Still unattached and childless at fifty-nine, world-renowned anthropologist Gray Kaiser is seemingly invincible - and untouchable. Returning to make a documentary at the site of her first great triumph in Kenya, she is accompanied by her faithful middle-aged assistant, Errol McEchern, who has loved her for years in silence. When sexy young graduate assistant Raphael Sarasola arrives on the scene, Gray is captivated and falls hopelessly in love - before an amazed and injured Errol's eyes. As he follows the progress of their affair with jealous fascination, Errol watches helplessly from the sidelines as a proud and fierce woman is reduced to miserable dependence through subtle, cruel, and calculating manipulation.
"Exotic and inventive. . . . It is hard not to admire the breadth and consistency of Lionel Shriver's inventiveness and the exuberance of her imagination." - New York Times Book Review
"Lionel Shriver is a vastly talented writer. . . . This book deserves to be read." - Kansas City Star
Interpersonal power plays fuel this academic adventure novel, featuring anthropologist Gray Kaiser. Fred Stella takes an unembellished, scholarly approach to narrating Kaiser's discovery of a hidden African tribe that is controlled by an enigmatic Westerner named Charles Corgie. The author's clever clinically detached observations of Kaiser's affair with Corgie, and later with a graduate student named Raphael, reflect the tone with which the anthropologist herself catalogs her human subjects. Stella's straightforward narration enhances the author's attempt to cast the lens of observation on the observer. However, Stella doesn't shy away from projecting high emotion when necessary. He ramps up the volume, humor, and bravado to reflect the larger-than-life Corgie while deftly handling Kaiser's emotional journey. J.T. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
About the Author
Lionel Shriver's books include The Post-Birthday World, Game Control, and the Orange Prize-winning We Need to Talk About Kevin. She writes frequently for the Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and The Independent. She lives in London.
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