Lloyd Jones' Mister Pip was a favorite for the Booker prize, so I figured I had better give it a look. Just as I was disappointed with Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach (another favorite for the Booker), I was somewhat disappointed with this one too.
On a small island near New Guinea during the 1990's, a conflict is occurring between the island rebels and the invading "redskins." Matilda, one of the children on the island, recounts how the villagers attempt to go about their lives, but the war is always in the background. The sole white man on the island, Mr. Watts, agrees to take over as teacher for the village children. Mr. Watts introduces the children to "Mr. Dickens" by reading Great Expectations to them. The children love the story, especially Matilda, because it provides them with an escape from the everyday realities of the war. Matilda becomes fascinated with Pip, as well as with Mr. Watts. Her mother, on the other hand, dislikes that the children's heads are being filled with useless stories. When she hides the copy of Great Expectations, it has a disastrous result for everyone on the island.
At first, I thought this was a fairly good story. Not really substantial, but a good story nonetheless. But I don't think the author did a very good job of capturing the horror of the war and its affects on Matilda. When Matilda's mother steals Great Expectations, there are extremely violent repercussions, however Matilda gives very little thought to it. The story seems to be wrapped up rather neatly, with no lasting affects on Matilda, which just did not seem believable to me.
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