Mr. Pip, by Lloyd Jones

Mr. Pip, by Lloyd Jones
And yet more war, this one totally unknown to most of the world, which is a central tragedy of the book. On a remote island, the inhabitants are caught between the “redskins,” soldiers from the mainland determined to control the island, and rebels known as “rambos,” young men from the village who have gone off into the jungle to fight. Cut off and blockaded, the remaining villagers ultimately lose everything, but can still physically sustain themselves with fish from the sea and fruit on what would otherwise be a tropical paradise. Emotionally, they are less resilient. However, the last white man, Mr. Watts, who has stayed behind with his mentally and physically damaged native wife, takes on a self-appointed role as schoolteacher to the remaining children. Reading to them from his favorite novel, “Great Expectations,” he is able to transport them to a different place and time and thus provide a refuge from the increasingly horrific events in their young lives. Particularly affected is thirteen year old Matilda, whose father has gone off to Australia and who lives with her very religious mother. This is largely her coming of age story, and a meditation on the power and limitations of art to save us. 272 pp.