Mister Pip
3 journalers for this copy...
Acquired for the 6 Continents, 6 Countries, 6 Books Challenge. This book takes place in Papua New Guinea, Oceania.
From Amazon:
"A promising though ultimately overwrought portrayal of the small rebellions and crises of disillusionment that constitute a young narrator's coming-of-age unfolds against an ominous backdrop of war in Jones's latest. When the conflict between the natives and the invading redskin soldiers erupts on an unnamed tropical island in the early 1990s, 13-year-old Matilda Laimo and her mother, Dolores, are unified with the rest of their village in their efforts for survival. Amid the chaos, Mr. Watts, the only white local (he is married to a native), offers to fill in as the children's schoolteacher and teaches from Dickens's Great Expectations. The precocious Matilda, who forms a strong attachment to the novel's hero, Pip, uses the teachings as escapism, which rankles Dolores, who considers her daughter's fixation blasphemous. With a mixture of thrill and unease, Matilda discovers independent thought, and Jones captures the intricate, emotionally loaded evolution of the mother-daughter relationship. Jones (The Book of Fame; Biografi) presents a carefully laid groundwork in the tense interactions between Matilda, Dolores and Mr. Watts, but the extreme violence toward the end of the novel doesn't quite work. Jones's prose is faultless, however, and the story is innovative enough to overcome the misplayed tragedy. "
From Amazon:
"A promising though ultimately overwrought portrayal of the small rebellions and crises of disillusionment that constitute a young narrator's coming-of-age unfolds against an ominous backdrop of war in Jones's latest. When the conflict between the natives and the invading redskin soldiers erupts on an unnamed tropical island in the early 1990s, 13-year-old Matilda Laimo and her mother, Dolores, are unified with the rest of their village in their efforts for survival. Amid the chaos, Mr. Watts, the only white local (he is married to a native), offers to fill in as the children's schoolteacher and teaches from Dickens's Great Expectations. The precocious Matilda, who forms a strong attachment to the novel's hero, Pip, uses the teachings as escapism, which rankles Dolores, who considers her daughter's fixation blasphemous. With a mixture of thrill and unease, Matilda discovers independent thought, and Jones captures the intricate, emotionally loaded evolution of the mother-daughter relationship. Jones (The Book of Fame; Biografi) presents a carefully laid groundwork in the tense interactions between Matilda, Dolores and Mr. Watts, but the extreme violence toward the end of the novel doesn't quite work. Jones's prose is faultless, however, and the story is innovative enough to overcome the misplayed tragedy. "
I did not particularly enjoy this, which perhaps is part of its value. The atmosphere is heavy; terrible things can, and do, happen at any time. It took me well out of my comfort zone in most ways. I do think it's important to read books like that sometimes.
But, I also didn't find it particularly compelling. Shock value alone isn't enough to make a book good. And there's a whole lot of slog in between the action of a terrible, um, tragedy of errors? All things considered it was just an okay read for me.
Reserved for the Global Village VBB
But, I also didn't find it particularly compelling. Shock value alone isn't enough to make a book good. And there's a whole lot of slog in between the action of a terrible, um, tragedy of errors? All things considered it was just an okay read for me.
Reserved for the Global Village VBB
This is heading to Shroffland, who selected it from the Global Village VBB. Enjoy!
I was attending a family wedding in London when this arrived, and just got home yesterday.
Thanks, flewry! I've been thinking about reading this for some time, since it seems to be a BC favorite.
Thanks, flewry! I've been thinking about reading this for some time, since it seems to be a BC favorite.
This is a poignant and unique tale of war, isolation, connecting across immense cultural divides, and our universal humanity.
Offered in bookstogive's General Fiction VBB, it is on its way to jeskawest.
Offered in bookstogive's General Fiction VBB, it is on its way to jeskawest.
Just got this in the mail, just in time for my move! Thanks for sending it on to me.