Amazon.com: Fieldwork: Mischa Berlinski: Books

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60 Reviews

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

4.1 out of 5 stars (60 customer reviews)

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56 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, March 8, 2007

By

Lee Cheng "Book Dude" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fieldwork: A Novel (Hardcover)

Well-researched and excellently paced novel. I was fascinated by the level of detail and found the non-judgmental tone of the author refreshing. The novel ended up being an anthropological study of 3 separate tribes--the fictional Dyalo (who appear to be based on the Lisu tribe the novelist studied extensively--look on [...]), American Protestant missionaries, and the curious tribe that lives in figurative ivory towers who spend their lives studying other tribes. The author seems to suggest that the universal tragedy that serves as the basis for the murder mystery aspect of the novel is the result not merely a simplistic clash between East and West, but one that can happen to any peoples who do not share the same world view or to anyone in any culture subject to common human emotions.

Terrific read, and highly recommended. I look forward to Mr. Berlinksi's future literary output--maybe something set in Italy, or perhaps involving Haitian voodoo cults?

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34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why I still read fiction, May 9, 2007

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D. C. Carrad "augustabookman" (Augusta, GA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fieldwork: A Novel (Hardcover)

Ten stars. Best book I have read in ages. The author's prose style is impeccable and transparent, and he tells an interesting story in a manner fair to all the overlapping and colliding worlds he describes (missionaries, anthropologists, hill tribes, Thais, and his own generation's Western wanderers in the East). This is worth a million grad school MFA seminar meanderings. Terrific reading; hope he writes another book soon and many, many more in the future.

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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Vivid reading, April 30, 2007

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Reader "cvrcak1" (Boca Raton, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fieldwork: A Novel (Hardcover)

I decided to read this book after reading Steven King's review of it in the Entertainment Weekly magazine. I found that the beautiful thing about this book is that everyone who read it has opinion about it. It does not matter if it us the title of the book, the characters in the book, or the attempt to figure out which genre the book can be slated for. It is wonderful that all readers find Mischa Berlinski to be talented and smart young writer with a lot of potential. I have truly enjoyed this book because it speaks on many levels at once: beauty of Asia, complexity of people and cultures they are part of, religious conflict(s), tragedy of human existance no matter how hard we all try to understand it and conform to it in order to fit in the society we are part of. I strongly recommend this book -- it is a wonderful read.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Haunting
This is a rare novel that works on numerous levels in part because of the mysterious setting and the richly drawn characters. Read more

Published 2 months ago by JSmalls

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful novel
When I picked up this novel a couple of years ago, I had no idea what to expect. It was a gift and I had never read any reviews or other information regarding the author or this... Read more

Published 9 months ago by S. Pierson

5.0 out of 5 stars A gripping, thought-provoking read
I couldn't put this book down and read it all in 3 days. While Berlinski clearly states that it is fiction and the characters and tribe of villagers are made up, it is obvious... Read more

Published 13 months ago by A. Azad

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful story intersecting the lives and passions of a UCBerkeley anthropology student and a family of Christian missionaries
I found this book hard to put down the more I read. The story intersects the lives and passions of a UCBerkeley anthropology graduate student doing fieldwork in Thailand with a... Read more

Published 14 months ago by Alexandra Saperstein

4.0 out of 5 stars Anthropologists, missionaries and murder in Thailand - 4� stars
Mischa Berlinski, the eponymous narrator, is an American freelance journalist living abroad. He becomes fascinated by the mystery of an anthropologist living in tribal Thailand... Read more

Published 17 months ago by M. Bailey

2.0 out of 5 stars First half great, second half a chore
This novel has one of the best beginnings I've come across - it reeled me in immediately, and I thoroughly enjoyed it until about half way through. Read more

Published 17 months ago by paffle

3.0 out of 5 stars A very engaging writer, but a so-so book
Berlinski is an engaging writer, so much so that he's able to get away with lengthy, digressive excursions. Read more

Published 18 months ago by Jeffrey Pariser

5.0 out of 5 stars A gift to it's readers
Can't wait to read whatever Mischa Berlinski writes next. Fieldwork was given to me as a gift, and from the first page to the last, was a gift that kept on giving. Read more

Published 24 months ago by Elizabeth Alexandra

5.0 out of 5 stars It will be hard to top this one
In an afterword to this novel, the author notes that at first he was going to write a nonfiction book about Christian missionary work among a Thai native tribe, but then changed... Read more

Published on January 24, 2010 by Nancy O

5.0 out of 5 stars A Joy to Read
Fieldwork was such a happy surprise. Berlinski's writing is clear, attractive storytelling, his pacing is terrific, and I really enjoyed his portrayals of hipster expats,... Read more

Published on October 23, 2009 by Historienne

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Inside This Book (learn more)
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First Sentence:
WHEN HE WAS A YEAR out of Brown, my friend Josh O'Connor won a Thai beach vacation in a lottery in a bar. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
mission station, rice whiskey, big pink house, cooking hut

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Dan Loi, Khun Vinai, Chiang Mai, Eden Valley, David Walker, Sings Soft, Raymond Walker, Joseph Atkinson, Tom Riley, Dead Tour, George Washington, Tim Blair, Opium Man, Old Grandfather, Christian Family Alert, Josh O'Connor, Aunt Helena, Thomas Walker, Star Wars, Kamtoey Theater, Karen Leon, P�re Antoine, Pak Nai, Salween River, San Francisco

Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!