audiobook review: Euphoria by Lily King
narrated by Xe Sands and Simon Vance The backstory: The New York Times named Euphoria a 2014 Notable Book, as well as one of the ten best books of the year . Euphoria also won the 2014 Kirkus Prize . The basics: Set in 1933 New Guinea, Euphoria is the story of thee young anthropologists, Nell, Fen and Bankson. Nell and Fen, a married couple working together, seek the help of Bankson, an expert in the area, to identify a tribe worth studying. My thoughts: Longtime readers of this blog know I'm a huge fan of fiction about real people, so when I heard Euphoria was inspired by the life of Margaret Mead, more specifically a 1933 New Guinea expedition Mead took with her second husband. On this expedition, they collaborated with the man who would become Mead's third husband. It's a trip that's ripe for fictional speculation, and King takes this tantalizing set up and explores its possibilities beautifully. I realized as I listene...