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Title: “The White Mary“
Author: Kira Salak
Format: Paperback ARC
Number of Pages: 351
ISBN: 978-0805088472
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Date of Publication: August 5, 2008
4 stars: An Enthralling Jungle Adventure
“Beauty intrudes upon her. Flocks of red and green parrots. Butterflies of blue and gold dancing over the black waters. Crowned pigeons with their regal headdresses of gray plumage. She would like to know this beauty, not just see it.”
(“The White Mary” pg 3*)
I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book, considering most of the reviews I’ve seen have either loved it or hated it. After reading it, I find that I’m somewhere in the middle, but leaning more toward the ‘loved it’ group. Like many of the books I’ve recently read, this book floats between the past and the present. Marika, the main character, is a journalist who returns from the Congo and decides to write a biography about the dead journalist who inspired her to take up the profession. “The White Mary” starts out later- when Marika is in Papua New Guinea- searching for that journalist after hearing he may still be alive. While I found the Papua New Guinea (PNG from now on) parts to be the better parts of the book, it took me awhile to get into them. I would have preferred to start the book with chapter 2- which takes place in Boston, and introduces us to Markia instead of jumping right into Marika’s journey through PNG.
I felt that once everything was explained, for example why Markia was in PNG, what sent her there… etc, the book flowed nicely. Honestly when I finished I couldn’t believe that there was so much to read about PNG without it seeming repetitive. But everything seemed fresh and unique, and made me thank God that I was not going through it! Besides the way the book began, there was only one thing that annoyed me. Throughout the story, “The White Mary” is told from different points of view. While Marika tells the majority, part of it is told by her guide Tobo. Everything he ‘thinks’ is in English, with the exception of a few words scattered here and there which are not in English and are italicized. I just didn’t see the need to have them.
After finishing this book, I really did wonder if this had happened to the author, Kira Salak. After all, she’s a journalist who traveled to PNG and many of her experiences inspired this novel. I wonder if there was a certain journalist who inspired her to write, and if he or she disappeared. And maybe, just maybe, she searched in PNG? Only Salak knows the truth, but in any case her fictional account is one that I would recommend to those looking for an adventure.
*these lines may change in the final publication of the book
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Great Review. I think I’m where you are on the love it / hate it pendulum. I really liked it, but I was bothered a bit by the stuff with Seb. I felt like his presence was fairly unnecessary, and I didn’t like him. I loved most of the parts in PNG, though. It felt like I was really there in the jungle – I think that’s as close as I ever care to get.
Yup. She’s definately an amazing writer when it comes to all the reportage parts, however when it comes to the relationships between two humans, Salak does fall a little flat. The whole “dating my therapist” feel with Seb kind of made the good parts (in PNG or real world stuff) drag. I have to wonder if she has a serious relationship, because it does have that reaching feel.
I’m glad that you enjoyed this book. I have some problems with it, but there are parts that I absolutely love. The passage you quoted about beauty was one of the things I loved most.
I fell into the “loved it” spectrum when I came to this book, but I do agree that the relationship between Marika and Seb was not all what it could have been. He was too perfect. Overall I think Salak failed at making believable characters except for Marika, who I can imagine as a genuinely desperate, slightly crazy person. This is possibly because (I assume) Salak drew from herself to create Marika. Seb and Tobo seemed to be ineffective window dressing for her as the centerpiece of the novel.
I’m in the ….I liked it, almost loved it category. I was so impressed with the story when it was in Africa and later PNG, that I wondered if parts of it might have been autobiographical. I always had trouble buying the couple thing. It was almost as if Marika was “disconnected” from the whole man/woman relationship thing. I couldn’t decide if thats because Salak doesn’t write mush as well as conflict, or if Marika’s character is so ambivalent about being part of a couple that it came through in the writing. If its the former, eh, she’ll get better. If its the latter, yikes, she nailed it!
Traci, koolaidmom, Meghan, Kelly: looks like you guys aren’t alone- not many seemed to like Seb/the relationship part of the story!
Ruth- there certainly was some beautiful language in there. That part in the beginning was so vivid!
I really need to get to this soon!!
Lenore- I really enjoyed it and totally recommend it 🙂
Great review! I added a link to it on the ARC Challenge site on my blog.