The White Mary (Nicola)
The White Mary by Kira Salak
Pages: 351
First Published: Aug. 2008
Genre: literature
Rating: 5/5
First sentence:
The black waters of Elobi Creek show no sign of a current.
Comments: Marika Vecera is a journalist who travels around the world reporting on wars and atrocities. Just after arriving back from the Congo she hears that Robert Lewis, a journalist she has always admired, almost to obsession, has committed suicide but no body found. While writing a biography on Lewis, Marika comes across a letter from a missionary who swears he saw Lewis alive in the jungles of Papua New Guinea months after he supposedly died. Marika decides to travel there herself and find him.
This book was fabulous! The descriptions of Papua New Guinea (PNG) are breathtaking. I was hooked from the first chapter. The violence of war and torture is hard hitting and uncomfortable to read but impossible to put down. The jungle and the life of the native tribes is simply amazing. Imagine entering a world which has never experienced any modern conveniences nor even knows that they exist. Marika is a many layered character who undertakes this journey that will forever change her character. Ultimately, this is a story of hope, faith and healing. We encounter two characters, one who has lost their faith in God and one who finds it. The ending is both bittersweet and heart-touching. I just really loved everything about this book: the action, the realism, the characters (especially Tobo, the witch doctor), the exotic location and the power of the story.
So far this year The True History of the Kelly Gang has been in the position of probably being my favourite book of 2008 but The White Mary has just become a very likely contender.
Popularity: 15% [?]
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