Beat Not the Bones [Paperback]

Charlotte Jay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2003

A young Australian woman comes alone to Marapai on the island of New Guinea to find out why her husband committed suicide. It is hard to believe that drink and debt could have affected David Warwick, a distinguished anthropologist in charge of protecting the natives from exploitation. Stella must penetrate deep into the heart of the jungle to solve the mystery of her husband's death.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Originally published in 1952, this mystery of a young woman's search to discover the reasons behind her anthropologist husband's suicide won the very first Edgar Award.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In this novel, a naive young girl travels to Papua New Guinea from Australia, determined to discover the truth about her late husband's death: Was it suicide or murder? The story fleshes out its characters: a sheltered girl on the verge of womanhood, father figures with unfatherly intentions, and men and women on the brink of nervous breakdowns. Geraldine Halls, writing here as Jay, has fused these elements into a suspenseful tale of terror. A world-traveling native of Australia, she spent several years working in Papua New Guinea, an experience that enabled her to landscape her story with an authentic tropical background and to create convincing anticolonial literature through her sensitive characterization of both the white administration and the native population. The work is enhanced by Australian narrator Paula Gardner, an actress who brings alive the feverish passions that fester in the New Guinea heat. Highly recommended for all popular fiction collections.?Sister M. Anna Falbo, Villa Maria Coll. Lib., Buffalo, NY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Soho Crime (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569470472
• ISBN-13: 978-1569470473
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,473,790 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This one's a gem!, March 7, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Beat Not the Bones (Paperback)

This book is part mystery, part cultural clash, part un-romanticized love story and part sociological thriller all rolled into a lovely, haunting read set in Papua, New Guinea. Although written in the early '50s, it's rather complex and has a very contemporary feel. After reading this book I wanted to find anything else Ms. Jay has written but alas, her other books seem to be unavailable in the U.S. Someone should make a movie out of this great little novel

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still Fresh 50 Years Later, September 3, 2002

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beat Not the Bones (Paperback)

The title is of course from Act 5, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost, in which Armando says "The sweet war-man is dead and rotten; sweet chucks, beat not the bones of the buried: when he breathed, he was a man." In this case, the buried is David Warwick, an anthropologist in Papua New Guinea, circa 1950, who is nominally in charge of native welfare and protection of indigenous customs. When he dies, apparently by suicide, his young wife comes from Australia to uncover the truth about the husband she barely knew.

Jay (actually a pseudonym of Geraldine Halls) packs plenty of Conradian themes into this brooding slim tale. When Stella arrives from the mainland, she finds that every white person is either lying to her or on the verge of a mental breakdown. Gone from the protective cocoon that has shielded her for her entire life, she finds herself wholly capable and unafraid to journey to the heart of darkness, to the village that holds the secret of her husband's death. It's a very dark examination of the human psyche, with plenty to say about colonialism, racism and sexism. One would be hard-pressed to tell it was written fifty years ago.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Guilt, Nightmares and Reflections - with apologies to Jung, January 31, 2001

By 

John C. Philson (Cape Elizabeth, ME USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beat Not the Bones (Paperback)

This is such a rich mystery, one that loops back on itself. Although one reading satisfies all the criteria for a great mystery, a second reading reveals how sly the author is in conveying what is a very dark vision of human motivations. I won't give any more away. Suffice to say, the atmosphere, the plotting, the insight into the psychological motivations and motives of the characters, and the knowing presentation of the British operations in the Territories gives this an all-too credible feel. On first reading, the horrible secret may seem dated, but on the second reading, with all the plot and character machinations truly revealed, the secret becomes all too appaling. This book was very hard to find in the stores, by the way. Enjoy!