Book reviewed: Life As Told by a Sapiens to a Neanderthal by Juan José Millás and Juan Luis Arsuaga

The Smart Neanderthal Juan José Millás literary work in Spanish literature is psychological and introspective. In his work, everyday story is transformed into an experience that allows the reader to understand physical reality in philosophical terms. In this book he presents himself as Neanderthal living in the modern world and likes to know the perspectives of homo sapiens about the cultural evolution from Neanderthals. This book records his conversation with Juan Luis Arsuaga, a leading archeologist, and paleobiologist who specializes in Neanderthal research. This book is more of a work of literature for which the author Millás is known for. In fact, there is very little about the paleobiology of Neanderthals, the extinct species of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. The genetic evidence clearly demonstrate that the two species coexisted and interbred; about 1.8 to 2.1 percent of the genomes modern Eurasian population contain Neanderthal genes. This book is about curiosity, a good conversation, great food, nice place, and thoughtfulness that reflects on the exuberance of a wonderful relationship the two species had for a few millennia. This metaphysical enquiry reflects on the nature of José Millás and Arsuaga’s approach to the culture that evolved (or remained) when one species ceases to exist. This book turns out to be a work of literature and not evolutionary biology. In his 2006 novel, “Laura y Julio,” we find similar enquiry to the problem of identity, symmetry, love, and inhabitable spots within our space.