Lily King Euphoria Reviews
I came to this book late and have little to add to the conversation about it. What I can say is that I feel as though I've spent time with an entirely different book from the one others have commented on. My reading experience was a kind of determined slog.
I was not engaged by the three central anthropologist characters. They seemed entirely two-dimensional and their 'love triangle' (a kind of soap opera among the savages) lacked dramatic tension. Xambun, a character from the (fictitious) Tam tribe-who had been 'blackbirded' (kidnapped or coerced through trickery) to work in the white man's mine only to return to his village a diminished being whose soul had wandered from him-was an entirely missed opportunity for the author.
In the end, I wish King had not modelled her story on real-life anthropologists Mead, Fortune, and Bateson but had created her characters and plot from scratch. I was not transported by a tale that seemed hobbled by its ties to actual people. I wish I could give this 3.5 stars. I really go back and forth on how I feel about this book and should probably ruminate on it awhile longer. I will say that if you do not care for anthropology then you definitely should not read this book. The love story will not sustain you through the science of everything.
I enjoyed the anthropology aspect to the book and find it interesting that the author took one snippet from Margaret Mead's life and turned it into this. I probably only had 50 pages or less left in this book when I was thinking that it really wasn't going anywhere and I would only be giving it 2 or 3 stars. However, after reading the last few pages I kind of fell more in love with the book, especially the more I think about it. I do enjoy her description of what Euphoria is for her. Euphoria- the feeling you get in that moment when, having spent some time studying something important, you really feel you have nailed it. That 's how the main character, Nell Stone, defines it, and why she strives so hard in her study of the tribes of Papua New Guinea.Although the characters, locations and events are fiction, the story was inspired by an event in the life of Margaret Mead, and is set in the 1930s, the time period that Mead was working in Papua New Guinea.It does take a while to get into this book, which involves a love triangle.
The story has strong themes of academic as well as gender competition. However, I believe the real heart of the story is the differing attitudes of the white characters toward the aborigines. Some of those attitudes have made it possible for us to study artifacts of other cultures from the comfort of our museums.
Lily King Euphoria Reviews
But where should the line between research and respect be drawn?It's a wonderful story, and a prize winner. I will be reading more by Lily King.
I appreciate how King brought to life everything about the New Guinea jungle - the heat, the bugs, the lushness, the smells, and the people. But I just couldn't get interested in the three main characters, much less their love triangle.
They just didn't come alive for me. They seemed so smugly colonial to greater (Fen) or lesser (Nell) degrees. I wish King had focused less on the love triangle and more on the contradictions of these early anthropologists, who earnestly want to understand another culture, yet thrust themselves upon this culture from out of nowhere, hauling their mass of stuff, from furniture to books to tea towels, into the jungle and using the people as servants. I also thought there was a real missed opportunity in not digging deeper into the Tam man who had escaped from the mines and returned home. Euphoria is the story of three anthropologists who work with tribes in New Guinea. Nell Stone is Margaret Mead, Fen is her husband Reo Fortune and Andrew Bankson is supposed to be Gregory Bateson.Nell is researching and publishing her findings regarding the culture, mores, family relationships, sex habits, child reading practices of the tribe. Her husband seems to be quite lazy and ineffective in his studies and prefers to hang out with the men, witnessing their rituals.
Bankson is so isolated and lonely that he is on the verge of suicide when Nell and Fen show up.It’s a very good book, well written with a lot of tension between the main characters. Euphoria is so good! It took a few pages to get into the story and understand what was going on like understanding who is who, where they are and what they do. Once you get that down though, you are sucked in. I had to pace myself and not rush to finish the book in a night (made myself go to sleep). The main characters Nell, Fen and Bankson are anthropologist in New Guinea during the 30s.
I know very little about anthropology, Lily King did great explaining what it is and showed how the three do their work, but honestly it sounds like boring work but she makes it interesting. Nell and Fen are a toxic couple and Bankson is lonely since he’s been on his own.
Fen is selfish and extremely jealous of Nell, and even though Bankson is into his wife and he knows it, having him around helps them get along somewhat better. I loved how into Nell is in her work and so comfortable with the tribes she studies and just genuinely cares about them (especially true towards the end of the book). Wished it was longer!
From Amazon:From New England Book Award winner Lily King comes a breathtaking novel about three young anthropologists of the ‘30’s caught in a passionate love triangle that threatens their bonds, their careers, and, ultimately, their lives.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 nearby, 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 from accomplished author Lily King.Why I wanted to read it: Anthropology, romance, early 20th century: all things that interest me. This is a fictionalized account of Margaret Mead, her second husband Reo Fortune, and her third husband Gregory Bateson, caught in a love triangle. In this novel they are Nell, Fen, and Bankson.The book has three points of view, but surprisingly none are Fen’s. Euphoria by Lily King Euphoria, set in the 1930's and loosely based on a portion of the life of Margaret Mead, was a haunting and beautiful listen.I'm not usually one for historical fiction, so this was a special treat. What made it haunting was all the little ways that things weren't quite right with each of the main characters. They live in this world of observation and research and appear to have very little actual intimacy with those around them and it has an affect on their emotional and mental well-being. Personally, I've been in similarly prolonged alone-in-a-crowd situations. I've seen this play out among others and myself in life and felt that King's telling of this occurrence and the ways that people cope to be authentic. It left me with that haunting feeling.My favorite thing about the book is the way it dealt with some issues that would now be considered 'feminist issues.'
Mainly, what can happen in a marriage when the wife is more successful than the husband. Their unique circumstances and unusual work locale give these reactions their own flavor, but they don't veer outside of plausible behavior. I also thought the inclusion of a bisexual character, particularly among the POV characters, fascinating. I have never had a familiar enough relationship with anyone who openly identifies as bisexual to critique the writing of this character, but I found her interesting. Her POV explanations of it made perfect sense to me, though they could be totally off and I would never know the difference.The only thing that I found disappointing at times was that the male POVs felt a little like they took over, especially toward the end. I would like to have heard more from the mind of Nell Stone.This was beautifully written and beautifully performed. I listened to it for my 'audiobook that has won an Audie award' for the Read Harder Challenge.
I may not have ever come across it otherwise. I'm glad I did!Have you read Euphoria? What did you think?
What a wonderful book! It is difficult to write a review because matching words to feelings is a challenge.This is a novel, a fictional rendition of Margaret Meade's many wonderful accomplishments in anthropology. The names of characters are fictionalized as well as the names of the locations and tribes. However, that does not take away from the marvel of this award winning book. Noted as one of the top ten books in 2014 by the New York Times, it certainly deserves many accolades.Basically, I thought of all the challenges faced learning about the customs and traditions of cultures so very different from ours.
The book includes a love triangle between the female anthropologist and her growing love of another anthropologist who was not her husband.Read this book if you can. I highly recommend it! I had heard about this book when it came out in 2014. It is loosely based on Margaret Mead and her time in New Guinea in 1932. King does a good job of getting the feel of what it was like for the anthropological studies of the natives during that time. It tells the story of a 'love triangle' among a couple and a single man.
The characters are inspired by Mead and her 2nd and 3rd husbands. The writing was excellent, the story kept my interest and it was not a huge commitment(256 pages). It was a worthwhile read and did remind about Mead who was a ground breaking person during the time I was growing up. King adds it all. She breaks down your ideas of cultural norms to the point where you believe there are no norms. Anthropologist Nell is a true heroine-courageous and dedicated to her field work as she studies primitive tribes. She is not bothered by observations that would have most Westerners blushing.
Mosquitos and malaria don't phase her. King adds a beautiful touch with Nell's love interests. Her Aussie husband we learn is rather egotistic and possessive, while another anthropologist with whom they become close is kind and gentle and greatly appreciates Nell's work. Their interest in each other grows.
The point of the story is summed up by yet another love interest in a letter to Nell. Among other things, she states that it is impossible to learn about one's own culture by studying another culture.
I've thought about this sentence a lot. Nell spent her life trying to learn the secrets to a peaceful life, a better way of living-it seems there are just different ways of living and there are no norms. This book will test your ideas of what is socially 'correct' behavior or 'moral' and whether those norms exist at all. It is a beautiful book.
If you are an anthropologist, have taken classes in anthropology, or have read actual ethnographic books, you will probably dislike this book. If you don't know anything about socio-cultural anthropology you will probably enjoy it.
I found the use of famous academics of the past as literary tools a bit off putting. There are some attempts at putting in sly nods to anthropology and its history, but it comes off as done for the authors benefit.
The writing is good, the story is okay. Ultimately I would suggest reading something written by Margaret Mead rather than this, but if you're looking for a summer beach book, it'll do. I bought this book because the reviews were good and because Lily King is a fellow Maine writer, but it took me a while to start reading because it was a novel about anthropologists!
But listen, once I finally dove in I was hooked after the first paragraph. King draws you into her fictional world by making the language and the details and dialogue so compelling that you can't help developing a real connection with the characters.
She also has that magical something that Hemingway had that leaves you with a deep feeing of nostalgia for the time and place of the story. Inspired by the life of Margaret Mead, this novel explores the lives and love triangle of three anthropologists living in, and studying the culture of New Guinea.The writing was good and the difficulties and challenges of anthropologists studying another culture was explored. I found the historical significance of the grid theory and how it was used interesting but I would have liked to have read more about the New Guinea people in the 30's, and less about Nell, Fen, and Bankson, characters that failed to capture my interest. The story deviates quite a bit from the historical facts of Margaret Mead's life. Ultimately, I plodded through to an unsatisfying end.
Euphoria Summary Hbo
Pretty good, probably better if you know less rather than more about the history of anthropology. Three young anthropologists, a husband and wife team and a single man, meet 'in the field' in New Guinea in the 1930's. While trying to decipher that 'grand scheme' of human cultures and thereby gain fame and advancement, the three, of course, learn more about themselves. Well told, but not terribly deep.
Reinforces my view that most early anthropologists were basically narcissistic jerks most of the time and only occasionally actually concerned with the real people who were their 'study subjects.'