Customer Reviews

The White Mary: A Novel

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Marika Vecera is a fearless war journalist, traveling to war zones that many male reporters have avoided. When her idol, the famous journalist Robert Lewis, commits suicide, Marika feels driven to write his biography. In the course of researching her book, Marika receives a letter from a missionary who claims to have seen Lewis in Papua New Guinea. Marika drops everything to follow up the lead, embarking on a grueling journey that may cost the journalist her life. As the story progresses, we see that Marika's quest is as much a journey to find herself as it is to find Robert Lewis.

The White Mary is one story told in two parts. The main part of the book covers Marika's search for Lewis in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, while the events that drove her to that search are told in a series of flashbacks. These flashbacks, though insightful looks into Marika's character, are the weakest points in the story. I found Marika's interaction with her boyfriend Seb to be unrealistic. The dialogue between the two of them just felt stilted and forced. Marika is an interesting, multi-faceted character, but with each flashback, I found her less likable. Her journey ultimately changes her for the better, but that change came too late for me.

There were elements of this book that I loved. Salak's descriptions of the jungle are absolutely breathtaking. Tobo, Marika's guide through the jungle, is a fascinating character. Clever, resourceful and wise, he saves Marika's life on more than one occasion. Kira Salak, like Marika, is an accomplished war journalist, and her experience is evident in the descriptions of Marika's time spent in various war zones.

The White Mary is gritty, intense and, at times, disturbing. There are graphic depictions of torture and rape, and one scene towards the end of the novel is so disturbingly vivid that it may turn even the strongest of stomachs.

I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. As I stated earlier, there were many things that I loved about this book, but in the end, the things I didn't like stood out more. While I can't give it an enthusiastic endorsement, I am glad that I took the time to read The White Mary.

The main reason why I chose to read this book was the fact that I have just finished watching the last season of Lost which has rapidly turned into one of my favorite shows of all time and I needed a quick jungle fix to prolong the euphoria. Rather than just being a good read, "The White Mary" surpassed my expectations and was one of the best books I have ever read, I feel so lucky that I decided to read this!

Intense, addictive and at some passages almost unreadable but in a good way, the world of young journalist who decides to find her inspirational favorite writer Robert Lewis is turned upside down as she dives into a life changing adventure. Marika Vecera has had enough of dangerous journalistic work overseas in war ridden countries where murder and thievery rule daily life, when her relationship suffers at her own decisions she decides to follow hear heart and seek out the one man who can give her answers. The problem is that he has been proclaimed dead due to a suicide possible by drowning in Malaysia, but rumors that reach Marika about his sighting in the most remote jungles of Papua New Guinea spark her interest at finding him, no matter how dangerous the journey. When she starts looking for him her outlook on life is weak, she is not afraid of death but the more her life is threatened with various occurrences she learns new things about herself that open the reader's eyes to deep corners of our own souls. The journey is fascinating but the future often bleak and the reader never knows when it will all suddenly end. I can't remember the last time I was so engrossed in such a rich, beautiful novel.

Half way through reading this I looked up the author, Kira Salak and found her website. Her own journeys to almost all the continents are documented with stunning photos; I spend a whole afternoon browsing her site, looking at the scrapbook of her life, so enormous and exciting that her life looks like an adventure movie in comparison to someone like myself. Through her eyes and words I too feel that the world is large and remote but accessible for those who really want to see each nook and cranny. I can't wait to read more of her work; this is one strong and brilliant woman.

- Kasia S.

Unfortunately, the author spends this entire book breaking the cliched cardinal rule of writing -- show, don't tell. For example, we're told about the protagonist's murdered father and insane mother. We're _told_. We are never shown any flashbacks in which these people are alive and relating to the protagonist. We're just supposed to swallow the scenario whole, and believe in it, care about it, for the balance of the book.

The book's third-person-omniscient point of view doesn't help matters. At some point, we're inside the head of nearly every character in the book, being told things rather than being shown them. Sometimes we're in more than one character's head in a single scene. Sometimes we're inside the "head" of something like a knife or a headache -- more than once, I noticed the author personifying objects and sensations. There was a headache or a fever that "wanted" to split somebody's head in two, or something like that. Lots of window dressing, but very little meaning.

The book tells nearly everything and shows almost nothing, and despite the author's seeming desire to be explicit, the writing remains imprecise. For just one of many possible examples of the imprecision -- at one point, the author describes a young government official as wearing a uniformly "solemn" expression, but a couple of sentences later notes that his eyes are darting around the room, which doesn't seem very solemn at all. The book is full of this type of garbled observation.

The characters are flat and expository. The romantic male figure, Seb, is meant to be sensitive and caring but he comes off sappy. It seems like Seb's character is propped up to show the reader how businesslike and non-touchyfeely Marika, the protagonist, is. The two characters continually butt against one other and never engage in a way that seems believable. Even when they're at their most comfortable with one another, they speak in pronouncements about how much they care about each other. The famous journalist Marika pursues tells her the story of his murdered son's decomposition, and somehow that story is lacks immediacy, lacks horror. Also baffling were the fact that the famous journalist mentioned having told the decomposition story to native children who couldn't understand English, and the fact that the author includes almost nothing about Marika's reaction to hearing this story. It seems to have been included as pure exposition.

In addition to being flat, the characters were just plain implausible. I had a really hard time believing that the hardened journalist would confess to Marika that he'd promised himself he wouldn't care about anyone anymore (but, of course, he finds himself caring about _her_). Certainly not at the point in the book at which this happens. I also had a hard time believing that Marika, a professional journalist who regularly visits countries where women are second-class citizens or worse, would balk in such an ignorant manner at being made to go to a menstrual hut while having her period. Surely someone in that line of work would have some understanding of customs and superstitions that aren't in line with modern civilization.

The closest the book comes to creating a real character is with the character of Tobo the witch doctor. Tobo is dryly funny, foolish, superstitious, wise, fatalistic, and caring all at once. I found him to be the only likeable character in the book, and I was pleased that he had the last word.

But truthfully, I wouldn't pick up this book just for Tobo. The writing is very bland, and scenes that are meant to stir some emotion in the reader (including, unfortunately, the torture scenes) simply do not work. Nothing really happens in this book, which would have been something very different in the hands of a more dynamic writer.

Maybe one of my problems in reading this book was that it was the second book in a row I had read that was written by a journalist. The style is terse, descriptions are short or nonexistent. Moods are evoked by few words. Not to say I like lengthy wordy books, say like Jonathan Strange, but I wanted a middle ground. The only way I could continue to read was to pretend I was reading a newspaper article where brevity counts. It helped until dialog came along and then again I felt bereft. Really really sparse dialog which worked fine with the witch doctor but not with the other characters, the ones who spoke English. It reminded me a bit of Cecilia Holland. Sort of like: She walked across the floor. The window was open. Somewhere a door closed with a soft thud.... Okay, maybe not so bad, but the style didn't work for me here. It might be why many call this book "an easy read" but it was anything but and not for the style of writing but for what the book was about. Hey, redemptive stories are never easy reads but calling this a "fun book" or a "Harlequin" novel as some reviewers have done is just ridiculous. (And note to some reviewers: Papua New Guinea is just north of Australia, not in Africa) If you've read Louis de Bernieres South American trilogy you will have some idea of some of the torture scenes that are described in this book. They too are thankfully tersely handled but still horrific.

Okay, and now a spoiler, and a question. Are we supposed to believe that Lewis was also redeemed by the heroine sleeping with him proving that he was still potent after losing his sexual ability after being tortured by electric wires to his nether parts? What was the real point of that? I spent most of the book thinking she was looking for a father replacement and was a little puzzled by this act for both of them. Their dialog is practically nonexistent (suprise!) but he leaves her a note along with the gift of the carved box he's always working on and signs the note "love"?

And a very very minor qualm - coming from Boston I cringe when I see Boston Common and Public Garden written as plurals: Commons and Gardens, but perhaps since I read an ARC this was fixed by an editor. I did get a kick out of the statues along the Charles River described as guano covered though.

The theme of the book kind of reminds me of The English Patient (the movie) - life is full of horrors that will scar our souls but there is still hope. We can carry on because there is still love to be found.

The White Mary is the gripping and thrilling account of one woman's hellacious journey into the unforgiving jungles of Papua New Guinea and her struggles to get out alive. Marika Vecera is an adventuresome war reporter who is searching for Robert Lewis, a fellow reporter believed to be dead. When Marika finds evidence that Lewis may be alive, she embarks on an expedition halfway across the world to uncover the truth. Her growing unease with her boyfriend Seb's intimacy is just another excuse to embark on the odyssey that will bring her close to death and ultimately to the rediscovery of herself. Along the way she meets Tobo, a witch doctor and guide whom she hires to help her navigate through the wilderness, and who teaches her the ways of survival in the treacherous landscape. She discovers tribes from primitive societies whose superstitions and customs defy what even she, a well traveled and experienced explorer, can imagine. As her quest for Lewis continues, she finds that she must answer some difficult questions about herself, and above all, survive the experience.

Reading this book was a very visceral experience. It spoke to the questions and realities that we all must face. The action and conflict was delectable, but the level of self-introspection of the characters was the real heart of the story. The characters reflected on the questions that scare us, excite us, and repel us, never shying away from the uncomfortable answers that they attained. Many of the conundrums of religion were presented, as well as ruminations on war and the nature of humanity. At times, the philosophies expressed were uncomfortable and unsettling, but they were very finely etched, making them compelling rather than repugnant.

Another aspect of the book that heightened the experience was the author's tremendous way of conveying the atmosphere of the story. I literally felt hot and sticky reading about the searing conditions in the jungle. Salak's lush and descriptive language brought the Marika's world right into my living room. It was almost unbearable to read about the clouds of mosquitoes and the lack of provisions, especially the scarceness of water. The effect was one of complete immersion in the setting. It was an extremely convincing and detailed account of hardship that I found remarkable.

That said, I found the main character to be exceedingly unsympathetic and unlikable. She seemed to operate out of a sense of bitterness and detachment that I could barely tolerate. With all that she witnessed and experienced, one would think that she would display some sense of wonderment or awe, be it negative or positive, but this character had none. She was jaded and cold, always unheeding of advice and shrugging off the concern of the people who cared for her. She was so headstrong it was a bit annoying, always doing things the way she wanted, never learning from her experiences or that of those around her. At times, she disregarded and ignored cultural conventions that were hundreds if not thousands of years old, putting her at odds with the very people who were sheltering her. Her inability to love or be loved was chafing and convoluted. The only strong emotion she expressed was an obsession with Lewis that was quite inconsistent with her previous behavior. By the time she actually achieved some personal growth and began to change, I had given up on her. Her hard-boiled attitude had driven me away, and I wasn't able to trust that she had changed. Her self-revelation came too late, and I didn't care.

By contrast, Tobo, her guide, was a a great character. He was humble and knowledgeable about his surroundings, and although uncomplicated by western beliefs, he was honorable, respectful and wise. I found his unending bewilderment with Marika amusing and charming. His beliefs in the spirit world and of his magic was intriguing, and it seemed as though he understood Marika and her situation much better than she did herself. He was by far the best character in the book, and I wish he had been more of a feature.

This book was a mixed bag. I liked so much of it, and felt that at times it was a great work. However, the main character was a niggling disappointment coloring the story for me, and I was never able to fully lose myself in the pages. All the other elements of the novel worked perfectly. The story had depth and substance, and the sense of place was outstanding. The mood and flavor of the story, though dark, was intoxicating. Great premise and execution, but the main character was a letdown.

I got this book as an advance reader's edition through the amazon Vine program. Not normally the type of book I read, but it sounded interesting.

Kira Salak herself has a very interesting background. If you go to this book on amazon, she has posted some links to photos she took both in the Congo and Papua New Guinea.

The book itself deals with Marika Vecera; a journalist who covers stories in war torn countries. At a talk she meets a psychologist named Seb; who introduces her to happiness and a different world where Marika isn't constantly under threat of death. After a particularly dangerous assignment in the Congo, Marika hears of the death of Robert Lewis, a man whose journalism she has long admired. When rumors surface of him having been seen in Papau New Guina she decides to check it out. Will her trip to Papau New Guinea destroy Marika's relationship with Seb? Will she find Robert Lewis? Will she live through her trip through the dense jungle? These are all questions the book answers.

The book was very well written and very gripping. It bounces from the past that lead to her trip to Papau New Guinea (PNG) to the present where she is fighting her way through the jungle. I really found the subject intriguing and had a lot of trouble putting this book down. The characters were interesting and the setting very unique. You could really tell that Salak had experienced these places and been here before.

This book was not for the faint of heart. The descriptions of war scenes are vivid as is the the gruesome trip through the jungle. The part of this book I found most interesting were the justifications that war journalists had for why they do this work. It was neat to see into the mind of a war journalist and try to understand what those people get out of doing such a crazily dangerous job.

Of course Marika's journey of learning how to live through happiness versus sadness in also interesting. As is some of her contemplation on why she has such a hard time living a normal day to day live. At one point she explains that listening to Seb in the kitchen seems so unimportant and trivial considering that a day ago she was struggling to survive shootings, bombings and kidnapping in the Congo. It made me grateful for the life I live.

Salak is a great writer and this was an awesome, eye-opening book.
karissabooks.blogspot.com

The arduous journey of journalist Marika Vecera through the jungle, swamps, and mountains of Papua New Guinea to determine the verity of another journalist's (Robert Lewis) suicide forms the basis of this story of survival and redemption. Marika, a Czech immigrant to the US, has a sorrowful past. Her father was the target of a political execution and her mother descended into schizophrenia after his death.

Marika was subsequently inspired by the writings of Pulitzer Prize-winning Lewis to become a journalist and enter war-torn and dangerous countries such as Angola, the Congo, and Liberia to expose the torture and suffering of others. However, she has not come to terms with her own personal suffering, which affects her ability to foster deep, sustaining relationships. Her career is successful and exciting but she is wounded and savaged by her own demons.

This was a challenging book review to write. Why? Because White Mary is a combination of spell-binding and stilted, beautiful and blemished. This is journalist Kira Salak's first novel, and maybe she just needed a peerless editor to fix the flaws. But this novel transcended its weaknesses and what remains in my memory is the ripe and horrible beauty of its prose and story. I experienced the page-turning and powerful pleasure of a 5-star book. But for the purposes of fidelity to criticism and other readers' sensibilities (who may be bothered by these flaws), I gave it a 4-star rating.

Salak's dialogue was sometimes stiff and decorous. It should have bothered me, but it didn't (I will get to that). Her handling of the themes of loss, trauma, survival, redemption, fear, love and forgiveness are structurally simplified and calculated, even predictable, in its arc of unfolding. This prevented many readers from enjoying the story as a whole.

I had the inverse experience, as the whole of the story enveloped me and allowed me to forgive its shortcomings. The journey and its dark heart reverberated with elements of spiritual grace. Although Seb, Marika's boyfriend, borders on one-dimensional thinness and sainthood, what lifted him from type was his Buddhist-like presence and allure that heightened his compassionate vulnerability. His characteristic platitudes were obscured by his utter humanity. As an example, Seb expresses the principle of "mudita," a Sanskrit word difficult to describe in English but closely resembling the feeling of sincere rejoicing for another person's good fortune and success. It is a practice he embraces and attains and is a significantly occurring refrain for Marika's inward journey. And I felt the deep love he has for Marika as authentic.

The pulsing and ongoing, almost agonizing pleasure of this narrative resides in the proverbial and elusive presence of Robert Lewis. Marika has never met Lewis, yet they are conjoined inextricably. His presence or absence, his anima, echoes throughout the story.

Paradoxically, Marika's obsession with finding Lewis overshadows her relationship with Seb and keeps her at arm's length from her past traumas (both familial and in the field as a journalist), yet Lewis is also the key to unleashing and unlocking the walls to Marika's joy and redemption. Until Marika can determine whether Lewis is dead or alive, she is prevented from finishing her biography on him and is, more importantly, stuck in a psychic purgatory.

Marika is accompanied through PNG by Tobo, a native guide of the region and a colorful counterpoint to her sensibilities. Tobo is fierce and daunting and often wry and cunning. He places the mourning necklace of his sister around Marika's neck and makes incantations throughout the journey to help protect the "wei meiri" (white mary), who he sees as spiritually broken and certain to die.

Although some passages, dialogue, and philosophical insights are varnished or inflated, my ultimate and visceral experience was to bypass these flaws and melt into the unnerving and unsettling beauty of this generously humane story.

A distinguished book is one that doesn't end with the last page; the vibrations hum considerably and provocatively. The White Mary is a song that soars, through the flat notes and even the off-key ones. As a whole, it is a tender, harsh, mystifying, and compelling aria of survival and love.

I couldn't wait for this novel to come out. I knew the author had personal experience in what she was writing about. I knew a good part of it would include a journey into the jungles of New Guinea. I knew part of the theme would deal with the media. Those were hot buttons for me. But what threw me for a loop was her writing was not only great, but the story even better than I could have imagined. For ONCE the hype was not only met/ but surpassed.
She had obviously been there, done that. More importantly, she had come to terms with her experiences in such a way that she could convey them to the reader through her characters and her stage of the jungle/media.
The themes are right up to date and most important to the times we live in. There is torture, war, the way the news is reported/not reported, and much more. Unexpectantly there is the story of how one goes deep into one's self to seek reason in mankind's inhumanity to mankind. It is deep. An ambtious goal for any writer. She does in spades.
What a wonderfull novel.
The story still hasn't left me. I find myself rereading some passages simply to cool my jets/as today's headlines drive ME into madness.
A very plesant suprise indeed. Not only entertaining but very thought provoking & intelligent.
P.S. The character Tobo, who is her guide, is worth the price of admission alone. Reminiscent of James Clavell's insight to non-western ways of perception. I would like to see him continue in other adventures of mind, daring, & soul.

When I first read the description of this book and also the bio of the author I found myself feeling a bit intimidated. The Author at a very young age was hop skipping around the globe while I was debating if I should drive to a town two hours away on my own. We really grew up in different worlds. Her heroine in the book was leading a life not unlike hers. Marika, her main character has spent most of her life traveling the globe, going to dangerous interesting parts of the world and then writing about them, ultimately gaining great notoriety. I have to admit that I was intimidated. I did not know if I could connect with the character that she had created. However, once I started reading the book in no time could I find a way to empathize with her. She made me realize that no matter what our differences in life people are people are people and we all have our things to overcome, which is the main theme of this book.
Set in Papau New Guinea and also Boston the author starts the book mostly working two different time lines and places at once. I sometimes find this style to be annoying because I feel pulled away from one place before I have finished can be distracting. Kira Salak's work, however, was very well done in this style. It allowed you to get to know the main character, Marika, in small snapshots just like you would a new friend. You were able to receive bits and pieces here and there slowly helping you to understand the main character better. I was immediately in love with Papau New Guinea and am appreciative of the opportunity to know more about it. I found all of the characters to be believable and I especially liked having the second voice of Pogo throughout much of the book. It gave the story a mirror for Marika and also a way to view the people of PNG.
If you enjoy fiction that takes you around the world and people learning to overcome their pain you will like this book. I recommend it.

Glad I didn't pay for this one. The story is OK with fairly stock characters exhibiting predictable behavior. The story of a trek through the PNG jungle to find an author who's supposed to be dead *should* be a compelling enough story. The time spent with Seb feels like a waste of time. The character of Seb is supposed to be interesting because of his background, but he really feels like a simple character and all those segments of the book do is highlight what a poor decision Marika is (and how well she doesn't know herself.) I find her tough to respect and care about.

Only in the last quarter or so of the book does Salak seem to find her writer's voice - and it's still not great. The rest is awkwardly, self consciously written using multiple narrative viewpoints. Multiple narrative viewpoints written on the same page are not only annoying, but a weak writing technique. Salak spends a lot of time telling you what's going on and telling you people's motivations, when she ought to be able to show it to you through their actions and behavior.