Overview
When Jenny Dunfree, a graduate student in ornithology, is assigned to a birding project in a remote area of Panama, she is given one directive by her superior: Don't piss anyone off. Almost immediately, Jenny encounters problems with this assignment.
While slogging on with her research, Jenny is required to attend weekly "town hall" meetings in the Kuna village. Jenny finds the native Kuna people to be a prickly lot, quick to take offense. But as the weeks pass, Jenny becomes acquainted with Pedro, a man cynical and detached from his own culture; Eulogio, the charismatic leader; Iris, who had married the previous ornithology student; the racially prejudiced Anselmo; and Ceferino, with whom Jenny shares a passion for the natural world. Jenny also encounters outsiders with their own agendas for the Kunas and the surrounding rainforest.
Synopsis
When Jenny Dunfree, a graduate student in ornithology, is assigned to a birding project in a remote area of Panama, she is given one directive by her superior: Don't piss anyone off. Almost immediately, Jenny encounters problems with this assignment.
While slogging on with her research, Jenny is required to attend weekly "town hall" meetings in the Kuna village. Jenny finds the native Kuna people to be a prickly lot, quick to take offense. But as the weeks pass, Jenny becomes acquainted with Pedro, a man cynical and detached from his own culture; Eulogio, the charismatic leader; Iris, who had married the previous ornithology student; the racially prejudiced Anselmo; and Ceferino, with whom Jenny shares a passion for the natural world. Jenny also encounters outsiders with their own agendas for the Kunas and the surrounding rainforest.
Publishers Weekly
Anthropologist Louise Young has turned her nearly two decades working with the indigenous Kuna people of Panama into a compassionate and passion-filled debut novel of a white woman’s journey into this unique culture. Grad student Jenny Dunfrey is an ornithologist studying the harpy eagle when she’s sent off to do her research in a remote area near the Colombian border where she knows neither the language nor the culture. Her only directive: don’t “piss off” the natives. Slowly, as Jenny makes progress on her research of the eagles, so, too, does she learn about the Kuna, who are fascinated with her: a tall, blonde American from Montana. Jenny is an inconsistent character, but Young does an excellent job with the supporting cast. Pedro is a protector; Litos, the devoted friend; Eulogio “the most handsome man” Jenny has ever seen; and Ceferino, the community healer. As Jenny navigates these new friendships—and avoids the one American, a caricature of a violent white missionary—she gets herself into trouble, but also absorbs the culture in many unexpected ways. Young’s narrative is enthralling and entertaining—a decidedly fun, exotic read. (Nov.)