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Fiction. Literature. HTML:A young Native American woman remembers her volatile childhood as she searches for her lost brother in the Canadian wilds in an extraordinary, critically acclaimed debut novel As she races along Canada's Douglas Channel in her speedboat�??heading toward the place where her younger brother Jimmy, presumed drowned, was last seen�??twenty-year-old Lisamarie Hill recalls her younger days. A volatile and precocious Native girl growing up in Kitamaat, the Haisla Indian reservation located five hundred miles north of Vancouver, Lisa came of age standing with her feet firmly planted in two different worlds: the spiritual realm of the Haisla and the sobering "real" world with its dangerous temptations of violence, drugs, and despair. From her beloved grandmother, Ma-ma-oo, she learned of tradition and magic; from her adored, Elvis-loving uncle Mick, a Native rights activist on a perilous course, she learned to see clearly, to speak her mind, and never to bow down. But the tragedies that have scarred her life and ultimately led her to these frigid waters cannot destroy her indomitable spirit, even though the ghosts that speak to her in the night warn her that the worst may be yet to come. Easily one of the most admired debut novels to appear in many a decade, Eden Robinson's Monkey Beach was immediately greeted with universal acclaim�??called "gripping" by the San Diego Union-Tribune, "wonderful" by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and "glorious" by the Globe and Mail, earning nominations for numerous literary awards before receiving the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Evocative, moving, haunting, and devastatingly funny, it is an extraordinary read from a brilliant literary voice that must be hear… (more)
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This book was a totally engrossing page-turner, but its tightly packed content began to unravel towards the end, and I was disappointed that Robinson left some intriguing leads undeveloped. In fact, after finally reaching the end I'm not quite sure about the actual outcome of this story. Still, it was a wonderful read, and I'm very excited about discovering a very gifted author!
I lost track of the different timelines at the end of the story and despite rereading it, I’m still not sure if she ended up in (the title of chapter four) or was just visiting. After speaking with the author, I learned that that is the way she intended it.
Search Google Maps for “Bishops Bay -Monkey Beach Conservancy” to get an idea of the remoteness of this place and picture Lisa walking through this forest with her grandmother, or boating there alone all the way from Kitamaat Village. Kitamaat Village, was the home of the Elizabeth Long Residential School, which operated until 1940.
When her younger brother Jimmy is lost at sea Lisamarie embarks on a solo speedboat trip up the Pacific coast driven by guilt, fear and grief, determined to find him or his body. Her vivid memories and visions along the way take the story all the way back to her early childhood and into the land of the dead.
The ending? It’s somewhat hallucinatory, not something I could confidently articulate, but I was swept along anyway. With writing that’s beautiful and raw, this book is a colorful, sometimes dizzying odyssey, filled with ghosts, poverty, kinship ties, Haisla culture, Sasquatch monkey men, and the grit and wonder of the natural world.
Now this was a realistic coming of age novel with a twist. What a ride!
The story is set in Kitamaat, north of Vancouver, and follows young Lisamarie growing up in the Haisla community. Lisamarie is different - she's pretty tough, taking no nonsense from anyone, but she also has a very sensitive side which allows her to fully experience the beliefs of her people - from the close ties with the natural surroundings to the manifestations of the supernatural.
It is difficult to describe this book. It's a mystery really. It is not a book about the supernatural as such, but Robinson does spin this web that links myth and reality and that makes it very easy to suspend disbelief and slide from one world of facts into the world of folklore.
Absolutely loved it!
Basically, it is a circular story of a Haisla girl coming of age, intertwined with a passing of age.
You'll find in it what I thought well executed youthful angst, rebelliousness, impetuousness, and naïveness, portrayed with
Any more than that I'll leave you to ponder in reading the book.