Hello to the Cannibals

by Richard Bausch

Book Overview

"My heart stopped peacefully, its beating grew slow and weak, and then just -- stopped. I died young. There is, really, only a little to tell." And so ended, in 1900, the short but remarkable life of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060930802
• ISBN13: 9780060930806
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 688 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.3" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS OF ALL TIME!

What's not to like about this book? The writing is top notch, the characters are all finely drawn, and the unusual storyline makes it a page turner. I had never heard of Mary Kingsley and greatly enjoyed discovering her through this well-crafted novel; after researching her further, I was pleased to learn that many events in the novel were real. Those who are so critical of "Hello to the Cannibals" must not like books that gracefully interweave adventure, nature, passion, heartbreak, danger, wrenching grief, and tenderness. Read only if you long to explore the jungles of the human heart.

What can I say?

I loved it. I was completely inside his characters from the get-go, and they haven't let me go yet. Hurrah for character driven writing! Thank you, thank you.

A deeply moving novel written both beautifully and lovingly

Mary Kingsley was a brilliant, self-educated, articulate, well read, strong willed, Victorian woman. For thirty-one years she was trapped in the roles of maid and caregiver to her family, until her parents died. Only then, could she finally escape her circumscribed life in England, to follow her wanderlust --- to pack up and travel. As a result, she became one of the first females to brave the mysterious environs of West Africa. Her book, TRAVELS IN WEST AFRICA, remains a classic to this day.A part of Kingsley's legacy is to be found in her stoicism and loyalty; in her honesty and courage; in her commitment to her family, and unwavering devotion to her friends; the men whose respect she gained as a writer, a traveler, and a humane being. In HELLO TO THE CANNIBALS, Richard Bausch's latest novel, he writes both beautifully and lovingly as he celebrates the life of his heroine."I wanted in particular to write a book about friendship, and about the affections we form for those who have gone before us. Some of what Mary Kingsley is known to have done is here, all of it in a form that is transmuted by fancy ... ," writes Bausch in his authors' notes.But Bausch does not simply give us Mary Kingsley's story as a straight, dry narrative of "faction"; rather, he segues back and forth from Victorian England to the American south of the late nineteen eighties to offer readers a second voice, that of Lily Austin, who becomes not only the reader's guide to Kingsley's extraordinary life, but also confides the confusions she must reconcile on her own journey to some kind of self fulfillment.Lily's dream is to write a play about Kinglsey, working title: HELLO TO THE CANNIBALS. She is the daughter of theater people and has been enchanted by Kingsley since her fourteenth birthday, when she received a book of famous explorers. Kingsley, of course, was the only female. Lily is inspired by this woman's larger than life accomplishments and is determined to celebrate her on the stage.Bausch's strategy is ingenious: he frames his story through fictional letters and journals from the past juxtaposed against the ones Lily writes in the present. As the novel unfolds Lily begins to write to Mary in the same way Mary "wrote in her journals to a fictionalized reader in the future". We learn about both women in long lyrical passages that seem to compress time and put them in the same space. The architecture of the book is riveted by the similarities in the women without losing the sharp contrasts between them.This works beautifully because Bausch uses language and events like an alchemist to create an atmosphere wherein the women seem to become "friends". Bausch's writing is so skillful, his genius for setting so real, his ear for dialogue pitch perfect, his gift for plot unmatched and his ability to seamlessly segue back and forth from nineteenth century England to the American south in the twentieth century, resembles the fabric of a tightly woven tapestry imbued with histori

Terrific book

A major achievement-- two engrossing narratives interwoven, each featuring a tough, idealistic, unusual young woman who makes her own path through life. The characters are so convincing they might be your family or your old college roommates. My favorite novel of the year.

Hello to a truly wonderful read!

Not only did I love learning about the real life adventures of the explorer Mary Kingsley, I was also genuinely moved by and completely imvolved in the life of the fictional Lily Austin. The two storylines weave in and out of each other beautifully and I find myself thinking of these women as if I've spent time with them in real life. A winner!