Lily’s new novel is the story of three young, gifted anthropologists in 1933 caught in a passionate love triangle that threatens theirs bonds, their careers, and ultimately their lives. Set between World War I and II and inspired by events in the life of revolutionary anthropologist Margaret Mead, Euphoria is an enthralling story passion. Lily King’s “Euphoria. When the three scientists receive a manuscript of Helen’s revolutionary book. The Gilmore Guide to Books. Set in the 1930s this is the uncharted world of Euphoria by author Lily King. Our Reading Guide for Euphoria by Lily King includes Book Club Discussion Questions, Book Reviews. Euphoria (King) - Book Reviews. Euphoria by Lily King is the best book I've read this year, and I read a lot of books. After reaching the last page, I had many questions.

1. Book Euphoria By Lily King

I am indebted to made me pounce on this book when I saw it on display at the library. I was intrigued because the novel is set in New Guinea and I’ve read with that setting. But I was also interested in a book that fictionalises an episode in the life of the anthropologist Margaret Mead (1901-1978) because, as Tony says:If you have ever wondered what it must have been like for Margaret Mead and her associates to travel to these remote villages and to stay there and become friends and study the people in these tribes, this is the novel for you.From what I have been able to gather about the life of Margaret Mead from, the novel departs from the historical record in significant ways, but that does not detract from its value as an insight into anthropology as a study. When the book opens and Schuyler Fenwick (Fen) introduces his famous wife Nell Stone to the English anthropologist Andrew Bankson, he is shocked by her devastatingly tired face:No one had ever mentioned, in all the talk of Nell Stone, that she was so slight, or sickly. She offered me a hand with a thinly healed gash across the palm. To take it would mean causing her discomfort.

Her smile bloomed naturally but the rest of her face was sallow and her eyes seemed coated over by pain. She had a small face and large smoke-coloured eyes like a cuscus, the small marsupial Kiona children kept as pets. (p.18)She is also nursing what she says is a sprained ankle from 17 months ago, but which is probably broken, and she has visible lesions on her arm. Bankson, foreshadowing the love he will come to feel for Nell, provides the medicines and treatment for these wounds that her husband has so conspicuously failed to do. But this is no soppy romantic triangle because these three are intellectual companions.Bankson is nursing wounds of a psychological nature. His suicide attempt has failed but the causes of his trauma remain.

The long isolation of his solitary work in a remote village fosters brooding on the tragic deaths of his brothers James and Martin. His widowed mother is a martinet who doesn’t appreciate the value of his work, and also festering in his troubled mind is his father’s disappointment that the wrong son survived but failed to follow in his footsteps.But the other factor contributing to Bankson’s misery is the way in which he works, and the arrival of Nell and Fen enables him to witness the way they enter into the lives of the communities that they study. Fen spends days working with the men to build a canoe. Nell participates in the lives of the women while also observing them keenly and taking copious notes. As she says to Bankson, she is always working but it is work that forges social and emotional connection.The question that lies at the heart of this insightful tale, is whether that connectedness, which is protective of the anthropologist’s psyche when marooned in a culture remote from his own, distorts the anthropological findings. Is it better to observe dispassionately from outside the group being studied, or do you learn more by becoming a part of the community even at the risk of bringing in values and commodities that change the behaviours of the group being studied?And does being part of a group change the anthropologist? Fen was a little unstable when Nell met him.

He had been studying the Dobuan people who live without repression man’s worst nightmares of the ill-will of the universe. Bankson admits that he couldn’t have coped with the fear, but discerns the effects on Fen:it occurred to me that the Dobu sounded a lot like him: his paranoid streak, his dark humour, his distrust of pleasure, his secrecy.

I couldn’t help questioning the research. When only one person is the expert of a particular people, do we learn more about the people or the anthropologist when we read the analysis? (p.177)Euphoria is a fascinating book. The love triangle is apparently based on real events, but it doesn’t get in the way of what really interested me: the vivid detail of life in a New Guinea village and the interrogation of issues that bedevil anthropology today.Thanks for the recommendation, Tony!Update 16/7/18 read it too, and seeAuthor: Lily KingTitle: EuphoriaPublisher: Picador (Pan Macmillan), 2014ISBN: 991Source: Dandenong Library.

I'm having difficulty getting started with a post about Euphoria, so I'm going to go with Ye Olde Reliable Self-Interview. Today, I will be interviewed by a little silver bell that I keep near my computer.

It makes a lovely, resonant ting-a-ling noise when you pick it up.Little Silver Bell: Hello, and welcome to my very first literary interview. Today, I'll be asking Bookfool about Euphoria by Lily King. Good day to you, Bookfool.Bookfool: Hey. Fancy intro.LSB: Indeed. I'm British, you know. Why did you choose to read Euphoria?BF: It was chosen as the April selection for discussion in my Face-to-Face book group, The Southern Cultural Heritage Book Club.LSB: In less than 50 words, tell us what Euphoria is about.BF: Euphoria is about three anthropologists studying tribes in New Guinea. Andrew Bankson has been on his own and recently attempted suicide.

Book Euphoria By Lily King

Nell and Fen, a married couple, just abandoned one tribe (due to Nell's discomfort) and are looking for another tribe to study. Bankson helps Nell and Fen find a new tribe and falls for Nell.LSB: Ah, the well-trodden love triangle. Have you read any other books about anthropologists that are written in a similar vein?BF: No, in fact, apart from Carl Hoffman's Savage Harvest (non-fiction about headhunters) and a book about a plane that crashed on New Guinea during WWII, I haven't read much at all about the area and its people and I've missed many of the more popular titles like The Poisonwood Bible and State of Wonder, although reading Euphoria made me doubly anxious to get to them.LSB: What did you like most about Euphoria?BF: Pretty much everything. I liked the interaction between Bankson and Nell and the tension that created between both of them and Fen. I liked the fact that the book was written with intelligence; it was a bit of a learning experience.

Clearly Lily King did her research. I loved reading about how the anthropologists thought, what excited them, what they considered notable. I liked the descriptions of places and people and the unexpectedness of some of the scenes. And, I was grateful that, although the book is tragic, the author did a good job of forewarning without giving anything away. I liked the fact that it's not just tragic, as well; at least one character ends up living a happy, productive life.LSB: Was there anything you disliked about Euphoria?BF: Yes and no.

I was left with a few questions and I don't like it when I'm not sure exactly what something meant or what happened. That can make for some interesting discussion, though, so it might have been a good thing that I had questions if I'd made it to the meeting, this month. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it.LSB: I'm sorry to hear that. Will you recommend Euphoria to your friends?BF: I already have. It was a 5-star read, for me, one I consider worth hanging onto for a future reread.LSB: Any final thoughts?BF: I like the little noise you make when I shake you. It's lovely.LSB: I meant about the book. And, it should be noted that I am from the police constabulary.

I make a manly ringing noise.BF: Noted. So, last thoughts. I read a little about Euphoria online and found that not only is it a book that has won a number of prizes and honors, but also 'a feature film is underway' (from ). I seldom watch movies made from favorite novels because I like to retain my own images from the reading but I think it's a worthy story so I'm happy about that.

Thank you for interviewing me.LSB: Ting-a-ling-a-lingBF: No comment. Euphoria is going on the good shelves, where I keep my favorites. And, I'm told the audio version is award-winning, for those who prefer audio.