Euphoria

Pretty much perfect. It's a novel about a Margaret Mead-like character in New Guinea in the 30s, and it's so smart and rich and alive. -- Curtis Sittenfeld, author of AMERICAN WIFE, Best Books of 2014 This dazzling novel bites like a tropical insect, and makes anthropology seem more exciting than any other profession -- Emma Donogue, author of ROOM A brilliant reimagining of Mead's pioneering exploits . . . the artfulness of her characterisation is so adept that her prose has the force of truth. * Daily Telegraph * Jaw-droppingly, heart-stoppingly beautiful -- Paula McLain, author of THE PARIS WIFE A taut, witty, fiercely intelligent tale of competing egos and desires in a landscape of exotic menace . . . Exquisite * New York Times * Dramatic, insightful and absorbing . . . she captures the amber of one man's exquisite longing for a woman who changed the way we look at ourselves * Washington Post * Persuasive and evocative . . . Finely crafted . . . it shows a talented writer unwilling to settle for what she already does well and eager to give herself new challenges; her ambition is laudable * Los Angeles Times * From Conrad to Kingsolver, the misdeeds of Westerners have inspired their own literary subgenre, and in King's insightful, romantic addition, the work of novelist and anthropologist find resonant parallel: In the beauty and cruelty of others, we discover our own * Vogue * Thrilling . . . intense, seductive, sexual, and intellectual . . . It's grit-in-your-teeth sensuous * San Francisco Chronicle * There are some novels that take you by the hand with their lovely prose alone; there are those that pull you in with sensual renderings of time and place and a compelling story; and there are still others that seduce you solely with their subject matter. But it is a rare novel indeed that does all of the above at once and with complete artistic mastery. Yet this is precisely what Lily King has done . . . Euphoria is simply one of the finest novels I've read in years -- Andre Dubus III, author of HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG I have come to expect Lily King's nuanced explorations of the human heart, but in this novel she pulled me in to the exotic world of a woman anthropologist working with undiscovered tribes in 1930s New Guinea and I was totally captivated -- Karl Marlantes, author of MATTERHORN Dazzling . . . in King's expert hands the three protagonists soon become richly rendered characters, each with her or his own suspenseful narrative . . . an exhilarating novel * Boston Globe * This impeccably researched story illuminates the state of the world as clearly as the passion of its characters . . . a thrilling read that, at its end, does indeed feel like 'the briefest, purest euphoria'' * Publishers Weekly * A small gem, disturbing and haunting * Kirkus * Atmospheric and sensual, with startling images throughout, Euphoria is an intellectually stimulating tour de force -- Jane Ciabattari, author of STEALING THE FIRE Adventure and romance, danger and knowledge, desire and desolation . . . exquisitely braided, they form the core of Euphoria . . . I'm left breathless, excited, ready to wander and explore, a little afraid, enamored, enlightened -- Bill Roorbach, author of LIFE AMONG GIANTS and THE REMEDY FOR LOVE Masterful . . . A great novelist is like an anthropologist, examining what humans do by habit and custom . . . This is a riveting and provocative novel, absolutely first-rate * Seattle Times * Fresh, brilliantly structured, and fully imagined -- Andrea Barrett, author of ARCHANGEL and SHIP FEVER Euphoria is a brilliantly written book and entirely fascinating from start to finish -- Alice Greenway, author of THE BIRD SKINNER King's novel turns an episode in the life of Margaret Mead into a taut tale of competing egos and desires in a landscape of exotic menace -- Notable Books of 2014 * New York Times *

Lily King is the author of the novels The Pleasing Hour, The English Teacher, Father of the Rain, Writers & Lovers, and Euphoria, which is inspired by the life of revolutionary anthropologist Margaret Mead. King is the recipient of a Whiting Writers' Award and has twice won both the Maine Fiction Award and the New England Book Award. She lives with her husband and children in Maine.