Status
Available
Call number
Call number
FIC ROB c. 2
Collection
Description
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)
Publication
Vintage Canada (2001), Edition: Vintage Canada Edition Second Printing, 384 pages
Original publication date
2000
Original language
English
Language
User reviews
LibraryThing member MeditationesMartini
Don't you dare paint over a rainbow by calling this a "post-modern" novel. It's a simple story about growing up native, and on the West Coast, and with ghosts; it's a story about unsettling truths and unsettled meanings, and yeah, in that sense I see your point, but please just let it live and
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breathe. Reading Monkey Beach, with all the ways I relate to it and all the ways I can't, made me feel lucky - dodged-a-bullet lucky - to grow up the way I did, between worlds - I was white, and got the privilege of not having to deal with history, at least as a kid; but I was from old BC stock, and not a richie rich, and so the fmaily web and the smack of our salt chuck and the taste of our thimbleberries and salmonberries and three kinds of blueberries and shmoked salmon hit me like a sounding board of the canoe ribs of my hollow wooden chest. Show Less
LibraryThing member PrincessPaulina
Robinson's writing contains several pleasantly surprising ironies. First, through a lens of very modern language and culture on a contemporary Indian reservation, she evokes a strong sense of Native American past and traditions. Second, using primarily dialog (and practically no physical
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!
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descriptions) she creates characters who are three-dimensional, believable and memorable. She saves the descriptive language for nature, which becomes almost like another character in the book, but unlike most authors Robinson's "nature talk" is crisp, fresh and real, like nature itself.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!
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LibraryThing member icolford
Monkey Beach has been described as a psychological thriller with supernatural elements, and that is close to the truth. But it is primarily the coming-of-age story of a girl struggling to come to terms with the troubled and troubling world in which she lives. Lisamarie Hill, nineteen, has settled
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into an uneasy truce with her family in Kitamaat, B.C., after residing for several booze-soaked months in Vancouver. Lisamarie's family is a part of the Haisla community of northern coastal British Columbia, and much of the story depicts the struggle of a people to maintain its traditions and beliefs beneath a steady onslaught of western influences. Lisamarie is on the cusp of the old and the new, her thinking equally influenced by her elderly grandmother, who maintains and preserves these traditions, and by a modern world filled with progressive attitudes in which she is immersed on a daily basis. The catalyst for the story is the disappearance of her brother Jimmy's fishing boat. Lisamarie's parents leave her at home and travel to the community where the boat was last seen, hoping to be there when their son is rescued. The bulk of the story is told in flashback and covers Lisamarie's childhood: her up and down relationship with Jimmy (a swimmer and Olympic hopeful until a freak injury derails his career), her irreverent uncle Mick, her grandmother, her parents, various misadventures with friends, and the spirits and creatures that inhabit the native world. The novel is a magical journey for the western reader, but Eden Robinson's narrative is constructed in thoroughly modern fashion. Monkey Beach tells a tragic and funny story of someone trying to establish an identity in a world that is divided along ethnic lines. Simply put, it is a triumph of storytelling and deserving of its growing reputation as a modern classic of Canadian literature. Show Less
LibraryThing member Lindsay_W
Monkey Beach is a poignant read that sheds light on the lives of Indigenous people living in a remote part of the British Columbia coast. On one hand, the book shares fascinating insights into Haisla lore and culture on their traditional territory, and on the other, the harsh reality of the impact
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.
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that colonization has had on Indigenous people like Lisa’s family. As a teen in 1980s Kitamaat Village, Lisa has to make sense of a world where Oolichan grease and shape-shifters coexist with Alcan and the Overwaitea, and where her gift for sensing something bad is about to happen does not make her losses any less devastating. 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.
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LibraryThing member askum
This wasn't a bad book at all and would like to learn some more facts and read more of Eden's books.
LibraryThing member Jaylia3
I could not resist the narrative voice of this earthy, augury filled, family rich story set in the First Nations Haisla community of western Canada. Nineteen year old Lisamarie is generally fearless and never takes guff from anyone--she’ll launch herself at a gang of bullies without hesitation
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.
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and her uncle affectionately calls her monster--but the nighttime visits she receives from a small, wild, red haired man terrify her because they always precede a death or tragedy. It’s a visionary “gift” she discovers runs in her family, though no one talks much about anymore so she’s mostly on her own with it. 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.
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LibraryThing member BrokenTune
"Weegit the raven has mellowed in his old age. He's still a confirmed bachelor, but he's not the womanizer he once was. Plying the stock market - instead of spending his time being a trickster - has paid off and he has a comfortable condo downtown. He plays up the angle about creating the world and
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!
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humans, conveniently forgetting that he did it out of boredom. Yes, he admits, he did steal the sun and the moon, but he insists he did it to bring light to humankind even though he did it so it would be easier for him to find food. After some spin control on the crazy pranks of his youth, he's become respectable."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!
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LibraryThing member munchie13
Absolutely fabulous book! I struggled a bit with appreciating the ending despite normally feeling good about things being left ambiguous. I guess I was more invested in the characters than I normally am (which speaks to the character development). Would read again in a heartbeat.
LibraryThing member Ma_Washigeri
Loved the pace and the timeline shifts. A good example of 'show not tell' and a complex natural and human environment. Very poignant. And not quite resolved in a very satisfying way. I had never heard of it before I picked it off the shelf for it's intriguing cover but I'm not surprised at all that
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it has been a set text for other reviewers. Show Less
LibraryThing member LGCullens
Umm, this was a strange one, interesting enough to keep me reading.
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.
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
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imagination bordering on bizarre because life can be perplexingly boring.Any more than that I'll leave you to ponder in reading the book.
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ISBN
0676973221 / 9780676973228