The Dark Romance of Dian Fossey

"Dark Romance" is a reporter's account of the life of Dian Fossey, an amazing woman with no scientific background or training, whose troubled early life provided no hint that she would become a ground breaking researcher in Africa. This book is not for those who are interested in the gorillas--Hayes mentions them often enough, but only in relation to Dian, her ties to them, how they drove her behavior towards others. Fossey was mercurial and impossible to work with, in bad health with a serious alcohol problem, close to very few people, and given to fabricating stories about herself. Hayes reports all this dutifully, but I was disappointed that he doesn't offer many insights of his own. Often he'll present multiple versions of a story but not an opinion on which seems most likely to be true. But this doesn't take away from this truly amazing story. This young woman simply decided that studying the gorillas would be her life's work, and gave her life to do just that. It's not surprising that given her rather unstable personality to start with, and after years of working in relative isolation, she became more attached to her subjects than other human beings, and her story ends sadly. Her increasing paranoia about preserving the gorillas in their natural state to the exclusion of all else leads her to acts of brutality and torture towards poachers that are painful to read about. And her own physical and mental deterioration is sad but seems inevitable. It is amazing that she accomplished what she did against such overwhelming odds.Some object to the exposure of the seamier side of life in Africa, but I found it understandable given the conditions, and the struggles in the personal lives of these people make their accomplishments all the more admirable. I haven't read "Gorillas in the Mist" but I suspect when I do it will be even more fascinating for having read Hayes' book.

I found this to be an interesting and insightful book. There were many surprises about the life of Dian Fossey. I have to say that I came away with less respect for her (and a few others mentioned) The roughshod treatment and callous disregard of the native people was disturbing to me. I believe she was not truly up to the job although she did seem to care deeply for the gorillas and that came through clearly in the book. The sexual shenanigans that went on reminded me of a sleazy soap opera. Somehow I expected more professionalism from those involved. One can only ponder why the wives mentioned would accept such behavior. This is a well written book that manages to hold ones attention throughout and is worth reading.