short) graphic depictions of certain research done on the dolphins. At other times I just felt badly for both Cora and the dolphins for how they were treated by the “men researchers” even though their behavior was “normal” for the times.

In general I The premise of this novel sounded interesting, especially given the fact that it’s loosely based on real events. I had difficulty getting through it at times because of because of the (albeit short) graphic depictions of certain research done on the dolphins. At other times I just felt badly for both Cora and the dolphins for how they were treated by the “men researchers” even though their behavior was “normal” for the times. the author did a great job of illustrating the connection Cora had with the dolphins and the integral role she played in the research activities. One could likely draw a variety of conclusions about the human experience and how language is both learned and taught.
I also liked that the author provided information in the back about the specific parts of the novel that differed from the real life story. I also liked that she included a listing of additional books / resources about this topic.
I would maybe recommend this book to someone interested in the study of language, animal behavior and is comfortable with short descriptions of scientific medical exams/procedures on animals.

Unfortunately I tried multiple times but this title never downloaded to my kindle. I have reached out to the publisher to see if I can receive a copy to review as I am very excited for this title :)

I, unfortunately, did not get along with this book and could not get myself to finish it. I found the style to be pretentious and shallow, even though it had potential. Thank you for providing me with an arc.

What a surprise this was for me! I loved this novel-based-on-fact about Cora, a hard of hearing twenty-something who ends up part of a science team experimenting with dolphins. Set in the 60s, there’s a giant misogynistic undertone and that added so much to Cora’s time there. It gets a little weird but in a realistic (and factual?) way. Loved it.

THE DOLPHIN HOUSE is highly recommended for fans of literary fiction and especially animal lovers. Schulman's prose is crisp and straightforward. I was drawn in immediately. The narrative moves at a nice pace and I love the discussion of the connection between humans and the animal world. The author ratchets up the tension with respect to disagreements over how the dolphins should be treated, which kept me turning the pages.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I truly loved this book and the magic of dolphins.
I do know the the situation that this book is based at least I think this is the story. It is with Margaret Lovatt Howe's experience of essentially living with a dolphin named Peter. The research she does is fantastic, however its over shadowed in real life by a story of the dolphin falling in "love" with Howe. Thank god this is not even mentioned or addressed in this book. The closest they got to it was when they say that Cora was an ex playboy bunny (the story of Howe and the dolphin was covered in the adult magazine Hustler)
I really enjoyed this book

If you have ever had pets, you know what it means to connect with an animal. You have probably felt the worry of leaving them by themselves for a few hours or days, and found much comfort in their company. The Dolphin House is the story of Cora, a young woman, whose fate leads to her four dolphins housed at a research facility lagoon. Dr Blum, the head of the facility, charges her with keeping the dolphins alive (when Core first arrives, the dolphins have not been eating) and later, in bargain for giving them freedom, she agrees to live with one of the dolphins and teach him language.

There are many things to love about this book, and yet at the same time, this is not an easy read. Set in the 1960s, the attitude of men depicted in this book is disheartening to read, and yet a reality of that era. Blum, Tibbet and Eh were all about letting Cora do the heavy lifting for their research on dolphins. All they were willing to do was drill holes in the dolphins’ brains, while she was the one who truly wanted to know the dolphins and wasn’t afraid to jump in the water and meet them in their natural habitat.

I learned so much about the amazing creatures that dolphins are through this book! The author, Audrey Schulman, has put a lot of research into this and I quite enjoyed her notes at the end of the book, separating the facts from fiction and the way she changed the timing of certain discoveries like dolphins being able to recognize themselves in a mirror. The first thing that Cora did when she started to study dolphins was jump into the water. Somehow, the men had not thought or bothered with that at all. Blum’s dream to teach language and communication to dolphins was purely based on being on land and keeping these lovely creatures captive. Through Cora’s perspective, I felt like I was making connections with these majestic animals as well, concerned about their wellbeing, curious about their nature and daily routines, while the whole time, worrying about what Blum and his team was going to do for them.

One of the highlights of this book for me was Cora herself. Cora had become deaf at the age of eight years and had since worn special glasses to help with hearing. It was disheartening to see how the three researchers behaved around her, knowing very well that they needed to look at her for her to lip read and understand them. At least with the dolphins, interestingly without the hearing aids altogether, Cora thrived. Having grown on a farm with animals, she was observant and apt at learning their patterns and routines.

I read The Dolphin House in two days. Cora and the dolphins drew me into their world. I loved Bernie, Kat, Mother and Junior and felt for them deeply. I have a lot more to say about this book and will be posting my full review on Armed with A Book on 30th April. Many thanks to the publisher for proving me a complimentary copy of the book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was hypnotised by 'The Dolphin House'.

The style of writing disconcerted me at first. It's a little unusual. There's a kind of jaggedness to it, that I don't know how else to describe. However, I soon eased into it. I appreciate Schulman's clean and sparing, yet often surprisingly beautiful, prose. But what truly drew me in was the main character's bond with the dolphins, and the actions of the dolphins themselves. I felt so hard for them, sometimes even gasping at points in the narrative, or scowling in disgust at the male human characters. I had to read the book as quickly as I could to find out what would happen.

I don't know if Schulman has experience with deafness herself, but her powers of observation and empathy as a writer are incredible (as far as I can tell, being neither a person with deafness, nor a person studying dolphins). By coincidence I had just finished reading a book about what we know of senses in the animal kingdom, which deepened my appreciation of the research this book must have involved.

One way of summing up this book would be "Men ruin everything". But that would be reductionist. Far more than that, it is a gorgeous and heart-breaking story about cross-species empathy.

(With thanks to Europa Editions and NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review)