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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 and 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.
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 and 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.
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Reviews
The accomplishments of this, her first novel, have made it well worth the wait ... Robinson's depictions of LisamArie's interior and exterior worlds are utterly persuasive. This isnt gothic sensibility at work here, nor sentimental, instead - as the hidden secrets of so many lives are revealed - there is a use of language at once sensuous yet also direct and uncompromising. Wonderfully readable and rereadable
Combining pathos with biting humour, each of these beautifully created narratives has a sting
A young and striking voice - her writing is fresh and often harrowing
A compelling literary voice ... Monkey Beach is pervaded by a powerful sense of menace, and the haunting spirituality that lurks in the beautiful landscapes of Canada's Pacific coast
A subtle, brutal and compelling read
A graceful and impressive book
A wild, beautifully crafted story, which terrifies and warms the heart in equal measure