This is a fascinating story of three anthropologists in the 1930s in New Guinea, inspired by the life of Margaret Mead, et al. It examines fictional tribal cultures and practices from the perspective of an American, an Australian, and a British anthropologist and explores their methods of ethnography and classification. Also, a love triangle.
The story unfolded kind of slowly for me – it was an interesting cultural exploration but didn't really get into the meat of the story and hook me until the last 50 pages or so. It asks questions about the role of the observer and the imposition of Western culture on other communities, what belongs to whom. It's an important consideration of the field and the relationships between observer and observed. Lovely writing. Also made me think of some the places I've visited (though not this specific place) and the people I met, how Western students were viewed/treated, how we explored other cultures, etc. Overall enjoyable if a little slow.
Writer and mentor Nichols-Frazer lives in Waitsfield.
