Eden Robinson

In a novel set in Canada, on the Haisla reservation of Kitamaat, a young Native American woman's visions facilitate a journey of self-discovery that will take her into the heart of her troubled society.

Monkey Beach

Sarah Sammis

A wayward teens lonesome hunt for her lost brother. Her journey takes her to Monkey Beach, famed for its' sasquatch sightings. This novel is a spellbinding voyage into the long, cool shadows of BC's Coast Mountains, belnding teen culture, Haisla lore, nature spirits and human tenderness into a multilayered story of loss and redemption.

Maggie Gordon

Monkey Beach is a tour de force. It is a stunning piece of literature, with a powerful voice and heart wrenching characters. The entire novel is infused with life and realism. 

The story is hard to describe. Lisamarie is a Haisla girl growing up in Kitimat. The book starts with the news that her brother has gone missing on a fishing expedition. Her parents rush out to join the search, but Lisamarie stays behind, obviously trapped in the throes of grief. She begins to remember her past.

Flashbacks comprise most of the book. At first they seem like an odd addition to the novel. Why are we thinking about Lisamarie's relationships to all these family members who are not her brother? However, despite being confused, I was enjoying these memories and thought them to be filled with evocative imagery and intense emotions. 

If you feel a bit lost like I did, don't worry. Robinson brings the book to a fulfilling conclusion that both startled and amazed me. Lisamarie's flashbacks are part of her journey towards accepting herself, her cultural heritage, and some unique talents.

Monkey Beach truly is an outstanding piece of literature. I tried to keep my comments brief as I think the book is most effective if you just allow yourself to be swept away by it, but prepare for devastatingly effective prose and emotively rending tales of love and grief.

A young Native American woman remembers her volatile childhood as she searches for her lost brother in the Canadian wilds in an extraordinary, critically acclaimed debut novel As she races along Canada’s Douglas Channel in her speedboat—heading toward the place where her younger brother Jimmy, presumed drowned, was last seen—twenty-year-old Lisamarie Hill recalls her younger days. A volatile and precocious Native girl growing up in Kitamaat, the Haisla Indian reservation located five hundred miles north of Vancouver, Lisa came of age standing with her feet firmly planted in two different worlds: the spiritual realm of the Haisla and the sobering “real” world with its dangerous temptations of violence, drugs, and despair. From her beloved grandmother, Ma-ma-oo, she learned of tradition and magic; from her adored, Elvis-loving uncle Mick, a Native rights activist on a perilous course, she learned to see clearly, to speak her mind, and never to bow down. But the tragedies that have scarred her life and ultimately led her to these frigid waters cannot destroy her indomitable spirit, even though the ghosts that speak to her in the night warn her that the worst may be yet to come. Easily one of the most admired debut novels to appear in many a decade, Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach was immediately greeted with universal acclaim—called “gripping” by the San Diego Union-Tribune, “wonderful” by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and “glorious” by the Globe and Mail, earning nominations for numerous literary awards before receiving the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Evocative, moving, haunting, and devastatingly funny, it is an extraordinary read from a brilliant literary voice that must be heard.

Monkey Beach

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