Pierre Boulle’s Planet of the Apes is a provocative satirical novel that follows Ulysse Mérou, a French journalist who joins a scientific expedition to a distant, Earth-like planet orbiting Betelgeuse. Upon arrival, Ulysse and his companions discover a world where mute, animalistic humans are hunted and experimented upon by an advanced civilization of apes-gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans-who have adopted the trappings of modern society. Captured and caged, Ulysse must prove his intelligence to his simian captors, forging a fragile alliance with the sympathetic chimpanzee scientist Zira. As he unravels the planet’s disturbing evolutionary history, Ulysse is forced to confront unsettling truths about civilization, the nature of intelligence, and the fate of humanity.

The novel’s story is framed as a manuscript discovered by two space travelers, who, in a final twist, reveal the cyclical and ironic downfall of human supremacy.