In 1933 three young, gifted anthropologists are thrown together in the jungle of New Guinea. They are Nell Stone, fascinating, magnetic and famous for her controversial work studying South Pacific tribes, her intelligent and aggressive husband Fen, and Andrew Bankson, who stumbles into the lives of this strange couple and becomes totally enthralled. Within months the trio are producing their best ever work, but soon a firestorm of fierce love and jealousy begins to burn out of control, threatening their bonds, their careers, and, ultimately, their lives…
My thoughts…
I really loved this novel, which follows three anthropologists as they observe tribes in Papua New Guinea. The tension between the three characters was really well portrayed, from the annoying and envious Fen, to the friendship between his wife Nell and Andrew Bankson. Narrated mainly by Bankson, but interspersed with diary entries from Nell, the story was told in an interesting and engaging way.
The three characters are the perfect foils for each other, and their differing approaches to anthropology add another dimension to the story, making it richer and more interesting.
The ending, which is really quite sad, is a little bit open-ended, which is something I tend to like, and this novel did this perfectly.
I’ll definitely be reading more from this author, as I really loved this one and it was quite a unique reading experience, with an interesting setting and fascinating characters.
My rating: 9 out of 10
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