This novel centers around the Campbell family, who travel to the island of Papua New Guinea in the 1970s. Although they seem to be going to for the husband's research it also seems like they're going just as much for the adventure. The novel has a lovely setting, the rain forest feels paplpable as does the odd, alienated feeling the Campbells have. This book brought to my mind At Play In the Fields of the Lord and for some reason, Patricia Cornwell (I guess for the medical details) 's books, too. The story is a tragedy but it's so well told that you want to re-read it when you're done!

This isn't the type of book that I normally pick up, I'm not big on "literary fiction". It was given to me as a gift. Once I picked it up I couldn't put it down, though. The story is extremely sad but told in this hypnotic, poetic way. I couldn't get enough of the place, Abini, in the book. Papua New Guinea, as rendered by the author, is an intense and strange place, overwhelmingly beautiful, frightening and inviting all at the same time. I do a lot of outdoor exploring, back packing and hiking etc and I found myself imagining a walk through the rainforest near Abini. Perhaps Gillison got some of the place names wrong or confused her directions but she clearly knows this place and makes you feel it too. Try this book, you'll like it. At the very least you'll be moved by it.

I read this book because a good friend is going to Papua New Guinea and I wanted to learn more about the island. Wow! What a book. This story is set in the 1970s when the country was still under the colonial control of the Australian government. However, the novel is about an American couple and their child who go to the country to do medical research -- yet it's about so much more. It's about life and marriage and the disappointments one can find in one's mate and in oneself. There were points when I wanted to know more, especially about the culture of the aboriginal people in the village. But for me, what was really captivating about this upsetting book was the background. The rain forest in Papua New Guinea really came alive. The animals and birds and insects are all vividly described as is every aspect of the Campbells (the family in the book) relationship to each other and to the country. I wound up re-reading it. This is the kind of book you lend to a friend because you want to talk about it so much.