An interesting read that doesn't quite get where it's going - Rated 
This is a very interesting book indeed. The central character is a young girl caught up in civil unrest on an island in New Guinea. When all those who are able to flee the island do so, the only remaining white man, a somewhat eccentric New Zealander, begins teaching the island's children. He is not a teacher by trade and the only text he has at his disposal is a well-worn copy of Great Expectations. The scene is set for the author to explore some very interesting themes - the clash of Western and tribal cultures, the role stories play in our lives (both our own and those from literature), the way grasping an opportunity can change our lives forever, the horrors of civil unrest.....Along the way we are treated to some truly insightful moments and some intriguing plot twists. Then somewhere near the end things go wrong. None of the ideas that have been taken up are brought to a satisfactory conclusion and the plot just seems to fade away into oblivion. I would still recommend reading the book. It is conceptually interesting and ambitious, but somehow doesn't quite get where it wants to go.
Loved it!!! - Rated 
In the nightmarish conclusion to Waugh's A Handful of Dust, the civilised Tony Last finds himself imprisoned in a jungle village, forced to spend his days reading Little Dorrit to the illiterate Mr Todd. In the world of Mister Pip, however, reading Dickens represents salvation for a community ravaged by conflict. The winner of the 2007 Commonwealth Prize, Lloyd Jones's novel is set in a village on the Papua New Guinea island of Bougainville during a brutal civil war there in the 1990s. Jones covered it as a journalist, and this delicate fable never shies away from the realities of daily life shadowed by violence. As Matilda, the 13-year-old narrator, begins her story, a blockade has begun. Helicopters circle, the generators are empty and all the teachers have fled. Apart from the presence of pidgin Bibles, civilization might never have touched the village. Loved it!!! I would also recommend, if you missed reading TINO GEORGIOU'S masterpiece--THE FATES, go and read it.
"Mister Pip" by Lloyd Jones - Rated
A wonderfully simple, yet moving tale of a young girl caught up in civil war on a small and 'insignificant' Pacific island of Bougainville, far-removed and unreported to the rest of the world.
The book introduces the poor yet satisfied-to-a-point existence on this island from the perspective of a black girl named Matilda. A white man, Mr Watts, (the only amongst an entirely black village) opens up the local school again to teach, so that the children may learn something of the world. He invites the children's parents in, so that they may impart their own knowledge and thus stirring their curiosities.
This man seems strange, almost like he is hiding a past that is long forgotten. His wife, even stranger seems to be mad....but why? Mr Watts through the medium of Dickens' Great Expectations, speaks to the children of their own wants and needs. Of places far away and far-removed from their experiences on this island.
The story is compelling and emotive, and I could barely put this book down, as this entriguing tale draws you in. The attrocities that follow will stay with me for some time to come. The author writes about the experiences of this young girl unusually well. An awareness is developed of how some lives are touched by the kindness and encouragement of others.
As a teacher, I found this to be particularly profound, the influence one life can have on another....the terrible tragedies which befall many children from similar backgrounds....beautiful.
Loved it!!! - Rated
In the nightmarish conclusion to Waugh's A Handful of Dust, the civilised Tony Last finds himself imprisoned in a jungle village, forced to spend his days reading Little Dorrit to the illiterate Mr Todd. In the world of Mister Pip, however, reading Dickens represents salvation for a community ravaged by conflict. The winner of the 2007 Commonwealth Prize, Lloyd Jones's novel is set in a village on the Papua New Guinea island of Bougainville during a brutal civil war there in the 1990s. Jones covered it as a journalist, and this delicate fable never shies away from the realities of daily life shadowed by violence. As Matilda, the 13-year-old narrator, begins her story, a blockade has begun. Helicopters circle, the generators are empty and all the teachers have fled. Apart from the presence of pidgin Bibles, civilization might never have touched the village. Loved it!!! I would also recommend, if you missed reading TINO GEORGIOU'S masterpiece--THE FATES, go and read it. With fascinating and brilliantly created characters in `THE FATES' coupled with two intertwining plots makes for a completely enjoyable and page-turning read.
An dark but enjoyable tale! - Rated
This book took me by surprise. I thought it would simply be the story of some white eccentric introducing Dickens to the peoples of a small isolated south Pacific island, and it is, but its more than that too and then it gets quite dark.
In the background of the story is the little known Papua New Guinea civil war of the 1990s; some of the peoples of these islands attempted to break away and join the Solomon islands who they are more closely ethnically linked than the people of Papua New Guinea. However, the presence of a valuable copper mine made it an area that Papua could not afford to lose. A lot of this is in the sub plot of the book, as people from the village go off to join the rebels and Government soldiers visit the village, but the brutality of civil war also has an impact and casts its shadow across the story. I dont want to say anymore and ruin the story but it does get quite dark.
I thought this book was very interesting and very original, the setting, the mixture of the South Pacific and the exploration of Dickens and Great Expectations, "Popeye" and Matilda (the main character) and her complex relationship with her Mother and absent Father. I can see why it was nominated for the Booker prize. It also made me want to read Great Expectations again and relive that great story.
I will be definitly looking out for other books by Lloyd Jones. Read it and see what you think.
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