As I was riding back from the SIBA trade show, I randomly reached into one of the many boxes of ARCs and signed books we had accrued and pulled out The White Mary by Kira Salak (Holt, hardcover, $25.00). I found this debut novel to be a very readable retelling of Heart of Darkness using a female war correspondent as the protagonist. For reasons of her own, Marika Vecera sets off on an arduous trek through the jungles of Papua New Guinea to learn whether the award-winning reporter who inspired her career, Robert Lewis, has faked his own suicide and is in fact still alive.
Salak’s experience as the first woman to traverse Papua New Guinea informs her narrative and gives it a wonderfully authentic feeling. I think The White Mary would be a great pick for bookclubs, anyone who enjoys literary adventure fiction, or perhaps even as an extracredit assignment for those studying Conrad. But be forewarned that the book contains some graphic scenes that may stick with you long after you’ve put it down.
Check availability of Kira Salak books at Fiction Addiction.
