Blog tour: Rainforest by Michelle Paver
This post is part of a blog tour organised by Random Things Blog Tours. I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.
‘The jungle watches. The dead remember.
‘The virgin rainforest seems a paradise to Englishman Simon Corbett. A last chance to salvage his career. A final refuge from a terrible secret.
‘But the jungle is no Eden. It hides secrets of its own. It does not forgive.
‘As Simon is drawn deeper into its haunted shadows, he learns to his horror that the past will not stay buried. For there are places in the forest where the line between the living and the dead is thinner than the skin of water.
‘Set in 1970s London and the Mayan jungle, Rainforest is an unflinching look at how guilt can consume us, and what can happen when you reside in a place without honouring it.’
In Rainforest, by Michelle Paver, it’s 1973 and we follow British entomologist Simon Corbett into the Mexican jungle, where he joins up with some archaeologists who are looking for Mayan artefacts.
Simon’s been sent there by his university to study mantids and clear his mind in the wake of a mental breakdown following the death of his beloved Penelope. Instead, though, he continues to obsess over what happened, and can’t help but take an interest in the beliefs about death and the supernatural held by a nearby indigenous tribe – the Yachikel, direct descendents of the Mayans themselves. This leads him down a dark path, both metaphorically and literally.
If I were only permitted one word to sum up Rainforest, it would have to be “creepy”. Simon’s in the jungle to study creepy-crawlies. There’s something creepy there that’s neither man nor beast. Simon and some of his colleagues are real creeps.
It didn’t take long for me to get an inkling that Simon’s relationship with Penelope wasn’t all he initially made it out to be, and over the course of the story, you discover more and more about its true nature. It was fascinating to spend time with such a delusional, self-centred character, and I was more curious than saddened when bad things happened to him! At the same time, Paver keeps Simon’s humanity in sight with his miserable childhood, endearing delight in the company of animals (the harmless ones, anyway), and nerdy passion for insects.
Simon’s empathy doesn’t stretch to the Yachikel, however. Typically for their demographic and the time that the book is set, he and his fellows’ attitudes towards indigenous people range from dehumanising to condescending. Even when Simon desperately wants something from the local shaman, Kayun, he’s disrespectful and unpleasant towards him. And while Simon has more reverance for the rainforest than most, all the white men treat it as something they have the right to dominate and exploit.
Paver’s portrayal of the rainforest and the creatures that live there is absolutely stunning. She describes the characters’ surroundings in such a way that none of the senses are left out, and the minute details she provides about the flora and fauna convey not only what Simon would notice as an authority on insects, but also the incredible diversity of life that flourishes there.
By the same token, when the weather takes a turn and Simon is stuck, she really gets across the huge variety of dangers it can present to an underequipped human – and those are just the earthly entities! I additionally found it very interesting to learn a bit about ancient Mayan culture and beliefs.
Rainforest is extraordinarily rich in detail and delightfully creepy.
