A story of self discovery, set in the jungles of Papua New Guinea

books:

	• The White Mary: A Novel Kira Salak Henry Holt and Co., 2008 - 368 pages average customer review:based on 70 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A great work of literary fiction!

It was such a pleasant surprise to read the White Mary. It is so rare to find a new book that is written in the style of the great literature of the early to mid twentieth century today. The White Mary is not just an amazing story of self realization, but also a great work of fiction bound to become a classic of our time.
I will not bother giving a synopsis as many other reviewers have done this.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to read a well written novel!

A story of self discovery, set in the jungles of Papua New Guinea

"The White Mary" captured my attention with its promise of adventure in exotic places, leading to self revelation for the story's heroine, Marika Vecera. The author, Kira Salak, shares upfront in her forward that this novel is as much based on her own life as her writer's imagination. She has led an interesting life indeed.

The story starts near the end, bringing Ms. Vecera into the heart of Papua New Guinea, led on a journey to discover for herself if the man who inspired her journalism career is really still alive in a remote jungle, as some have reported. Being thrust into the story without any real explanation was a bit jarring for me as a reader, but the author deftly alternates between the present and the past, presented as flashbacks, to help the reader understand the story as it unfolds. This direct approach to the narrative helps frame the life the main character has led, one of action rather than introspection, at the same time compelling the reader to stick with it to see how this story will develop.

In a new relationship with Seb, she struggles to become emotionally available to him, seeking out assignments in war zones overseas to escape commitment. Parts of this narrative deal with raw and horrifying events, events that reporters traveling into the thick of war zones might experience. The writing is honest and at times graphic, which may be difficult for some readers. It is not gratuitous, but explains the choices the characters involved have made in their own response to life. In fact, the graphic events stand as a foil to the hope for herself and for others that Ms. Vecera ultimately discovers as she endures hardships in a wild and foreign land. This is a story of adventure, love and ultimately hope for humanity, set in wild and exotic places few have ever ventured.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

A young woman journeys deep into the untamed jungle, wrestling with love and loss, trauma and healing, faith and redemption, in this sweeping debut from ?the gutsiest woman adventurer of our day? (Book Magazine)

Marika Vecera, an accomplished war reporter, has dedicated her life to helping the world?s oppressed and forgotten. When not on one of her dangerous assignments, she lives in Boston, exploring a new relationship with Seb, a psychologist who offers her glimpses of a better world.

Returning from a harrowing assignment in the Congo where she was kidnapped by rebel soldiers, Marika learns that a man she has always admired from afar, Pulitzer-winning war correspondent Robert Lewis, has committed suicide. Stunned, she abandons her magazine work to write Lewis?s biography, settling down with Seb as their intimacy grows. But when Marika finds a curious letter from a missionary claiming to have seen Lewis in the remote jungle of Papua New Guinea, she has to wonder, What if Lewis isn?t dead?

Marika soon leaves Seb to embark on her ultimate journey in one of the world?s most exotic and unknown lands. Through her eyes we experience the harsh realities of jungle travel, embrace the mythology of native tribes, and receive the special wisdom of Tobo, a witch doctor and sage, as we follow her extraordinary quest to learn the truth about Lewis?and about herself, along the way.

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