Sometimes when women write about men falling in love it feels a bit like when men write about women's sexuality. Nonetheless, this is a charming book. Very sweet, very pure and gentle.
Overall I thought the book was fine, but switching between first person POV and third person POV was irritating and pointless. I usually enjoy the challenge of multiple POVs, but I really didn't understand the point of it in this case, and I resented that the man's POV was more significant.
A very well written fictionalization of the relationship among Margaret Mead, Reo Fortune and Gregory Bateson in New Guinea in the 30's. The background story tells us about the people of New Guinea (although the tribes are fictional) and the ideas of the anthropologists that the characters are modeled on and others, e.g. Ruth Benedict. I don't know enough of the biographical details to figure how this was done; so, for example there are excerpts of letters, but I don't know if they are real or imagined. Similarly, certain key events here were obviously created for the sake of the novel, but I wonder if any details are true. I guess that is a mark of successful historical fiction.
My only complaint is that the ending of the novel works very well as a work of fiction, but it left me feeling slightly uneasy, because much of my pleasure of …
A very well written fictionalization of the relationship among Margaret Mead, Reo Fortune and Gregory Bateson in New Guinea in the 30's. The background story tells us about the people of New Guinea (although the tribes are fictional) and the ideas of the anthropologists that the characters are modeled on and others, e.g. Ruth Benedict. I don't know enough of the biographical details to figure how this was done; so, for example there are excerpts of letters, but I don't know if they are real or imagined. Similarly, certain key events here were obviously created for the sake of the novel, but I wonder if any details are true. I guess that is a mark of successful historical fiction.
My only complaint is that the ending of the novel works very well as a work of fiction, but it left me feeling slightly uneasy, because much of my pleasure of the book came from my knowledge that these were real people and, I assumed, some of these events did occur.
A very well written book. At its core is a simple love triangle: Nell, a smart woman, is married to Fen, a violent man, but finds love with Bankson, a gentle, caring man. At least that's what Bankson would lead you to believe! He is the narrator of the story. The reader has to decide how far to trust his account, especially of scenes where he is not even present.
The personalities are fleshed out in great detail. We learn about their upbringing, career, etc. All this fits quite well with the story and the flashbacks are not drawn out too much. The characters are very rich, and thought-provoking. There's plenty to discuss between two readers.
And then there is the setting, among the indigenous tribes of New Guinea. It is exotic, exciting, and richly detailed. At times it is mysterious and scary. It's so very well presented that you …
A very well written book. At its core is a simple love triangle: Nell, a smart woman, is married to Fen, a violent man, but finds love with Bankson, a gentle, caring man. At least that's what Bankson would lead you to believe! He is the narrator of the story. The reader has to decide how far to trust his account, especially of scenes where he is not even present.
The personalities are fleshed out in great detail. We learn about their upbringing, career, etc. All this fits quite well with the story and the flashbacks are not drawn out too much. The characters are very rich, and thought-provoking. There's plenty to discuss between two readers.
And then there is the setting, among the indigenous tribes of New Guinea. It is exotic, exciting, and richly detailed. At times it is mysterious and scary. It's so very well presented that you feel like breathing the hot jungle air while reading it. And the anthropology is interesting enough that the book would still be a good read without the love triangle!
