|  |
| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 95 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 found the following review helpful:
 Beautiful and intense, but flawed Aug 05, 2008
By Ruth R. King
"Bookish Ruth"
Marika Vecera is a fearless war journalist, traveling to war zones that many male reporters have avoided. When her idol, the famous journalist Robert Lewis, commits suicide, Marika feels driven to write his biography. In the course of researching her book, Marika receives a letter from a missionary who claims to have seen Lewis in Papua New Guinea. Marika drops everything to follow up the lead, embarking on a grueling journey that may cost the journalist her life. As the story progresses, we see that Marika's quest is as much a journey to find herself as it is to find Robert Lewis.
The White Mary is one story told in two parts. The main part of the book covers Marika's search for Lewis in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, while the events that drove her to that search are told in a series of flashbacks. These flashbacks, though insightful looks into Marika's character, are the weakest points in the story. I found Marika's interaction with her boyfriend Seb to be unrealistic. The dialogue between the two of them just felt stilted and forced. Marika is an interesting, multi-faceted character, but with each flashback, I found her less likable. Her journey ultimately changes her for the better, but that change came too late for me.
There were elements of this book that I loved. Salak's descriptions of the jungle are absolutely breathtaking. Tobo, Marika's guide through the jungle, is a fascinating character. Clever, resourceful and wise, he saves Marika's life on more than one occasion. Kira Salak, like Marika, is an accomplished war journalist, and her experience is evident in the descriptions of Marika's time spent in various war zones.
The White Mary is gritty, intense and, at times, disturbing. There are graphic depictions of torture and rape, and one scene towards the end of the novel is so disturbingly vivid that it may turn even the strongest of stomachs.
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. As I stated earlier, there were many things that I loved about this book, but in the end, the things I didn't like stood out more. While I can't give it an enthusiastic endorsement, I am glad that I took the time to read The White Mary.
18 of 19 found the following review helpful:
 Only the darkest depths can shed some light Sep 14, 2008
By - Kasia S.
The main reason why I chose to read this book was the fact that I have just finished watching the last season of Lost which has rapidly turned into one of my favorite shows of all time and I needed a quick jungle fix to prolong the euphoria. Rather than just being a good read, "The White Mary" surpassed my expectations and was one of the best books I have ever read, I feel so lucky that I decided to read this!
Intense, addictive and at some passages almost unreadable but in a good way, the world of young journalist who decides to find her inspirational favorite writer Robert Lewis is turned upside down as she dives into a life changing adventure. Marika Vecera has had enough of dangerous journalistic work overseas in war ridden countries where murder and thievery rule daily life, when her relationship suffers at her own decisions she decides to follow hear heart and seek out the one man who can give her answers. The problem is that he has been proclaimed dead due to a suicide possible by drowning in Malaysia, but rumors that reach Marika about his sighting in the most remote jungles of Papua New Guinea spark her interest at finding him, no matter how dangerous the journey. When she starts looking for him her outlook on life is weak, she is not afraid of death but the more her life is threatened with various occurrences she learns new things about herself that open the reader's eyes to deep corners of our own souls. The journey is fascinating but the future often bleak and the reader never knows when it will all suddenly end. I can't remember the last time I was so engrossed in such a rich, beautiful novel.
Half way through reading this I looked up the author, Kira Salak and found her website. Her own journeys to almost all the continents are documented with stunning photos; I spend a whole afternoon browsing her site, looking at the scrapbook of her life, so enormous and exciting that her life looks like an adventure movie in comparison to someone like myself. Through her eyes and words I too feel that the world is large and remote but accessible for those who really want to see each nook and cranny. I can't wait to read more of her work; this is one strong and brilliant woman.
- Kasia S.
11 of 12 found the following review helpful:
 Pass up this pale mary Nov 27, 2008
By beckyjean
"beckyjean"
Unfortunately, the author spends this entire book breaking the cliched cardinal rule of writing -- show, don't tell. For example, we're told about the protagonist's murdered father and insane mother. We're _told_. We are never shown any flashbacks in which these people are alive and relating to the protagonist. We're just supposed to swallow the scenario whole, and believe in it, care about it, for the balance of the book.
The book's third-person-omniscient point of view doesn't help matters. At some point, we're inside the head of nearly every character in the book, being told things rather than being shown them. Sometimes we're in more than one character's head in a single scene. Sometimes we're inside the "head" of something like a knife or a headache -- more than once, I noticed the author personifying objects and sensations. There was a headache or a fever that "wanted" to split somebody's head in two, or something like that. Lots of window dressing, but very little meaning.
The book tells nearly everything and shows almost nothing, and despite the author's seeming desire to be explicit, the writing remains imprecise. For just one of many possible examples of the imprecision -- at one point, the author describes a young government official as wearing a uniformly "solemn" expression, but a couple of sentences later notes that his eyes are darting around the room, which doesn't seem very solemn at all. The book is full of this type of garbled observation.
The characters are flat and expository. The romantic male figure, Seb, is meant to be sensitive and caring but he comes off sappy. It seems like Seb's character is propped up to show the reader how businesslike and non-touchyfeely Marika, the protagonist, is. The two characters continually butt against one other and never engage in a way that seems believable. Even when they're at their most comfortable with one another, they speak in pronouncements about how much they care about each other. The famous journalist Marika pursues tells her the story of his murdered son's decomposition, and somehow that story is lacks immediacy, lacks horror. Also baffling were the fact that the famous journalist mentioned having told the decomposition story to native children who couldn't understand English, and the fact that the author includes almost nothing about Marika's reaction to hearing this story. It seems to have been included as pure exposition.
In addition to being flat, the characters were just plain implausible. I had a really hard time believing that the hardened journalist would confess to Marika that he'd promised himself he wouldn't care about anyone anymore (but, of course, he finds himself caring about _her_). Certainly not at the point in the book at which this happens. I also had a hard time believing that Marika, a professional journalist who regularly visits countries where women are second-class citizens or worse, would balk in such an ignorant manner at being made to go to a menstrual hut while having her period. Surely someone in that line of work would have some understanding of customs and superstitions that aren't in line with modern civilization.
The closest the book comes to creating a real character is with the character of Tobo the witch doctor. Tobo is dryly funny, foolish, superstitious, wise, fatalistic, and caring all at once. I found him to be the only likeable character in the book, and I was pleased that he had the last word.
But truthfully, I wouldn't pick up this book just for Tobo. The writing is very bland, and scenes that are meant to stir some emotion in the reader (including, unfortunately, the torture scenes) simply do not work. Nothing really happens in this book, which would have been something very different in the hands of a more dynamic writer.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Mixed bag Nov 27, 2008
By Avid Reader
Maybe one of my problems in reading this book was that it was the second book in a row I had read that was written by a journalist. The style is terse, descriptions are short or nonexistent. Moods are evoked by few words. Not to say I like lengthy wordy books, say like Jonathan Strange, but I wanted a middle ground. The only way I could continue to read was to pretend I was reading a newspaper article where brevity counts. It helped until dialog came along and then again I felt bereft. Really really sparse dialog which worked fine with the witch doctor but not with the other characters, the ones who spoke English. It reminded me a bit of Cecilia Holland. Sort of like: She walked across the floor. The window was open. Somewhere a door closed with a soft thud.... Okay, maybe not so bad, but the style didn't work for me here. It might be why many call this book "an easy read" but it was anything but and not for the style of writing but for what the book was about. Hey, redemptive stories are never easy reads but calling this a "fun book" or a "Harlequin" novel as some reviewers have done is just ridiculous. (And note to some reviewers: Papua New Guinea is just north of Australia, not in Africa) If you've read Louis de Bernieres South American trilogy you will have some idea of some of the torture scenes that are described in this book. They too are thankfully tersely handled but still horrific.
Okay, and now a spoiler, and a question. Are we supposed to believe that Lewis was also redeemed by the heroine sleeping with him proving that he was still potent after losing his sexual ability after being tortured by electric wires to his nether parts? What was the real point of that? I spent most of the book thinking she was looking for a father replacement and was a little puzzled by this act for both of them. Their dialog is practically nonexistent (suprise!) but he leaves her a note along with the gift of the carved box he's always working on and signs the note "love"?
And a very very minor qualm - coming from Boston I cringe when I see Boston Common and Public Garden written as plurals: Commons and Gardens, but perhaps since I read an ARC this was fixed by an editor. I did get a kick out of the statues along the Charles River described as guano covered though.
The theme of the book kind of reminds me of The English Patient (the movie) - life is full of horrors that will scar our souls but there is still hope. We can carry on because there is still love to be found.
8 of 10 found the following review helpful:
The White Mary Aug 05, 2008
By zibilee
"eclectic reader"
The White Mary is the gripping and thrilling account of one woman's hellacious journey into the unforgiving jungles of Papua New Guinea and her struggles to get out alive. Marika Vecera is an adventuresome war reporter who is searching for Robert Lewis, a fellow reporter believed to be dead. When Marika finds evidence that Lewis may be alive, she embarks on an expedition halfway across the world to uncover the truth. Her growing unease with her boyfriend Seb's intimacy is just another excuse to embark on the odyssey that will bring her close to death and ultimately to the rediscovery of herself. Along the way she meets Tobo, a witch doctor and guide whom she hires to help her navigate through the wilderness, and who teaches her the ways of survival in the treacherous landscape. She discovers tribes from primitive societies whose superstitions and customs defy what even she, a well traveled and experienced explorer, can imagine. As her quest for Lewis continues, she finds that she must answer some difficult questions about herself, and above all, survive the experience.
Reading this book was a very visceral experience. It spoke to the questions and realities that we all must face. The action and conflict was delectable, but the level of self-introspection of the characters was the real heart of the story. The characters reflected on the questions that scare us, excite us, and repel us, never shying away from the uncomfortable answers that they attained. Many of the conundrums of religion were presented, as well as ruminations on war and the nature of humanity. At times, the philosophies expressed were uncomfortable and unsettling, but they were very finely etched, making them compelling rather than repugnant.
Another aspect of the book that heightened the experience was the author's tremendous way of conveying the atmosphere of the story. I literally felt hot and sticky reading about the searing conditions in the jungle. Salak's lush and descriptive language brought the Marika's world right into my living room. It was almost unbearable to read about the clouds of mosquitoes and the lack of provisions, especially the scarceness of water. The effect was one of complete immersion in the setting. It was an extremely convincing and detailed account of hardship that I found remarkable.
That said, I found the main character to be exceedingly unsympathetic and unlikable. She seemed to operate out of a sense of bitterness and detachment that I could barely tolerate. With all that she witnessed and experienced, one would think that she would display some sense of wonderment or awe, be it negative or positive, but this character had none. She was jaded and cold, always unheeding of advice and shrugging off the concern of the people who cared for her. She was so headstrong it was a bit annoying, always doing things the way she wanted, never learning from her experiences or that of those around her. At times, she disregarded and ignored cultural conventions that were hundreds if not thousands of years old, putting her at odds with the very people who were sheltering her. Her inability to love or be loved was chafing and convoluted. The only strong emotion she expressed was an obsession with Lewis that was quite inconsistent with her previous behavior. By the time she actually achieved some personal growth and began to change, I had given up on her. Her hard-boiled attitude had driven me away, and I wasn't able to trust that she had changed. Her self-revelation came too late, and I didn't care.
By contrast, Tobo, her guide, was a a great character. He was humble and knowledgeable about his surroundings, and although uncomplicated by western beliefs, he was honorable, respectful and wise. I found his unending bewilderment with Marika amusing and charming. His beliefs in the spirit world and of his magic was intriguing, and it seemed as though he understood Marika and her situation much better than she did herself. He was by far the best character in the book, and I wish he had been more of a feature.
This book was a mixed bag. I liked so much of it, and felt that at times it was a great work. However, the main character was a niggling disappointment coloring the story for me, and I was never able to fully lose myself in the pages. All the other elements of the novel worked perfectly. The story had depth and substance, and the sense of place was outstanding. The mood and flavor of the story, though dark, was intoxicating. Great premise and execution, but the main character was a letdown.
See all 95 customer reviews on Amazon.com
|
| | |
![The Chicago Tribune History Film: Trees to Tribune (1937) [DVD] - Teaching the History of the Newspaper Including Newspaper Production Chemicals, Logging & Printing Newsprint](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41x1EV1Ms8L._SL75_.jpg "The Chicago Tribune History Film: Trees to Tribune (1937) [DVD] - Teaching the History of the Newspaper Including Newspaper Production Chemicals, Logging & Printing Newsprint")
