A Forest in the Clouds by John Fowler
This is an incredible book! As an animal lover, I have been intrigued by gorillas and monkeys since childhood. I purchased A Forest in the Clouds by John Fowler with very little knowledge of the story that it held; and what an amazing story it is.
On December 27, 1985, Dian Fossey was found brutally murdered in her mountain home at the Karisoke research center. I was familiar with her legacy of saving the mountain gorillas in Africa, but that was all I knew until I read this book. In 1979, college student, John Fowler, applied for a student research position to work with Dian Fossey at the Karisoke research center. He and three other students arrived in January 1980 to begin living and working among the mountain gorillas in very sparse conditions and with the unexpected, difficult traits of the infamous Dian Fossey.
Immediately upon meeting Dian, Fowler was shocked at how rude, disrespectful, and verbally abusive Dian was towards others without knowing them. Fowler was instantly treated by Fossey as though she didn’t like him and quickly determined it was better for him if his communications with Dian were kept to a minimum. Fowler shares many accounts of Fossey’s bizarre, erratic behavior. For those that Dian liked, she treated them with respect, most of the time. Fowler does an excellent job describing his experiences with Dian that, to me, seemed traumatic, with a fair and objective perspective of her personal struggles. She clearly had a drinking problem, an undiagnosed mental health disorder, and prior traumas.
While trying to manage life at Karisoke with Dian’s unexpected, unhealthy traits, Fowler experienced a year in the jungle, high up in the volcanic mountains where he got to track and study mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. What an amazing experience! From reading the book, it wasn’t an easy life by any means. The lack of food options, unfamiliar climate, and presence of the native animals definitely seemed like a challenging experience. My favorite portion of the book involved the baby gorilla, Bonne Annee. She was already at camp Karisoke when Fowler arrived as she had been rescued from poachers. Fowler spent a lot of time with Bonne Annee for the first couple of months while Dian tried to work out a plan for her release back into the wild. This story pulled heavily on my heart strings.
The first forty percent of this book covers Fowler’s childhood background for loving animals, college studies, a previous trip to Africa, and the first few weeks at camp Karisoke. I was kind of surprised to have read that much of the book and not been further along into his year long stay at camp. Fowler provided so much detail and described many events, it felt like he had been at camp for at least six months. The efforts to release Bonne Annee back into the wild was a significant event during Fowler’s time there and the stories told are thorough and captivating. From there on, the author shares many stories about the unique people he met and heart stopping encounters with other wild animals. I know he was excited to return home, but I felt sad that his time there ended.
The ending of the book was touching and had me emotionally sucked in. It’s sad that someone brutally murdered Dian Fossey; however, I agree with Fowler, “it’s not surprising,” given the way she treated people and the conflict she provoked. I appreciate everything she did for the mountain gorillas. If it wasn’t for her, the mountain gorillas would not have gained the curiosity and love from humans so that they could be saved. I also believe that because she died, it allowed others to step in with an opportunity to do even more for the gorillas. The Karisoke Research Center still exists, in a new location at the bottom of the mountain, along with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. I’m thrilled to see the work continues to prosper.
The book often mentions Dian’s book, Gorillas in the Mist, that was later made into a movie, which she spent time writing at Karisoke during Fowler’s time there. While reading A Forest in the Clouds, I often thought I would like to read Gorillas in the Mist to see life from her perspective. It wasn’t until I got to the end of A Forest in the Clouds that I changed my mind. Fowler recalls his effort to read her book when it was published and that he was unable to read it start to finish. I understand he had a relationship with Dian that impacted his experience with her book and I wouldn’t allow that to deter me. However, what changed my mind was his report that her stories in the book are embellished and not accurate. As is evident from Fowler’s story, Dian was no longer spending time researching gorillas herself. She was relying on the detailed, daily notes from her students. I am linking the book Gorillas in the Mist in case others are interested and I want everyone to make their own decision about her book. Additionally, below is a YouTube trailer for the movie.
A Forest in the Clouds also provides many pictures from Fowler’s time in Africa. I referenced the pictures often for the visualization of locations and to see the beautiful gorillas mentioned by name.
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