Originally posted at http://olduvaireads.wordpress.com/201..."I want to stay here on Monkey Beach. Some places are full of power, you can feel it, like a warmth, a tingle. No sasquatches are wandering around the beach today, chased by ambitious, camera-happy boys. Just an otter lounging in the kelp bobbing in the surf and the things in the trees, which may or may not be my imagination."Jimmy Hill is lost at sea, the fishing boat he was on has lost contact and things are not looking good. Lisamarie, his older sister, waits for information as the search and rescue operation begins. And she begins to reflect on her life in Kitamaat, in this small Haisla Canadian Indian community that she’s grown up in with her family, relatives, friends, sasquatches and ghosts. The narrative moves from present to past and back again, as Lisa chalks up her own (ship)wrecked life. One of alcohol and drugs, of bullies and gangs at school, of tragedies and lost loved ones. And always, forever present, the spirits, the ghosts, the premonitions that surround her, are a part of her life, make her who she is.It just so happened that Open Road sent me an email offering an e-book version of Monkey Beach for review. I don’t receive many of these types of emails so I’ll just chalk it up to fate! I was meant to read this book and write about it for Diversiverse!Because what a book it is. And so deserving of being read by more people, whether for Diversiverse or RIP or otherwise.Monkey Beach was, for me, one of the more, well, diverse reads in these past few weeks of Diversiverse reading.The Haisla culture, the life in this village north of Vancouver. It’s myths and customs, food and traditions. All completely new to me.Then there’s that very stark difference between my current suburban American life and my Singaporean childhood, teenhood and adulthood (very urban, very populated, fast-paced, where even in the middle of the night there is noise from somewhere. Singapore is far from quiet) and life in Kitamaat, where boat trips are common, where her family goes camping or fishing or foraging in the woods for berries."Oolichan grease is a delicacy that you have to grow up eating to love. Silvery, slender oolichans are about as long as your hand and a little thicker than your thumb. They are part of the smelt family and are one of the tastiest fish on the planet. Cooking oolichans can be as simple as broiling them in the oven until they’re singed— which is heavenly but very smelly, and hard on your ears if you have a noisy smoke alarm— or as touchy and complicated as rendering oil from them to make a concoction called grease. Oolichans can also be dried, smoked, sun-dried, salted, boiled, canned, frozen, but they are tastiest fresh. The best way to eat fresh oolichans is to run them through with a stick and roast them over an open fire like wieners, then eat them while they’re sizzling hot and dripping down your fingers.""I loved going to Monkey Beach, because you couldn’t take a step without crushing seashells, the crunch of your steps loud and satisfying. The water was so pure that you could see straight down to the bottom. You could watch crabs skittering sideways over discarded clam and cockleshells, and shiners flicking back and forth. Kelp the colour of brown beer bottles rose from the bottom, tall and thin with bulbs on top, each bulb with long strands growing out of it, as flat as noodles, waving in the tide."Lisa’s relationship with her family is also a big part of the book. Her beloved Uncle Mick, a Native rights activist, the kind of uncle who lets out a moose call to attract their attention at a party. Her cantankerous and rather hilarious grandmother Ma-ma-oo who teaches her about Haisla ways, whose thrifty ways meant her curtains were so threadbare, her TV picked up CB signals, but her fishing nets were always immaculate.It is also a story that speaks of a love for place and culture, as Robinson has set it in the village of Kitamaat where she was born. And while remote, this little community cannot ignore the encroachment of the rest of the world and its influences."The tide rocks the kelp beds, the long dark leaves trail gently in the cloudy green water. I hear squeaking and chirping. Dark bodies twirl in the water, pause, still for a moment as I’m examined. I dip my hands in the water and the sea otters dart away, then back, timid as fish. Well, I’m here, I think. At Monkey Beach."And with its restless spirits, its ghostly premonitions, the visions of Sasquatches, Lisa’s life hovers between two worlds.“I heard something crunching on the hardened snow. In the distance, I could hear whistles. Something was coming towards me. I kept watching the sky. No one’s here, I told myself. I’m not letting my imagination get away from me. I am alone, and I don’t see anything but the auroras, low on the horzion, undulating to their own music.”Monkey Beach is that gem of a book that sweeps you off your comfy reading chair and into the embrace of a different place altogether – the salty sea breeze caresses your hair and the greasy scent of oolichans sizzling on the campfire lures you in. And all the time, those restless spirits murmur and whisper.
Find a map of British Columbia...Eden Robinson's debut Monkey Beach is set in the north coast of BC, just where the Alaskan Aleutian Islands and the province's own Charlotte Islands begin. There lies the city of Kitimat, surrounded by picturesque mountains and pine trees of the Pacific Northwest. "Kitimat" comes from the Thshimian language, and means "people/place of the snow" - an answer that they gave to European explorers when asked about the place and people who inhabited it - the Haisla.Monkey Beach is narrated in the first person by Lisamarie Michelle Hill, a teenage girl growing up in Kitimaat village, a Haisla reservation south of the city. The wilderness five hundred miles north of Vancouver is demanding, but enchanted: Lisa isn't afraid to swim or hunt, and she feels a connection with the world of the spirits. However, everything changes the day when her younger brother goes missing at sea. The novel opens on the morning after his disappearance.Monkey Beach is the first English-language novel written by a Haisla writer; and it couldn't be a better debut. Eden Robinson is terrific and beautifully captures the essence of living in a small, tightly-knit community which despite its remoteness cannot ignore the events of the country - and world - which slowly, but surely, will influence also their way of life. Lisamarie Hill is a great protagonist - she's a feisty terror but is ultimately very likable and one that we'll care and root for, and her voice is believable, honest and authentic. The rest of the cast doesn't drag behind - especially Lisa's paternal grandmother, Ma-ma-oo, who teaches her about the ways of the Haisla and the spirit world, along with her uncle Mick - her paternal uncle, a seemingly jovial bachelor who just recently returned home after many years in the American Indian Movement. All this is enveloped by the sights, sounds and smells (and apparitions!) of Robinson's native BC. One can almost see the ocean and breathe the fresh air.If I had to specify one complaint, it would be this - I wanted more! I grew attached to the story and its characters, and the places they inhabited, and wanted to stay there for a while longer. Like Louise Erdrich, Eden Robinson has a great ability to create interesting characters and tackle on a multitude of themes, and I wished to experience more of her skill. Th novel does seem to run out of steam by the end, which seems to be contrived when compared to the easy, natural flow of the rest of the text; but it's a small flaw of a really quite lovely and underrated book. I'd definitely like to read more of Eden Robinson's work and would like to return to this novel in the future.
Do You like book Monkey Beach (2002)?
Books like this are exactly why I love Netgalley. I never would have found this book except for through that website. You have to wade through a whole lot of not so good books and then you find one..like this one..that just makes your heart sing.Monkey Beach-that magical place that b'gwus (Sasquatches) are. "Jimmy," Dad said. "Sasquatches are make believe, like fairies. They don't really exist."Or do they?This book follows Lisa Marie Michelle Hill on her journey through her memories after her brother Jimmy is lost from a fishing boat. It's based on her stories of her family and growing up on a Haisla reservation. Weaved through Lisa's pain and terror of losing her brother is stories of her childhood. This is some of the very best blending of mysticism and reality that I've read. Lisa's Ma-ma-oo and Uncle Mick became characters that came to life under this writer's hand. I thought I could smell the ocean and taste the fish as she described each detail. Lisa is visited by a small red haired man that usually brings hard times in her life. She also has the gift of seeing ghosts..this is not a ghost story though..just the best kind of storytelling. Lisa is not the typical main character either. Her nickname is "Monster" because she is fearless. A group of boys are circling her taunting her and she frigging attacks and comes out the better..that's the type of character this is. I'm giving it four stars only because the ending left me wanting more. I can't wait to see if I can find more of Eden Robinson's writing.I received an arc copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
—Shelby *wants some flying monkeys*
This story has an authentic ring, a heart. It conveys the sense of a 21st century Canadian First Nations youth and young adulthood-- young lives perched between the old and the new ways-lives at a cultural crossroads. The writer's 'way' is to alternate between dream and waking reality with an ebb and flow reflective of the Pacific Northwest coastline where the story is set. The narrator is a gifted young girl more drawn to the 'old ways' than to the new; the story she tells is that of her younger brother, also gifted--a swimmer. A good read!
—Margaret1358 Joyce
This is another excellent example of magic realist writing by a member of the North American native peoples. In this case the writer is from the Canadian Haisla people who live in British Columbia. Monkey Beach is full of the detail of the Haisla life, which is a significant part of its appeal. The book, like its heroine, at once embraces elements of Haisla tradition and mysticism and at the same time faces the hard realities of life. Not least of those realities is the legacy of abuse experienced by Lisa's uncle and aunt in the residential schools that a generation of Haisla children were forced into. One of the aspects of the book which I admired was the way Eden Robinson did not overplay this, relying instead on the reader's intelligence to work out what happened to Mick and how that was still impacting on him and his behaviour.It is generally accepted that an important element in magic realism is the portrayal of a world in which the spiritual life of an indigenous people comes up against the dominant rationalist beliefs of the colonizer. But, as I have noted elsewhere in this blog, there is also a role for magic realism in the portrayal of psychology. It seemed to me when I read this book that the magic realism here was as much about Lisa's psychology as a cultural clash. Lisa is a feisty teenager with a tendency to confront rather than flee. But when it comes to the "gift" of foresight, she tries to ignore it. When something terrible is going to happen she is visited by a little red-headed man. I was reminded of Graham Joyce's Toothfairy when I read about Lisa's visitor. Lisa's resistance results in a crisis when she blames herself for her grandmother's death and she runs away from the ancestral homeland to the big city, where she sinks into a cycle of hedonism and self abuse. Eventually saved by the ghost (?) of her cousin, she returns home and in so doing starts to rediscover herself, seeing a Sasquatch on the road:I felt deeply comforted knowing that magical things were still living in the world.The monkeys in the title are the legendary Sasquatch or bigfoot, who appear throughout the book, but always in our peripheral vision. Robinson's writing in some ways is more "realist" than in other novels I have read tackling similar subjects. At times the magic is so vague as to make it unclear whether it is not just a dream or Lisa's imagination. Lisa herself is unclear. I liked this ambiguity and felt it to be an accurate portrayal of real-life magic. The book is told in a series of flashbacks. These are at times confusing, but so they should be - we are inside Lisa's head as she travels not only to a real location but also to a legendary one. Her journey is a mystical one, she is travelling to the land of the Sasquatch, to the land of ghosts and the dead. As she nears her destination the tone and style of the writing changes. Some people might find the shift somewhat abrupt and thus might find the ending unsatisfactory. I didn't, though I could also have done with more knowledge about the beliefs and customs which lie under the text, as I felt I was missing out on some things which are significant.
—Zoe Brooks
