Did I miss something?!
|
|
It was an easy read but I really felt as though I missed something important.... There seemed to be questions left unanswered. I did feel a little disappointed - especially as the title and the design of the book cover are so enticing!
|
|
An exercise in different types of storytelling
|
The main story unfolds in the exotic, and for most readers little-known location of the islands adjacent to Papua New Guinea, itself one of the newer indepdendent states. An accident of history placed the island of Bougainville, occupied by Melanesians ('blacks') and geographically part of the Solomon Islands, with the racially distinct Papua New Guinea ('Redskins'), leading to a rebellion against the mainland government in 1975 and an all-out war from 1990. Mr Pip is set in the context of the latter, with rural communities trying to exist in what was dismissed as a civil conflict by the outside world, but which could also be described as a liberation struggle against a new set of colonial masters.
In this environment it is difficult for great literature to survive. However, Mr Pip, the rather eccentric and tatterdemalion outsider, becomes almost by default the conduit whereby one literary classic, Great Expectations will live on, inspiring the young islander Matilda to become a Dickens expert herself and thus a conveyor of a literary tradition (possibly eventually to her own people).
Such is the main story - nothing really exceptional. What is unusual is the way Lloyd Jones has added other layers of story-telling. We discover that Mr Pip has told an over-simplified version of Dickens to the village children. Then, when the book is destroyed in the violence inflicted by outsiders, the children gather together their fragments of memory and create a new narrative. Their success is one of the positive features of an otherwise rather depressing novel, indicating that great novels that inspire will not die even if they physically perish.
Other stories are told - Mr Pip's account of his former life, related to the 'Rambos', the black guerrillas - romantic, and fictitious, as revealed by June Watts later in the book.
Against this are set the values of the village women - the folk wisdom they reveal in the classroom, and the stance taken by Matilda's mother. Lloyd Jones portrays Bougainville in some detail (and this part of the book could have been shortened) and in contrast to the values of white society. The author has developed the theme of 'culture clash' in the displays set up in the spare room, at first an attempt to meld tribal/Western values, but later, and inevitably, separating out into distinct parts. One senses at the end of the novel that Matilda, an accomplished scholar apparently well-integrated into white society, is has herself become torn between the two and may well choose to return to her cultural, as well as her physical home.
|
|
|
Ashendon book group say
|
Bougainville is a real place - it is a small island located between Papua New Guinea and The Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands were German territory, handed to Australia who handed them to Papua New Guinea. Then copper was discovered and Australian mining companies moved in causing awful pollution. The islanders wanted their island and civil war ensued. Papua New Guinea was told to deal with it, by the Australians, and so blockaded Bougainville. The islanders who had enjoyed modern lifestyles and comforts were, in their isolation, sunk further and further into self-sufficiency and basic living standards. At the hands of the `Redskin' Papua New Guinea forces they also suffered unspeakable and inhumane acts of cruelty and violence.
Some of us wished we had known that before we read the book.
The book had mixed feedback from the group. No one really raved about it but some felt it was a `reading experience' and an amazing idea. One thing we all agreed is that the book only really gets going in the last 40 pages and what happens was totally unexpected.
Like `A Thousand Splendid Suns' we felt the author dealt with the subject matter in a very matter of fact style - much of what occurred was simply stated and had no need for more description.
Much of our conversation, surrounding the book, dug deep into the psyche of Mr Watts (Pop Eye) and his motivations.
We loved Matilda, particularly her character, her morals and her loyalties. We felt her Mum was well meaning, though narrow in her views. Her strength of faith and `preaching' becomes credible as the book moves on, as does her efforts to protect her daughter.
Would we recommend it? Mainly no, though some of us definitely will recommend this book to carefully selected others.
|
|
A book of "could have beens"
|
I was really disappointed with this book. For a setting so exotic and beautiful I found the writing failed to evoke a strong sense of place, and I found it very difficult to relate to or be convinced by the narrator.
Using "Great Expectations" not only as part of the story but also as the vehicle for plot development could have been a compelling stroke of genius, but unfortuantely I found this to have been diluted by poorly developed characters and a "so what" story line.
Clever ideas, lots of potential, but for me didn't quite do itself justice, nor to the scenarios it describes.
|
|
|
Warning - May contain some plot giveaways!
|
|
I liked the idea of this book - about an island in turmoil, and the children able to escape into a Dickensian world. The first half of the book is delightfully sweet (almost twee) - with some elements of comedy coming from the Mother's who attend the school to impart their "wisdom". I was considering giving this to my 8 year old niece to read after I'd finished because it seemed like a good children's book. Then it takes a rather sinister twist and some killings are described in rather graphic detail - which somewhat changed my opinion. In this respect it is very much a book of two halves - I am forgetting about the tedious ending where Matilda is in Australia...and finds out the rather deflatingly boring reason for the red nose and the trolley. I felt some characters were poorly represented - particularly Grace who really didn't get an airing until her burial. Where was the description of her madness? We were just supposed to take that for granted because Matilda said "everyone knows she's mad"...Why? And then finding out she went mad because she played a part in a play...? What? I think Jones tried to make Mr Watts and Grace's relationship a fascinating one - but it was never really backed up with any substance. Overall I was glad I read this book, but maybe that's because I'm a very quick reader and it didn't cost me many hours of my life as it's relatively short. The reviews listed about the emotional detachment of the book are warranted, although I'm not sure whether that was deliberate or not. It was weird reading a 13 year old girls narrative (well 20 something when she wrote the book), and glimpsing the fat balding grey New Zealand author in the back cover.
|
|
|
United States | 
United Kingdom | 
Canada