Euphoria
Lily King
Euphoria
Lily King
English anthropologist Andrew Bankson has been alone in the field for several years, studying the Kiona river tribe in the Territory of New Guinea. Haunted by the memory of his brothers’ deaths and increasingly frustrated and isolated by his research, Bankson is on the verge of suicide when a chance encounter with colleagues, the controversial Nell Stone and her wry and mercurial Australian husband Fen, pulls him back from the brink.
Nell and Fen have just fled the bloodthirsty Mumbanyo and, in spite of Nell’s poor health, are hungry for a new discovery. When Bankson finds them a new tribe to divert them from leaving Papua New Guinea, the artistic, female-dominated Tam, he ignites an intellectual and romantic firestorm between the three of them that burns out of anyone’s control.
Set between two World Wars and inspired by events in the life of revolutionary anthropologist Margaret Mead, Euphoria is an enthralling story of passion, possession, exploration, and sacrifice.
Review
Luke May
Bronislaw Malinowski, the esteemed godfather of modern anthropology, claimed that ethnology is in the sadly ludicrous, if not tragic, position that at the very moment when it puts its house in order, the material melts away with sudden rapidity. Thus, there’s little difficulty in imagining the joy, if not euphoria when the patterns of culture seem to have logical order or reason. Lily King has caught some of that rapture and turned one of the most famous anthropological dramas into fiction.
It’s the early 1930s in colonial New Guinea and Nell Stone is leaving the field with her husband Fen, bound for Australia. Following their experience with the Mumbanyo, a difficult and bloodthirsty tribe, Nell is left ill and broken. Her reputation as a revolutionary, successful young American anthropologist is already established, but her husband is frustrated they left the warlike Mumbanyo. Enter Andrew Bankson, a lonely, well-known English anthropologist who offers them a tribe to study on the Sepik River. The couple thrive amongst the Tam, and Bankson is giddy with Nell and Fen’s intellect and friendship. Just as the euphoria hits, complex emotions between friends and lovers are revealed.
It is possible to read Euphoria without knowing the history that inspired the writing, but a little knowledge makes for a richer reading. Margaret Mead (Nell) has provided a wealth of controversy since her book Coming of Age in Samoa was published and it’s little wonder she continues to fascinate. Euphoria is loosely based on Mead leaving her husband, Reo Fortune (Fen), for Gregory Bateson (Bankson), and each of these characters are easily recognisable. This will raise hackles amongst anthropologists, but the fiction works in its own right, leaving us transfixed by the aftermath of what seems like bliss.
Luke May is a freelance reviewer.
This item is in-stock at 2 shops and will ship in 3-4 days
Our stock data is updated periodically, and availability may change throughout the day for in-demand items. Please call the relevant shop for the most current stock information. Prices are subject to change without notice.
Sign in or become a Readings Member to add this title to a wishlist.