Synopses & Reviews
When his girlfriend takes a job in Thailand, Mischa Berlinski goes along for the ride, planning to enjoy himself and work as little as possible. But one evening a fellow expatriate tips him off to a story: a charismatic American anthropologist, Martiya van der Leun, has been found dead--a suicide--in the Thai prison where she was serving a life sentence for murder. Curious at first, Mischa is soon immersed in the details of her story. This brilliant, haunting novel expands into a mystery set among the Thai hill tribes, whose way of life became a battleground for the missionaries and the scientists living among them. Mischa Berlinski was born in New York in 1973. He studied classics at the University of California at Berkeley and at Columbia University. He has worked as a journalist in Thailand. He lives in Rome. A National Book Award Finalist
Longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary AwardThe New York Magazine Best Debut of the YearA Los Angeles Times Favorite Book of the YearA San Francisco Chronicle Notable Book of the YearA Chicago Tribune Favorite Book of the YearA Seattle Times Favorite Book of the YearA Christian Science Monitor Best Book of the YearA Library Journal Best Book of the YearA Kirkus Reviews Top 10 Book of the Year When his girlfriend takes a job as a schoolteacher in northern Thailand, Mischa Berlinski goes along for the ride, working as little as possible for one of Thailands English-language newspapers. One evening a fellow expatriate tips him off to a story. A charismatic American anthropologist, Martiya van der Leun, has been found deada suicidein the Thai prison where she was serving a fifty-year sentence for murder.
Motivated first by simple curiosity, then by deeper and more mysterious feelings, Mischa searches relentlessly to discover the details of Martiyas crime. His search leads him to the origins of modern anthropologyand into the family history of Martiyas victim, a brilliant young missionary whose grandparents left Oklahoma to preach the Word in the 1920s and never went back. Finally, Mischas obsession takes him into the world of the Thai hill tribes, whose way of life becomes a battleground for two competing, and utterly American, ways of looking at the world. With its offbeat style, Berlinski's consummate fieldworkfictional though it may beproduces an intricate whodunit, both disturbing and entertaining. Even as he confesses to feeling like the baton in a relay race of faulty memories and distant recollections, Berlinski meticulously unearths Martiya's good story, taking readers on an intoxicating journey filled with missing souls and vengeful spirits.”Terry Hong, The Washington Post
[Berlinski is] a gifted storyteller delivering a simple story . . . Fieldwork is quite definitely a novel, exuberant and inventive, affectionate toward its characters but not indulgent of them. It has none of the cultivated flatness of modern reportage, and one of sparseness of line . . . Its a quirky, often brilliant debut, bounced along by limitless energy, its wry tone not detracting from its thoughtfulness.”Hilary Mantel, The New York Review of Books
With its offbeat style, Berlinski's consummate fieldworkfictional though it may beproduces an intricate whodunit, both disturbing and entertaining. Even as he confesses to feeling like the baton in a relay race of faulty memories and distant recollections, Berlinski meticulously unearths Martiya's good story, taking readers on an intoxicating journey filled with missing souls and vengeful spirits.”Terry Hong, The Washington Post
"In a thickly plotted twist on the genre of aimless Americans seeking redemption abroad, Berlinskis freelance-journalist narrator (also named Mischa Berlinski) stumbles on the case of an anthropologist who killed herself in a Thai prison while serving a sentence for her inexplicable murder of a Christian missionary. Fascinated, Berlinski investigates the missionary and the anthropologists shared interest in the spiritual and social life of a particular Thai village, presenting an enormously detailed account of the village as if it were a history of real events . . . The book succeeds in evoking the quixotic appeal of both the anthropological and missionary enterprisesof documenting other culture and of converting them."The New Yorker
Mischa Berlinskis first book, Fieldwork, is that rare thingan entertainingly readable first novel of ideas . . . Berlinskis narrative is brilliantly plotted and builds to a shattering but entirely credible conclusion. Theres a particular authenticity attached to the settings and to the lives of the Dyalo, though they are a fictional people . . . What sets Berlinskis book apart from others like it is its utterly contemporary evocation of a compelling old dichotomy: faith and reason. Martiya, the anthropologist, speaks for that latter tradition, the missionary Walker family for the former. Both make their cases in an entirely American idiom, and it is the great strength of Berlinskis novel that he lets them do so on an intellectually level playing field on which two competing ways of understanding the world and its people contend . . . A less interesting writer would knowingly draw the irony implicit in the shared magical thinking of both the missionaries and the tribesmen. Berlinski, however, is too interested in both viewpoints to caricature either, and the result is a genuinely unsentimental empathy that gives his narrative its real propulsive force . . . [Contains] a fearless generosity of spirit that refuses to take a side . . . Fieldwork is a notable piece of first fictionat once deeply serious about questions of consequence and refreshingly mindful of traditional storytelling conventions. If his narrative sometimes bumps against a young writers impulse to tell you everything he knows, its a forgivable shortcoming, particularly when stacked against this novels admirable strengths."Tim Rutten, Los Angeles Times
"A sad and powerful tale . . . Inspired and courageous."San Francisco Chronicle
"An impeccably structured novel portraying two strikingly different milieus . . . Bravura storytelling."The Seattle Times
"Berlinski provides a vivid picture of missionaries, devils, demons, and paganism in the distant Thailand hills. It seems people all over the world believe in spirits, ghosts, and more."Florence Waskelewicz Clowes, Polish American Journal
"A top-notch debut novel . . . A reader doesn't have to have any interest in Christian missionary work, anthropology, or the hill tribes of Thailand to be riveted, but odds are you'll have a greater appreciation for all threenot to mention Berlinski's storytelling abilitiesby the time you put Fieldwork down.
Review
"A Russian doll of a read . . . A story that cooks like a mother."--Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly
"An intoxicating journey filled with missing souls and vengeful spirits."--The Washington Post
"An entertainingly readable novel of ideas . . . Berlinski's narrative is brilliantly plotted and builds to a shattering but entirely credible conclusion."--Los Angeles Times
"A sad and powerful tale . . . Inspired and courageous."--San Francisco Chronicle
"An impeccably structured novel portraying two strikingly different milieus . . . Bravura storytelling."--The Seattle Times
"Airtight and intensely gripping . . . His treatment of both religious missionary and anthropological fieldwork is subtle and insightful. Impeccable research and a juicy, intricate plot play off in this perfectly executed debut."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Gripping and entertaining . . . A quirky, often brilliant debut, bounced along by limitless energy."--The New York Review of Books
Synopsis
When his girlfriend takes a job in Thailand, Mischa Berlinski goes along for the ride, planning to enjoy himself and work as little as possible. But one evening a fellow expatriate tips him off to a story: a charismatic American anthropologist, Martiya van der Leun, has been found dead--a suicide--in the Thai prison where she was serving a life sentence for murder. Curious at first, Mischa is soon immersed in the details of her story. This brilliant, haunting novel expands into a mystery set among the Thai hill tribes, whose way of life became a battleground for the missionaries and the scientists living among them. Fieldwork is a 2007 National Book Award Finalist for Fiction.
Synopsis
Vivid, passionate, funny, deeply researched, and page-turningly plotted, this novel--set in northern Thailand--is a daring, spellbinding tale of anthropologists, missionaries, demon possession, sexual taboos, murder, and an obsessed young reporter named Mischa Berlinski.
Synopsis
An American expatriate in Thailand traces the complex mystery of an anthropologist who murdered a missionary ten years before. Each discovery along the way opens up to a new story in this thrilling portrait of religious, cultural, and sexual fascination.
Synopsis
When his girlfriend takes a job in Thailand, Mischa Berlinski goes along for the ride, planning to enjoy himself and work as little as possible. But one evening a fellow expatriate tips him off to a story: a charismatic American anthropologist, Martiya van der Leun, has been found dead--a suicide--in the Thai prison where she was serving a life sentence for murder. Curious at first, Mischa is soon immersed in the details of her story. This brilliant, haunting novel expands into a mystery set among the Thai hill tribes, whose way of life became a battleground for the missionaries and the scientists living among them. Mischa Berlinski was born in New York in 1973. He studied classics at the University of California at Berkeley and at Columbia University. He has worked as a journalist in Thailand. He lives in Rome. A National Book Award Finalist
Longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary AwardThe New York Magazine Best Debut of the YearA Los Angeles Times Favorite Book of the YearA San Francisco Chronicle Notable Book of the YearA Chicago Tribune Favorite Book of the YearA Seattle Times Favorite Book of the YearA Christian Science Monitor Best Book of the YearA Library Journal Best Book of the YearA Kirkus Reviews Top 10 Book of the Year When his girlfriend takes a job as a schoolteacher in northern Thailand, Mischa Berlinski goes along for the ride, working as little as possible for one of Thailand's English-language newspapers. One evening a fellow expatriate tips him off to a story. A charismatic American anthropologist, Martiya van der Leun, has been found dead--a suicide--in the Thai prison where she was serving a fifty-year sentence for murder.
Motivated first by simple curiosity, then by deeper and more mysterious feelings, Mischa searches relentlessly to discover the details of Martiya's crime. His search leads him to the origins of modern anthropology--and into the family history of Martiya's victim, a brilliant young missionary whose grandparents left Oklahoma to preach the Word in the 1920s and never went back. Finally, Mischa's obsession takes him into the world of the Thai hill tribes, whose way of life becomes a battleground for two competing, and utterly American, ways of looking at the world. With its offbeat style, Berlinski's consummate fieldwork--fictional though it may be--produces an intricate whodunit, both disturbing and entertaining. Even as he confesses to feeling 'like the baton in a relay race of faulty memories and distant recollections, ' Berlinski meticulously unearths Martiya's 'good story, ' taking readers on an intoxicating journey filled with missing souls and vengeful spirits.--Terry Hong, The Washington Post
Berlinski is] a gifted storyteller delivering a simple story . . . Fieldwork is quite definitely a novel, exuberant and inventive, affectionate toward its characters but not indulgent of them. It has none of the cultivated flatness of modern reportage, and one of sparseness of line . . . It's a quirky, often brilliant debut, bounced along by limitless energy, its wry tone not detracting from its thoughtfulness.--Hilary Mantel, The New York Review of Books
With its offbeat style, Berlinski's consummate fieldwork--fictional though it may be--produces an intricate whodunit, both disturbing and entertaining. Even as he confesses to feeling 'like the baton in a relay race of faulty memories and distant recollections, ' Berlinski meticulously unearths Martiya's 'good story, ' taking readers on an intoxicating journey filled with missing souls and vengeful spirits.--Terry Hong, The Washington Post
In a thickly plotted twist on the genre of aimless Americans seeking redemption abroad, Berlinski's freelance-journalist narrator (also named Mischa Berlinski) stumbles on the case of an anthropologist who killed herself in a Thai prison while serving a sentence for her inexplicable murder of a Christian missionary. Fascinated, Berlinski investigates the missionary and the anthropologist's shared interest in the spiritual and social life of a particular Thai village, presenting an enormously detailed account of the village as if it were a history of real events . . . The book succeeds in evoking the quixotic appeal of both the anthropological and missionary enterprises--of documenting other culture and of converting them.--The New Yorker
Mischa Berlinski's first book, Fieldwork, is that rare thing--an entertainingly readable first novel of ideas . . . Berlinski's narrative is brilliantly plotted and builds to a shattering but entirely credible conclusion. There's a particular authenticity attached to the settings and to the lives of the Dyalo, though they are a fictional people . . . What sets Berlinski's book apart from others like it is its utterly contemporary evocation of a compelling old dichotomy: faith and reason. Martiya, the anthropologist, speaks for that latter tradition, the missionary Walker family for the former. Both make their cases in an entirely American idiom, and it is the great strength of Berlinski's novel that he lets them do so on an intellectually level playing field on which two competing ways of understanding the world and its people contend . . . A less interesting writer would knowingly draw the irony implicit in the shared magical thinking of both the missionaries and the tribesmen. Berlinski, however, is too interested in both viewpoints to caricature either, and the result is a genuinely unsentimental empathy that gives his narrative its real propulsive force . . . Contains] a fearless generosity of spirit that refuses to take a side . . . Fieldwork is a notable piece of first fiction--at once deeply serious about questions of consequence and refreshingly mindful of traditional storytelling conventions. If his narrative sometimes bumps against a young writer's impulse to tell you everything he knows, it's a forgivable shortcoming, particularly when stacked against this n
About the Author
Mischa Berlinski was born in New York in 1973. He studied classics at the University of California at Berkeley and Columbia College and has worked as a journalist in Thailand. Fieldwork is his first novel.
Reading Group Guide
Discussion Questions
1. How does it affect your reading of the novel that the narrators name is the same as the authors? Do you imagine them to be the same person?
2. "A child needs the happy family," Elena tells Mischa (pg. 23) in an attempt to describe why Martiyas life turned out as it did. "It is the base." Do you see a connection between Martiyas parents marriage, the atmosphere in which she was raised, and her desire to immerse herself in the life of the Dyalo, or any of her other decisions as an adult?
3. How does it change the story to hear so much of Martiyas story from other characters? Do those who tell Mischa about Martiya—Tim Blair, for example, or Josh O Connor—seem reliable to you? Why do you think the author chose to include them in the story, rather than just telling Martiyas story entirely from Mischas perspective?
4. What was your opinion of the Walkers and their work among the Dyalo? Do you think they were helping the Dyalo, or interfering with their native culture? Did the book change your opinion of Christian missionary work, or your opinion of anthropology?
5. What do you think happens in Davids mind at the moment he decides to return to his religious practice (pg. 170)? Do you think there is a connection between Davids devotion to the Grateful Dead and his passion for Christianity and the mission?
6. Whats your impression of Mischa, the narrator? Why do you think he becomes so obsessed with Martiyas story? How does his pursuit of the story change Mischas own life and way of thinking over the course of the book?
7. Do you see any similarities between Mischas relationship with Rachel, their life together in Thailand, and Martiyas relationship to the Dyalo and their village?
8. Why do you think the author includes the interlude about the anthropologist Malinowski? What does that story suggest to you about the difficulties and rewards of anthropology?
9. Do you see Martiyas conversion to a belief in Rice, her investment in the mystical elements of Dyalo life, as a conversion, a rational decision, or a departure from sanity? Do you think she went crazy, or just went native?
10. How do you interpret the books epigraph? How do you think a belief in spirits like those the Dyalo fear differs from a belief in an all-powerful god?
11. Does the book suggest that there are any similarities between anthropology and missionary work? Do you think one or the other is more intrusive, or more beneficial? Which would you rather do, if you had to choose?
12. To what extent do you think David and Martiya were products of their upbringing? If each had been born into the others family, do you think they wouldve followed more or less the same paths?