The Undiscovered Country

This was a rather odd, in many ways disappointing book. I was curious to read it to get to know about Papua New Guinea, and the parts dealing with the people and the place were interesting, but otherwise, I couldn't help but feel the book could have used a decent editing before going to print.

It wasn't spelling or formatting that was the problem, more the nature of the book that was a bit odd. It started off so impersonal, talking about "the man", "the woman" and "the girl" for several pages, it felt like a vignette of an unrelated matter to the main story rather than an introduction to the three people who really make the book. Likewise, the sudden change of tense in the last part of the book was really awkward and jarring, and didn't show more serve the novel well.

Then there was the constant brand-name-dropping. I understand the author probably wanted to nail the details well, but as an Australian, it was kind of irksome to hear the characters order "sandwiches and Schweppes" for lunch (you don't order "Schweppes"; you just order lemonade and that's pretty much what you're going to get), and no one drank coffee, or even instant coffee, it was always Nescafé. Also, the characters were perpetually eating a "Cadbury's", which is just plain weird - nobody calls a block of Cadbury's chocolate or even a bar of chocolate "Cadbury's". All this might sound like a really minor thing to complain about, but it was so rife it felt almost like product-placement.

But the story itself had its moments, and I actually rather liked the way events came to a head. Perhaps it's just a matter of preference, but there were many times I felt the story dragged and became bogged down in the characters' wallowing introspection, especially their attitudes towards one-another and such a tight focus on the family unit often felt claustrophobic or even annoying.

If it had a bit of a tidy-up stylistically and moved the plot along a bit quicker, I think there could have been a really good book here, as the author obviously has some talent and a good eye for place and detail; sadly, it felt as if it had been published too soon. show less

June and Peter Campbell have taken their young daughter Taylor and left the cultured city of Boston for the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Peter expects to spend six months to a year conducting medical research among the Abini villagers for his PhD dissertation. June finances the expedition, hoping the trip will help repair their failing marriage. Once among the villagers, they are faced with the dangers of germs and diseases. Taylor runs free, joining the villager children and quickly picks up their language. June and Peter become more estranged and eventually alienate the villagers.

Although the premise of the story is interesting, the characters are not very realistic. Their emotions tend to be flat and they are hard to relate to. The show more Abini setting is intriguing and I would have loved to have read more about their way of life. Instead they are presented in a stereotypical manner. Overall I rate this book 3 out of 5. show less