Euphoria

Euphoria (2014)
By Lily King

I took an introductory anthrolopology class in my first year at university. To be honest, I wasn't particularly interested in any of it and have since forgotten pretty much everything we covered in that class. I do, however, have a vague memory of Margaret Mead. Controversial and pioneering, she published ground-breaking research following her time spent living amongst the tribes of the South Pacific. From memory, a lot of this was later discredited and her research fell out of favour as new methods of anthropological study were popularised.
So I did kind of know about Margaret Mead, but I can't claim to have had any particular interest in finding out more about her. Having read Lily King's novelisation of her relationships in Euphoria, however, I am now really, really keen to learn more.

In 1933, Margaret Mead was conducting fieldwork in Papua New Guinea with her second husband (fellow anthropologist Reo Fortune) when they came across, and then began working with a third anthrologist (and soon to become Mead's third husband) Gregory Bateson. Lily King takes this real-life situation as her inspiration in Euphoria, a novel about controversial American anthropologist Nell Stone and her fellow-anthropologist husband Fen, who are conducting fieldwork in Papua New Guinea when they come across and then begin working with a third anthropologist, Andrew Bankson. Clearly, there are some fairly strong similarities between Euphoria's setup and the real-world situation between Mead, Fortune and Bateson - even the names are similar. I don't know enough about Margaret Mead to say whether the similarities end there or whether there are further plot points inspired by real-life events, but taken on its own merits as a novel inspired by Margaret Mead's life, Euphoria is a fascinating read.

Margaret Mead, Reo Fortune & Gregory Bateson in 1933.

In Euphoria, Lily King creates a completely convincing world, pre-World War 2, when there are still huge areas of the world unexplored and new information to be learned every day about the new societies being discovered. Anthropology is a science in its infancy and Nell, Fen and Bankson are passionate researchers, exploring new frontiers. It's easy to be caught up in the excitement and enthusiasm of the time and place. The descriptions of the Tam people in Euphoria are equally compelling. I can only imagine the amount of research that went into this book, but the lifestyles, relationships and customs of the Tam and their idyllic tropical home; it's all so well-written and so detailed that it all feels very real.

Each of the three main characters has a very clear personality and each has a different approach to their research. Nell is all-embracing, immersing herself completely in the local culture in an attempt to understand everything about the people. Fen is calculating and occasionally condescending, always with an eye on the prize in terms of digging out new, publishable findings (as well as more literal prizes at times). Bankson is fascinated but overwhelmed, with a suspicion that he is misunderstanding everything he observes. Each of the three also brings their own pre-conceived ideas to their research, with each looking to confirm their own theories about the people they're studying and quick to discredit anything that doesn't fit. It's a great illustration of the way that anthropological study must have worked at the time - despite the very best of intentions, it's not really possible to be a completely objective observer, particularly when you're living amongst the people you're studying.

Anthropology - actually pretty interesting.

There is a lot more to Euphoria though than anthrolopogy and history - the complex relationships between the three characters create a real tension that builds throughout the novel, with the conflict mirrored by events within the Tam tribe and within other groups in Papua New Guinea. The three anthropologists start out with the best of intentions, but then follows marital conflict, new romance, violence, inter-tribal conflict, death and the euphoria of the title. The storyline is anything but boring.

I did not expect to particularly enjoy a book about anthropology, but Euphoria was fabulous. It even made me rethink previously held opinions about the dullness of anthropology. Highly recommended.

9/10.