Monkey Beach: 07/08/16

Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson is set in the Haisla town of Kitamaat. It's a remote community on an island roughly five hundred miles north of Vancouver, BC, and five hundred miles south of Juneau, AK. It's up a river far enough that from any of the cruise ships that pass by, it and and the river would be lost in the trees.

Lisamarie is a tomboy named for Elvis's daughter reminds me of an older and more jaded Lilo. But Lisamarie's life won't be interrupted or enriched by extraterrestrials, though she does hunt for b'gwus (Sasquatch).

The book is divided into four parts of varying length. Each part is a different time in Lisamarie's life. Big events happen in the spaces between these parts. We aren't privy to the drama, just the quiet aftermath.

I'm not a personal fan of the long chapter-less parts. These chunks, save for the last one, are too large to be chapters. There are enough pages within each one to lose one's train of thought. As this is a rather quiet book, more scene and tone than drama and action, I feel like most of the book washed over me.

Two stars

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