Reviews
Praise for EUPHORIA There are some novels that take you by the hand with their lovely prose alo≠there are those that pull you in with sensual renderings of time and place and a compelling story; and there are still others that seduce you solely with their subject matter. But it is a rare novel indeed that does all of the above at once and with complete artistic mastery. Yet this is precisely what Lily King has done in her stunningly passionate and gorgeously written Euphoria . It is simply one of the finest novels I've read in years, and it puts Lily King firmly in the top rank of our most accomplished novelists." — Andre Dubus III With Euphoria , Lily King gives us a searing and absolutely mesmerizing glimpse into 1930's New Guinea, a world as savage and fascinating as Conrad's Heart of Darkness , where obsessions rise to a feverish pitch, and three dangerously entangled anthropologists will never be the same again. Jaw-droppingly, heart-stoppingly beautiful. I loved this book."—Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife I have come to expect Lily King's nuanced explorations of the human heart, but in this novel she pulled me in to the exotic world of a woman anthropologist working with undiscovered tribes in 1930s New Guinea and I was totally captivated. Euphoria is a great book! So great, that I stayed up late to finish it."—Karl Marlantes Writers are childlike in their enthusiasm about other writers' good work. They're thinking: How'd they ever think of that? That's amazing/beautifully written/true! Imagine all the effort that went into pulling this off. Could I do something this original/surprising/moving? I'm always happy to read Lily King, and I particularly enjoyed reading Euphoria ." --Ann Beattie Fresh, brilliantly structured, and fully imagined, this novel radically transforms a story we might have known, as outsiders—but now experience, though Lily King's great gifts, as if we'd lived it." —Andrea Barrett Lily King delves into the intellectual flights and passions of three anthropologists -- as complex, rivalrous and brutal as any of the cultures they study. Euphoria is a brilliantly written book." —Alice Greenway Adventure and romance, danger and knowledge, desire and desolation: these are a few of my favorite things. And, exquisitely braided, they form the core of Euphoria . Set in the 1930's, in a New Guinea that Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson would recognize with delight and trepidation, this passionate and thrilling new novel reminds us that all our mores are fictions, that culture itself is only a story we tell ourselves. And what a harrowing tale Lily King weaves from these threads. I'm left breathless, excited, ready to wander and explore, a little afraid, enamored, enlightened. —Bill Roorbach, Praise for EUPHORIA "The love lives and expeditions of controversial anthropologists Margaret Mead, Reo Fortune, and Gregory Bateson are fictionalized and richly reimagined in New England Book Award winner King's (Father of the Rain) meaty and entrancing fourth book...King's immersive prose takes center stage. The fascinating descriptions of tribal customs and rituals, paired with snippets of Nell's journals—as well as the characters' insatiable appetites for scientific discovery—all contribute to a thrilling read that, at its end, does indeed feel like ''the briefest, purest euphoria.''"—Publishers Weekly(starred review) Set between the First and Second World Wars, the story is loosely based on events in the life of Margaret Mead. There are fascinating looks into other cultures and how they are studied, and the sacrifices and dangers that go along with it. This is a powerful story, at once gritty, sensuous, and captivating."—Booklist "Atmospheric...A small gem, disturbing and haunting."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) There are some novels that take you by the hand with their lovely prose alo≠there are those that pull you in with sensual renderings of time and place and a compelling story; and there are still others that seduce you solely with their subject matter. But it is a rare novel indeed that does all of the above at once and with complete artistic mastery. Yet this is precisely what Lily King has done in her stunningly passionate and gorgeously written Euphoria . It is simply one of the finest novels I've read in years, and it puts Lily King firmly in the top rank of our most accomplished novelists." — Andre Dubus III With Euphoria , Lily King gives us a searing and absolutely mesmerizing glimpse into 1930's New Guinea, a world as savage and fascinating as Conrad's Heart of Darkness , where obsessions rise to a feverish pitch, and three dangerously entangled anthropologists will never be the same again. Jaw-droppingly, heart-stoppingly beautiful. I loved this book."—Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife I have come to expect Lily King's nuanced explorations of the human heart, but in this novel she pulled me in to the exotic world of a woman anthropologist working with undiscovered tribes in 1930s New Guinea and I was totally captivated. Euphoria is a great book! So great, that I stayed up late to finish it."—Karl Marlantes Writers are childlike in their enthusiasm about other writers' good work. They're thinking: How'd they ever think of that? That's amazing/beautifully written/true! Imagine all the effort that went into pulling this off. Could I do something this original/surprising/moving? I'm always happy to read Lily King, and I particularly enjoyed reading Euphoria ." --Ann Beattie Fresh, brilliantly structured, and fully imagined, this novel radically transforms a story we might have known, as outsiders—but now experience, though Lily King''s great gifts, as if we''d lived it." —Andrea Barrett Lily King delves into the intellectual flights and passions of three anthropologists -- as complex, rivalrous and brutal as any of the cultures they study. Euphoria is a brilliantly written book." —Alice Greenway Adventure and romance, danger and knowledge, desire and desolation: these are a few of my favorite things. And, exquisitely braided, they form the core of Euphoria . Set in the 1930's, in a New Guinea that Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson would recognize with delight and trepidation, this passionate and thrilling new novel reminds us that all our mores are fictions, that culture itself is only a story we tell ourselves. And what a harrowing tale Lily King weaves from these threads. I'm left breathless, excited, ready to wander and explore, a little afraid, enamored, enlightened. —Bill Roorbach, Praise for EUPHORIA With Euphoria , Lily King gives us a searing and absolutely mesmerizing glimpse into 1930's New Guinea, a world as savage and fascinating as Conrad's Heart of Darkness , where obsessions rise to a feverish pitch, and three dangerously entangled anthropologists will never be the same again. Jaw-droppingly, heart-stoppingly beautiful. I loved this book."—Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife I have come to expect Lily King's nuanced explorations of the human heart, but in this novel she pulled me in to the exotic world of a woman anthropologist working with undiscovered tribes in 1930s New Guinea and I was totally captivated. Euphoria is a great book! So great, that I stayed up late to finish it."—Karl Marlantes, Praise for EUPHORIA With Euphoria , Lily King gives us a searing and absolutely mesmerizing glimpse into 1930's New Guinea, a world as savage and fascinating as Conrad's Heart of Darkness , where obsessions rise to a feverish pitch, and three dangerously entangled anthropologists will never be the same again. Jaw-droppingly, heart-stoppingly beautiful. I loved this book."—Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife
Synopsis
From New England Book Award winner Lily King comes a breathtaking novel about three young anthropologists of the '30's caught in a passionate love triangle that threatens their bonds, their careers, and, ultimately, their lives. English anthropologist Andrew Bankson has been alone in the field for several years, studying the Kiona river tribe in the Territory of New Guinea. Haunted by the memory of his brothers' deaths and increasingly frustrated and isolated by his research, Bankson is on the verge of suicide when a chance encounter with colleagues, the controversial Nell Stone and her wry and mercurial Australian husband Fen, pulls him back from the brink. Nell and Fen have just fled the bloodthirsty Mumbanyo and, in spite of Nell's poor health, are hungry for a new discovery. When Bankson finds them a new tribe nearby, the artistic, female-dominated Tam, he ignites an intellectual and romantic firestorm between the three of them that burns out of anyone's control. Set between two World Wars and inspired by events in the life of revolutionary anthropologist Margaret Mead, Euphoria is an enthralling story of passion, possession, exploration, and sacrifice from accomplished author Lily King.
