Euphoria by Lily King

Our group met on Friday to discuss Euphoria written by Lily King.  We had an animated and good discussion, only occasionally wandering off topic.  ;)

The book was inspired by real life anthropologist Margaret Mead and the few months in 1933 in which she, her husband Reo Fortune, and Gregory Bateson (whom later became her third husband) spent together on the Sepik River in New Guinea.

The title comes from something that the character Nell (Margaret Mead) says:  "It's that moment about two months ink when  you think you've finally got a handle on the place.  Everything clicks and it all feels within your grasp at that moment the place feels entirely yours.  It's the briefest, purest euphoria."

We struggled with the fact that Nell’s character was too loosely based on Margaret Mead.  We felt it would have been better if the author either had gone full on with Mead’s life or written a story of complete fiction.    This hybrid approach was awkward.  A few of us felt that the characters were only partially developed and had trouble connecting with them, while others were completely invested in the characters and their journey.  Nell’s husband, Fen, is such an outwardly evil person that you wonder what a supposedly strong and accomplished woman as Nell is doing with him.

That said, we mostly found the book very good.  The insight into New Guinea’s various tribes and customs was fascinating, particularly seeing it through a 1930’s perspective.  We enjoyed learning about the different approaches to the study of the new field of anthropology.  The techniques that they developed became an important tool to future anthropologists that had far ranging effects.  We also discussed the themes of tribal savagery versus Western civilization, a theme that is still current today.

Ratings ranged from 3.0 to 3.75.