2008 Woodie Awards
The World of Mister Pip
Lloyd Jones' novel tackles war, race, Dickens
Helen Nevius
Issue date: 8/27/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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Any prolific reader knows that a good book does not just tell a story; it allows them to escape into an entirely different dimension. The reader becomes completely engulfed, taking on another's life with their problems and perspective.
Lloyd Jones' Mister Pip examines this phenomenon of escaping into another realm through literature. Matilda - who narrates the story - recounts how war divided her native Pacific island when she was 13. Most people flee, leaving Matilda and the others in her tropical village struggling to stay uninvolved in the perilous conflict between the "redskin" soldiers and those who rebel against them. The villagers' children no longer have any teachers. Therefore, Mr. Watts, the only white man left on the island, volunteers to teach them. He doesn't know much about chemistry or how a car runs, but he does know about Charles Dickens. He reads to his students aloud from Great Expectations, and there they find a respite from their increasingly cruel and violent reality.
Matilda lives in the village with her mother, whom she describes as a perpetually angry and deeply religious woman. Matilda's father, who once worked for the copper mine on their island, left for Australia when she was 11.
Matilda becomes strongly attached to Dickens' protagonist Pip. She concentrates on his world while in her own, hostile helicopters circle overhead, sometimes landing and driving the villagers into the forest to hide while the soldiers slaughtered their animals. She clings to Pip and his distant world of Victorian England. She listened to his story intently and worried about him like a close friend. Her mother, however, is incensed by her daughter's bond with Pip, especially after Matilda tells her he feels more real to her than her ancestors. Matilda's mother develops a strong dislike for Mr. Watts and Great Expectations, partly because of her daughter's relationship with Pip and partly because of Mr. Watts' religious beliefs (or lack thereof). This hatred, along with a misunderstanding surrounding Pip, eventually leads to tragedy for their village.
Lloyd Jones' Mister Pip examines this phenomenon of escaping into another realm through literature. Matilda - who narrates the story - recounts how war divided her native Pacific island when she was 13. Most people flee, leaving Matilda and the others in her tropical village struggling to stay uninvolved in the perilous conflict between the "redskin" soldiers and those who rebel against them. The villagers' children no longer have any teachers. Therefore, Mr. Watts, the only white man left on the island, volunteers to teach them. He doesn't know much about chemistry or how a car runs, but he does know about Charles Dickens. He reads to his students aloud from Great Expectations, and there they find a respite from their increasingly cruel and violent reality.
Matilda lives in the village with her mother, whom she describes as a perpetually angry and deeply religious woman. Matilda's father, who once worked for the copper mine on their island, left for Australia when she was 11.
Matilda becomes strongly attached to Dickens' protagonist Pip. She concentrates on his world while in her own, hostile helicopters circle overhead, sometimes landing and driving the villagers into the forest to hide while the soldiers slaughtered their animals. She clings to Pip and his distant world of Victorian England. She listened to his story intently and worried about him like a close friend. Her mother, however, is incensed by her daughter's bond with Pip, especially after Matilda tells her he feels more real to her than her ancestors. Matilda's mother develops a strong dislike for Mr. Watts and Great Expectations, partly because of her daughter's relationship with Pip and partly because of Mr. Watts' religious beliefs (or lack thereof). This hatred, along with a misunderstanding surrounding Pip, eventually leads to tragedy for their village.
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