The Shark God: Encounters with Ghosts and Ancestors in the South Pacific [Hardcover]

Charles Montgomery (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 3, 2006

When Charles Montgomery was ten years old, he stumbled upon the memoirs of his great-grandfather, a seafaring missionary in the South Pacific. Twenty years later and a century after that journey, entranced by the world of black magic and savagery the bishop described, Montgomery set out for Melanesia in search of the very spirits and myths his great-grandfather had sought to destroy.  In The Shark God, he retraces his ancestor’s path through the far-flung islands, exploring the bond between faith and magic, the eerie persistence of the spirit world, and the heavy footprints of the British Empire.

In the South Pacific, he discovers a world of sorcery and shark worship, where Christian and pagan rituals coexist and an ordinary day is marked by confrontations with America-worshiping cult leaders and militants alike. A defiantly original blend of history and memoir, anthropology and travel writing, The Shark God is ultimately a tale of personal and political transformation.
 
“The Shark God, a travel story as dark and twisted as one might ever wish to hear . . . reaches a superb climax with some apocalyptically page-turning scenes.”—Guardian
 
“A fascinating account of the drama of Melanesian life.”—Times Literary Supplement
 
“With exquisite writing, Montgomery lovingly captures the beauty and the horrors, the mysteries and the shams of the people and places he visits.”—Publishers Weekly
 
“A very real and memorable talent. . . . The endurance [Montgomery] displayed on his travels was admirable, the adventures he survived were tremendous, and the quality of his prose seems matched only by the wisdom of his observations.”—Simon Winchester, Globe and Mail (Toronto)

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Montgomery's great-grandfather Henry was an Anglican missionary in the South Pacific at the end of the 19th century, and his book, The Light of Melanesia, recounted the horrors of heathen life and the attempts to bring "One True God" to the islands. Curious as to whether the missionaries or spirits ultimately triumphed, Canadian writer Montgomery sought the real history of the islands. His plan was to follow his great-grandfather's route through the South Pacific. He writes, "I would cross the reefs and wade to shore on Nukapu [in the Solomon Islands]... where history and myth would be made utterly clear to me by someone very old and wise." Montgomery makes his disbelief—in both the religion of his great-grandfather and that of the Melanesians—quite plain. Yet he grapples with his doubt and longs to understand the mystical nature of the natives. With exquisite writing, Montgomery lovingly captures the beauty and the horrors, the mysteries and the shams of the people and places he visits. His is a skeptical eye, and Montgomery is resistant to the miracles the people wish to show him, which admittedly are not terribly convincing, but he doggedly persists, seeking to be convinced of something, anything. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Montgomery's great-grandfather was the Right Reverend Henry Hutchinson Montgomery, a missionary bishop who had lived on the islands of Melanesia. The author discovered a book that the bishop had left, which contained faded monotones of black men clutching spears and photographs of bare-chested women. The book contained an account of a journey made more than a century ago, cataloguing the horrors of perilous missionary work. Dozens of traders and evangelists had been murdered on the shores of the islands that were scattered across 1,200 miles of ocean between Fiji and New Guinea. The unluckiest ones were cooked and eaten. Montgomery went to these islands to probe the bond between faith and magic. He found that the inhabitants had infused Christianity with the sorcery and shark spirits of their ancestors to invent a pantheon of new gods. The author's documentation and analyses of these people and their world is a haunting reading experience. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Harper; 1st US Ed edition (July 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006076516X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060765163
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,365,568 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than meets the eye, August 13, 2006

By 

Michael R. Perkins (Planet Earth) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Shark God: Encounters with Ghosts and Ancestors in the South Pacific (Hardcover)

What is relegion? Why do we believe what we believe? These are important questions since all of us look for meaning within our existence. This book offers valuable insight into those issues. Not just a travel book.

This well written book takes you deep into the South Pacific like no other book I have read before. In many ways this book transcends the travel category and takes you into the relm of relegion and theology as well as anthropology and a little political science thrown in too just for good measure. I was very pleasantly surprised.

I also like the way this book helps to educate us on a part of the world that is so far off the beaten path, at the edge of our existence, that we ignore it. Huge mistake. Read this book, ponder the issues it brings up, and you will learn a lot.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No-man's island, March 14, 2007

By 

Eric Chaffee (Alden NY) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Shark God: Encounters with Ghosts and Ancestors in the South Pacific (Hardcover)

We're all interested in God. (Even atheists make a theological statement when saying there is no god; and presumably, they've said so based on an informed consideration of some sort.) Montgomery takes us on an extra-ordinary quest in pursuit of God-knowledge. And he does so in the footsteps of his great grandfather, who was a missionary to the people of the south sea islands. He starts as a well-studied skeptic on a grand adventure. Along the way we encounter history and myth surrounding magic, cannibal stories, hallucination, faith, and genuine self-sacrifice. And we see our stalwart tour guide grow as a result of his quest. His appreciation for the power of myth expands to reveal the truth that it can convey. And his spirituality makes a significant transition from that of someone inquiring into the basis of religion -- to observing its significant influence on the human family, in practice.

There are occasional sentences written in a creole which might require a bit of a stretch for some readers -- but it really is English if you sound them out carefully. (Let your eye and ear work together to parse those words, out loud, if necessary.) The editors would have done well to include a glossary for those who are intimidated by foreign-looking words. But please don't let this discourage you from this very enjoyable book which tracks a coming of age from spiritual infancy into a dawning maturity.

~eric.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Manufacturing mythologies, February 27, 2007

By 

Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Shark God: Encounters with Ghosts and Ancestors in the South Pacific (Hardcover)

Having a missionary ancestor is a fine prompt for travel. Most early missionaries, to justify their existence and purpose, were dogged journal keepers. Montgomery's grandfather was no exception. Rev. H.H. Montgomery had not only kept extensive notes, but much of that collection and other thoughts were produced in a book, "The Light of Melanesia". Discovering that account led Vancouver-born Charles to light out to the Pacific to see the results of his grandfather's and other missionaries' endeavours. In keeping his own records, Charles has produced a 21st Century adventure yarn of captivating interest.

If there is a pivotal point in this book, it is the 1871 "murder" of Bishop John C. Patteson. The bishop seems to have died happy - martyrdom has an appeal to some religious folk. The century following may have justified his bizarre view, since his death has become a symbol to the local people. For one thing, they are able to brag that "we don't kill white folks any more". The author has some reason to doubt this claim as he travels through Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. He has trouble separating the various Christianities spread throughout the islands. A good many of them are still practising various forms of ancient witchcraft as part of their new religious activities.

Montgomery sets himself a quest to find Melanesian witchcraft in its pure form. This is easier told than accomplished, since today's missionaries, and many of their converts, hunt down the practitioners. Sometimes with violence. The islanders, however, have a long warrior tradition supporting their activities and working out winners and losers is challenging. Still, for him to unearth the ancient practices, he must trek deep into mountain hideaways, convince those claiming to hold special powers that he won't reveal them to Christian authorities, and come away unscathed. If the Melanesians don't do him in, the weather is always waiting for its own chance. "Getting there is half the fun" as the author haunts docks and ships seeking elusive transport. Ships run weekly, monthly, or when fuel money is produced. His persistence ought to be worth some kind of award.

His luck might be due to some recognition, as well. In the islands, the witchcraft Montgomery seeks is based on "mana". Mana is the life force and may be transferred from one human to another - by head hunting [cognitive scientists take note]. The more exalted the victim, the greater the mana. The missionaries, and the military forces they frequently called in to support them, sought to quell the practice. Their substitution was "Christian love", which often took a beating when the islanders objected to their land being taken or their wives and daughters raped. Montgomery laces the history of missionary work with his personal account seamlessly. Daily confronting the results of what the missionaries imposed [this book was originally titled: "The Last Heathen"] Montgomery's scepticism of their work can only be enhanced. Belief, however, is an immense force among humans. Montgomery realises he cannot dismiss it thoughtlessly. The result of his quest results in a fascinating essay on what "religion" has come to mean to the Pacific Islanders. It's far from what the missionaries intended - and intend - but it's demonstrably real. The book is a valuable social commentary, both about the Pacific islands and our own culture. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]