Sep 29 2008
Fieldwork
Mischa Berlinski is a journalist; Fieldwork is his first novel. That fact makes its beautiful prose and engrossing story all the more amazing.
Fieldwork is the story of (fictional) journalist Mischa, living in Thailand while his fiance teaches English to first graders. He is making a small livng writing restaurant reviews and summaries of business textbooks, when he hears the story of anthropologist Martiya van der Leun. Martiya has committed suicide in a Thai prison, where she was serving a life sentence for murder.
Mischa becomes intrigued by Martiya’s story, and starts digging. His curiosity turns to obsession when he learns that the victim of Martiya’s murder was the son of a prominent missionary family. Mischa meets the Walker family, second and third generation evangelical missionaries living in Thailand and ministering to the Dyalo tribal people. He is fascinated by the story of these hardy people who have chosen to forsake all Western comforts and live in harsh conditions for the purpose of spreading the Gospel. He also delves into the world of anthropologists, who immerse themselves in tribal cultures for a completey different reason. The two worlds are similar, but by definition must be opposed to each other. The anthropologist’s task is to catalog and preserve tribal culture; the missionary’s goal is to convert the tribal people.
Martiya makes the acquaintance of the Walker family, and they help her by answering her questions, translating Dyalo phrases, and explaining Dyalo customs to her. So what happened to make Martiya decide to kill David, the Walkers’ son? Mischa peels back layer by layer of the mystery, and as he does, the story gets more and more enthralling, until I couldn’t put it down until I knew.
Berlinski is an extremely talented writer; his descriptions of the Thai culture and countryside are breathtaking. Part of me was waiting for the portrayal of the Walker missionary family to descend into derisive stereotype, but Berlinski gives all of his characters a humanity and authenticity that make them seem like living, breathing people. They are flawed, fascinating humans that are, above all, real. The climax of the story shows how one simple choice can bring about the most unexpected and horrific consequences.
5 out of 5 stars.
Thanks so much for this review. I have had Fieldwork on my TBR pile almost since it was published. Now I will have to make sure I get to it very soon. It sounds even better than I was anticipating.
Beth - you’re welcome! I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by.
That’s two recommendations (http://mindywithrow.com/?p=452) for this book from people I trust. I think I’ll have to find a copy.
Hope you saw my response to your comment on my blog about this one. SO GLAD you loved it, too! It is just beautiful, and as you say, the even-handed presentation of both “sides” is spectacular. I wish everyone would read this!
Sherry - yes, it is definitely a must-read.
Mindy - I did see it, Mindy - thank you. I just passed my copy on to my mom. I feel like being an evangelist for this book!
Wow, this sounds right up my alley. Thanks for the great review! So many aspects of what you’ve said make me want to read this.
Word Lily - I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
I was referred here by Maw Books Blog and her book review blog carnival! I was compelled to leave a note here because this book completely swept me away. I could not lay it down until I had finished it. I had originally heard about it through Stephen King’s year end “best books” list a couple of years ago, and it never lets me down!
Sandy - I know, I just read his list for this year, and added a couple titles to my wish list. Thanks for stopping by!