Euphoria

 

Summary (from the publisher): Inspired by the true story of a woman who changed the way we understand our world.

In 1933 three young, gifted anthropologists are thrown together in the jungle of New Guinea. They are Nell Stone, fascinating, magnetic and famous for her controversial work studying South Pacific tribes, her intelligent and aggressive husband Fen, and Andrew Bankson, who stumbles into the lives of this strange couple and becomes totally enthralled. Within months the trio are producing their best ever work, but soon a firestorm of fierce love and jealousy begins to burn out of control, threatening their bonds, their careers, and, ultimately, their lives...

Review: Nell Stone and her husband Fen are anthropologists in the jungle of New Guinea and are soon joined by fellow anthropologist Andrew Bankson. Nell is famous and well known for her work but her husband is volatile, aggressive, and transparently jealous of his wife's superior professional accomplishments. As time passes, Bankson is drawn ever closer to the couple as their work and lives become increasingly intertwined. Soon, events transpire that threaten their careers and even their lives. 

This novel has a fascinating premise - anthropologists living with a tribe on location in the 1930s. I was drawn to the unique historical fiction plot and the intriguing potential of a trio working together gone wrong. Nell is a fascinating character: devoted to her work, not afraid of deprivation or hard living, not easily put off by cultural customs that likely would have horrified other women of her time period. However, Fen is nearly impossible to like and it's difficult to understand how Nell was ever drawn to him or felt marriage to him was a good idea. It was an interesting choice to have the narrative shift between not Nell and her husband but between Nell and Bankson. 

Ultimately, Fen costs the trio a great deal. In the interest of avoiding spoilers, I will say that the novel alludes to but does not explicitly spell out violence, death, and murder in its conclusion. I listened to this on audible and struggled to appreciate the sections from Fen's perspective; I just did not enjoy the male narrator's voice or tone the way I did the female sections from Nell's perspective, making it hard for me to concentrate and stay fully focused on the story. A fascinating premise with interesting characters but a story that ultimately was more enjoyable in the beginning then as the novel progressed. 

Stars: 3