Brief Summary Of Monkey Beach By Eden Robinson

Summary Monkey Beach was written by Eden Robinson and published in 2010; this is the first English written book to be published by a Haisla writer. As the story begins, it is told from the perspective of Lisa Hill. One day, they had received a phone call from a coast guard that changed the lives of Lisa and her family. Jimmy, Lisa’s brother is lost at sea without a trace of his boat or his fellow employee, Josh, under mysterious circumstances. Lisa’s parents, Gladys and Albert, then depart for a flight to Namu, where it is believed Jimmy had disappeared. With the thoughts of Jimmy’s disappearance fresh in her mind, Lisa experiences many flashbacks in regards to Jimmy and her childhood. As the days past, her present life is intertwined with

In order for her to keep the reader involved with so much information, she grips the reader from the beginning with character buildup and suspense. This story is written in four chapters, the narrative is told in the first person from Lisa’s perspective. During the present narrative, Lisa reflects on events leading up to the disappearance of her brother. As confusing as the book could be at times it always keeps the reader intrigued and was well written. Eden touches on how hard it was for the Haisla people in their village but it is only wrote from her perspective so the novel does tend to be bias opinion. This is a hard novel to describe, because nothing much happens in Monkey Beach yet it is a very passionate novel. Life is enough to provide humor and tragedy without big events. Monkey Beach is also a very dark novel. Education in boarding schools looms over the heads of the previous generation and injustices against the Haisla and other First Nations people continue. The heroine is date raped, in a non-explicit scene and secrets bubble out of every corner. Death, drugs, alcohol, and sex – those issues are never far. At the same time, Lisa has an incredible, loving family, a real shot at the future, and a few good

I suspect Robinson prefers it that way. Monkey Beach slips and slides between the past and the presents, tying to separate different parts of the main characters life together in unexpected ways. The main driving force of the novel is the disappearance of Lisa’s older brother, Jimmy. He was on a fishing boat that disappeared however, we know he is a great swimmer and there are tons of islands; so there's a small chance he actually died. At first it seems odd that Lisa would wander so much, pondering her uncle Mick (for example) instead of focusing on Jimmy. But it all works together, in a rough sort of way. I feel regardless of Haisla nation, most families would react to tragedy and death the same way. I really loved Lisa Marie. She's angry, prickly, and too reckless for her own good. I may not entirely know how I feel about the novel; Monkey Beach was an absorbing reading experience. It certainly glorified the area for me and spiked my interest to travel there, I also felt a little like I was in Kitimaat, especially when Lisa described fish grease in