What if a tract of land in western Kenya had remained untouched by humanity and influences of evolution and essentially remained stuck in the Pliocene (1.5 – 5.0 million years ago), complete with living tribes of australopithecus afarensis?

Ken Lauder, the protagonist in Almost Adam, is an anthropologist who works with his Kenyan friend Ngili in a remote area. They come across foot prints and fossils that indicate that there might be ancestors of humanity living right now.

The story involves much scientific explanation and a lot of speculation into what life might have been like for early humans living in the Pliocene. It also delves deeply into African politics (albeit fictitious) and scientific competition and intrigue.

The result is a complex story full of youthful dreamers, murderous villains and a lot of sexual tension. I enjoyed the bush episodes the most, where we followed Ken into the savannah and bush, watching him slowly lose his modernism and turning into a prehistoric human full of the raw emotions and needs, consumed by the simple and vital needs of finding food, water, shelter and fighting off foes of all kinds.

I could have done without all the complicated machinations of Kenyan politics and the lives of the elite. The most difficult character to accept was Cyril Anderson, supposedly a world-renowned anthropologist, but a maniacal egotist who does not think twice before stealing the finds of others and taking the credit, and who is willing to kill to meet his endless need for glory and fame. The Cyril character was just too far-fetched for me to accept and therefore never seemed real.

Almost Adam is a very entertaining and educational story about the dawn of humanity. The book is 600 pages long and my only criticism is that it was probably too long. Popescu could have told the same story with the same impact in 400 pages.

However, I learned a lot about the evolutionary development of human genitalia. Did you know why the modern human vagina is forward facing and not exposed to the back? Why do modern apes have large testicles and very small penises, and why are human penises so disproportionately large? Popescu knows a lot about penises and why size matters. If you also want to know, you will just have to read Almost Adam.

Rating : ** 1/2 (out of 4)