Easter Island [Paperback]

Jennifer Vanderbes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2004

In this extraordinary fiction debut--rich with love and betrayal, history and intellectual passion--two remarkable narratives converge on Easter Island, one of the most remote places in the world.

It is 1913. Elsa Pendleton travels from England to Easter Island with her husband, an anthropologist sent by the Royal Geographical Society to study the colossal moai statues, and her younger sister. What begins as familial duty for Elsa becomes a grand adventure; on Easter Island she discovers her true calling. But, out of contact with the outside world, she is unaware that World War I has been declared and that a German naval squadron, fleeing the British across the South Pacific, is heading toward the island she now considers home.

Sixty years later, Dr. Greer Farraday, an American botanist, travels to Easter Island to research the island’s ancient pollen, but more important, to put back the pieces of her life after the death of her husband.

A series of brilliant revelations brings to life the parallel quests of these two intrepid young women as they delve into the centuries-old mysteries of Easter Island. Slowly unearthing the island’s haunting past, they are forced to confront turbulent discoveries about themselves and the people they love, changing their lives forever.

Easter Island is a tour de force of storytelling that will establish Jennifer Vanderbes as one of the most gifted writers of her generation.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Restrained passion and conflicted loyalties drive this sweeping debut novel, in which two women of different eras experience the mysteries of Easter Island. In 1912, Elsa Pendleton's father dies and leaves her to care for her 19-year-old sister, Alice, who is beautiful but not quite right in the head. To secure their position, 22-year-old Elsa marries Edward Beazley, a contemporary of her father's who is an anthropologist with the Royal Geographical Society in England. They travel to Easter Island, where Edward plans to study the giant moai sculptures, and Elsa finds herself immersed in a new and harsh culture. As she contends with revelations concerning her husband and her sister, she befriends the native islanders and becomes engrossed in unlocking the meaning of the symbols she finds on wooden tablets. In a parallel narrative, Greer Farraday, a young American botanist recovering from a disastrous marriage to an older professor, arrives on the island in 1973 to uncover the mystery of the island's lack of native trees. One of Greer's fellow island researchers is Vicente Portales, a cryptographer attempting to interpret the rongorongo tablets and breech Greer's defenses. As Elsa and Greer's stories play out in alternating sections, a third element is intertwined: the tale of Graf Von Spee, the German admiral who led his ill-fated fleet across the South Pacific at the outbreak of World War I. Vanderbes knows how to craft suspense, and the narratives-while packed with vivid historical and scientific detail-move forward on the strength of her fully realized characters. When the connection between Elsa and Greer is revealed, it illuminates the novel. Like the overcast skies of Easter Island, this impressive debut is rich in shades of gray: meteorological, scientific, intellectual and emotional.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Through the interwoven stories of two women 60 years apart, this novel comes close to finding answers to the following age-old mysteries: the World War I defeat of Admiral Von Spee, the existence of the giant statues on Easter Island, the origins of the first flower, and why smart women let men take advantage of them. In 1913, Elsa accompanies her husband and sister to Easter Island for an anthropological study. Once there, she becomes a linguist and discovers the reasons behind the destruction of the giant Moai statues. World War I intervenes before the origins can be revealed to the rest of the world. Sixty years later, botanist Greer Farraday, suffering from the knowledge that her husband plagiarized her work as well as from his death, picks up where Elsa left off. The two compelling characters' stories of betrayal are equally engrossing. The story of Admiral Von Spee is less engaging and rather unbelievably tied to Elsa. This historical novel deftly combines romance, warfare, and science for the rationalist and romantic alike. Marta Segal
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385336748
• ISBN-13: 978-0385336741
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (90 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #462,684 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jennifer Vanderbes is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and the recipient of numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and a New York Public Library Cullman Fellowship. Her debut novel, Easter Island, was translated into sixteen languages, and her essays and reviews appear in The New York Times and Washington Post. She lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, July 8, 2003

By 

suburban psychologist (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Easter Island (Hardcover)

This is a superlative book on many levels. The inquiry into many mysteries surrounding Easter Island is extremely fascinating and thoroughly researched. Scientific issues are discussed in a compelling way that makes the reader understand and enjoy each new revelation, almost like a mystery being solved on C.S.I. At the same time, the two female protagonists are beautifully presented, and although seperated by several generations, their stories become interwoven in the issues that they struggle with in their inner and external lives. As a psychologist I found the description of Alice, the autist and possibly brain-damaged sister of Elsa, as well as their relationship to each other, remarkably and authentically presented. The issues related to women at different ages struggling to become respected scientific researchers are extremely well portrayed. Vanderbes's ability to interweave a myrid of topics- interpersonal, geographical, scientific and historical, is truly amazing.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and Interesting, July 6, 2003

By 

Deborah Mcmillion Nering "artistreader" (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Easter Island (Hardcover)

I don't understand the poor reviews of this incredible and vital novel. The characters were very compelling, their stories poignant, but even more the history, the scientific research, the mystery of Easter Island itself would have been enough to hold my attention. But then I am not put off by the science, and instead relish it. I wish more books of fiction were this well thought out and included this much science. After reading WOMEN IN THE FIELD there's a whole goldmine of future novels like this one. The way the two stories finally mesh was a sad but satisfying ending. Wonderful, I look forward to more.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Curious and Interesting Story, April 12, 2005

By 

ellen close (Pomfret, Vermont) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Easter Island (Hardcover)

This is a curious and unpredictable novel that could almost be true, for all the Easter Island studies that are its bedrock. It begins with the threads of 3 lives, and deftly spins them into a compelling tale. The first thread is German battleship Admiral von Spee, whose fleet of 8 ships is trying to avoid capture by Allied forces. The second thread is Elsa, a young woman left penniless upon the death of her father, whose plans for the future require caring for her younger sister who suffers from a form of retardation called amentia. And the third is Greer, a dedicated pollen research analyst. How these disparate lives join across space and time at Easter Island is quite a masterful combination of science and storytelling. The barren landscape and mystery of the tumbled statues are investigated and described, and come to symbolize an ancient and unknown culture with parallels to the future hopes and hidden pasts of the various players. The writing is enchanting, with humor, vivid imagery, and poetic expression. The scientific foundation is central to the story, and essential to the characters. This exceptional story will leave you wishing for a plane ticket and your own research grant.