Fieldwork

A Novel

By: Mischa Berlinski

Narrated by: William Dufris

Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

A daring, spellbinding tale of anthropologists, missionaries, demon possession, sexual taboos, murder, and an obsessed young reporter named Mischa Berlinski.

When his girlfriend takes a job as a schoolteacher in northern Thailand, Mischa Berlinski goes along for the ride, working as little as possible for one of Thailand's English-language newspapers. One evening a fellow expatriate tips him off to a story. A charismatic American anthropologist, Martiya van der Leun, has been found dead, a suicide, in the Thai prison where she was serving a 50-year sentence for murder.

Motivated first by simple curiosity, then by deeper and more mysterious feelings, Mischa searches relentlessly to discover the details of Martiya's crime. His search leads him to the origins of modern anthropology and into the family history of Martiya's victim, a brilliant young missionary whose grandparents left Oklahoma to preach the Word in the 1920s and never went back. Finally, Mischa's obsession takes him into the world of the Thai hill tribes, whose way of life becomes a battleground for two competing, and utterly American, ways of looking at the world.

Vivid, passionate, funny, deeply researched, and exhilarating, Fieldwork is a novel about fascination and taboos - scientific, religious, and sexual. It announces an assured and captivating new voice in American fiction.

©2007 Mischa Berlinski (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"A lean, interesting tale." (Publishers Weekly)
"A surprisingly compassionate look at Christianity in conflict with anthropology. I kept expecting tirades, and instead got sweetness and thoughtful good humor. A remarkable novel." (Stephen King)

Enjoyed the Anthropologic Perspective

A very methodical search for answers to an exotic mystery set in a foreign land.

Provoking in many ways

This book weaved its way through my life at a time when I was trying to tie loose ends of my life together. A left incomplete doctorate, my faith in miracles, teaching English to Thai students, and I could go on. Mr. Berlinski helped me to put these pieces together and come away with a greater faith in Christ. Although his missionaries weren't perfect, they were real. His social scientists were conflicted in ways they couldn't change no matter how hard they tried.

Although this story is fictional, Mr. Berlinski has melded together his non-fictional experiences into a masterpiece that shows how real people deal with the hand we've been dealt and create lives for themselves that are either trapped by their circumstances, or transcend them.

interesting engrossing tale

never heard of this book but heard it mentioned on 60 minutes. I learned a lot about rice and old customs and parts of the world I knew little about. a well written story that creates a world you feel part of. was not sure where it was going at times but I found myself looking forward to listening.

best book I've read in along time!

Absolutely fascinating. An incredible story which was quite credible. Quite different in theme. Extremely well written! Kept me in suspense to the very end.

almost 5 star

Beware the publisher's summary: As another reviewer noted, the novel is not a "who dunnit." As the title suggests, the young American journalist-protagonist (on his own search for identity while wandering the world) is doing "fieldwork," but in an ironic sense -- He is drawn to investigate the interlocking lives of the anthropologist doing academic fieldwork and of the Rapture-waiting missionaries trying to harvest souls in the "fields of the Lord." He is a generation younger than those he studies, and even they embarked on their S E Asian endeavors generatons apart. As in good fieldwork, the protagonist tries to describe, understand and hypothesize why things happen; as in bad fieldwork, he becomes obsessed with his subject, but manages not to be judgemental. Along the way we learn of the beginnings of the academic field of ethnography, conjecture that one must leave one's own culture to find/truly see one's self, meet some very eccentric characters, tour Thailand, and witness two visions of post WW1 American life try to extend themselves to the world.

I loved the novel, but it does have that "author's first novel" shakiness in structure at times. I'm not sure that I liked the narrator, but it must have been a difficult to decide what tone to adopt for the narration of this original tale.

Very real characters

The characters will stay with you long after you finish. The narration could have been better, but the story could not.

I tried, I really did

I tried to listen to this book. First time was a 3 hour car ride, I was looking forward to it. I could not stay focused. Second time again 4 hour car ride, and again couldn't stay focused. If I lost my place I couldn't tell where I was when listening. The characters, soo many of them, the plot was slow. I hate to say, still haven't finished it and most likely won't.

An experience!

I found this work delightful, and the narrator greatly added to the experience. His droll tone and varied styles accentuated the humor, which often popped up unexpectedly. This account of a young journalist's obsession with getting to the bottom of an old murder is peopled with the most extraordinary people. A missionary family figures largely in the tale and I liked the sympathetic handling of them. They could have been made to seem ridiculous or even contemptible, but they are shown as sympathetic, sincere people. It is left to the reader to decide whether they were misguided. I found myself thinking about the characters several days afterward. My understanding is that it's completely fictional--there are no Dialo people--but the descriptions of China and Thailand are interesting and based on fact.

WOW WOW WOW

I was an anthro student at the same time at the subject of this novel while in California, though not at Berkeley. This is one of the best descriptions of my experience and what it is to think and be an Anthropologist I have EVER heard. This novel is brilliantly observed and worth every second. WOW. It is also nostalgic and incredible that the students at Berkeley and the students and faculty at my university had identical experiences. What a wonderful wonderul book.

Rich Stew

Like Asian stews, this book was tasty with the right amount of spice. Lots of unknown (to me) facts about SE Asia combined with an understanding of the lifestyles of both secular and religious foreigners in Thailand. The characters were fleshed out and drew sympathy. I would listen to this author at any opportunity. Good work Mischa Berlinski, write on.