Euphoria by Lily King

This is a great fun read about the end of an era of anthropological discovery (European Empires 1890-1940).  The Brits and other empires claimed academic ownership rights to the myriad peoples of the Earth, never before exposed to the rest of the “known-world”. 

It’s comical, poking fun at the British mostly, but also Americans and Aussies.  I am thoroughly enjoying the book.  I feel a little “bait-and-switched”, the book being touted as a Margaret Mead biography; then again, how can one expect a biography in 200 pages with large print.?

So, let us not go to that level; the book never does.  I mean there are a lot of geographical references, so many in fact, that you’d have to have a detailed map of the area, and the time to plot the scenes of action.  But no one, unless a professional anthropologist, would read and plot maps.  It is at the superficial level that this book is a funny, sometimes incisive read.

All the talk of Cambridge reminds me pleasantly about Smiley’s People, Alec Guinness, Oxford Dons, and good times in England.  So, what makes this book fun, and readable, is the relationships between the three scientists:  Bankson, Nell, and Fen.  For such a short book, it’s amazingly fulfilling and delicious, a gourmet meal in text, a hearty main course of anthropological ideas, spiced up with everyone’s sexual proclivities, and served with a salad of exotic international adventures.

I can’t wait for the movie.