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A Red Woman was Crying
Beautifully written, evocative, and utterly original, A Red Woman Was Crying takes the reader into the rich and complex internal lives of South Pacific rainforest cultivators - young and old, male and female, gentle and fierce - as they grapple with predatory miners, indifferent colonial masters, introduced religion, their own changing culture, their sometimes violent past, and the “other” who has come to live with them.
Don Mitchell’s newly revised and expanded collection of short stories, all but one set among tribal people on Bougainville Island in the late 1960s, demystifies ethnography by turning it on its head.
The narrators are Nagovisi, and it’s through their eyes that the reader knows the young American anthropologist, himself struggling with his identity as a Vietnam-era American, who’s come to study their culture in a time of change.
Don Mitchell’s newly revised and expanded collection of short stories, all but one set among tribal people on Bougainville Island in the late 1960s, demystifies ethnography by turning it on its head.
The narrators are Nagovisi, and it’s through their eyes that the reader knows the young American anthropologist, himself struggling with his identity as a Vietnam-era American, who’s come to study their culture in a time of change.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 11, 2013
4 people are currently reading
559 people want to read
About the author
Don Mitchell
2 books10 followersI'm an ecological anthropologist, writer, and photographer who lived among the Nagovisi people of Bougainville for several years in the 1960s and 1970s, and returned in 2001 after Bougainville’s war of secession.
I grew up in Hilo, on the island of Hawai’i, and graduated from Hilo High. I studied anthropology and creative writing at Stanford and earned a PhD in anthropology from Harvard.
For many years I was a professor at Buffalo State in western New York, as well as a marathon and ultra-marathon runner and a successful road race timer (Runtime Services). I lived in Buffalo and later in Colden.
I published an academic book and articles about Nagovisi, but in the early 1990s I returned to what I had wanted to do when I was 20 -- creative writing.
I've written mostly about the Nagovisi, and my poems and stories have been nominated for Pushcart (by Green Mountains Review) and won awards from the Society for Humanistic Anthropology. My non-ethnographic fiction has been published in New Millennium Writings (fiction prize runner-up 2007), El Portal, and other journals. I still do a little academic work, and in 2011 I co-authored a paper published in Evolutionary Psychology (I was the junior author).
I returned to Hilo, Hawai’i in 2013, but in 2020 left again for the mainland. I now live in Ithaca, NY.
In 2020 I published a memoir about a nearly half-century old murder: "Shibai: Remembering Jane Britton's Murder." It's reviewed here on Goodreads.
Right now I'm at work on a novel in which a murder resembling Jane's is a crucial plot element.
I grew up in Hilo, on the island of Hawai’i, and graduated from Hilo High. I studied anthropology and creative writing at Stanford and earned a PhD in anthropology from Harvard.
For many years I was a professor at Buffalo State in western New York, as well as a marathon and ultra-marathon runner and a successful road race timer (Runtime Services). I lived in Buffalo and later in Colden.
I published an academic book and articles about Nagovisi, but in the early 1990s I returned to what I had wanted to do when I was 20 -- creative writing.
I've written mostly about the Nagovisi, and my poems and stories have been nominated for Pushcart (by Green Mountains Review) and won awards from the Society for Humanistic Anthropology. My non-ethnographic fiction has been published in New Millennium Writings (fiction prize runner-up 2007), El Portal, and other journals. I still do a little academic work, and in 2011 I co-authored a paper published in Evolutionary Psychology (I was the junior author).
I returned to Hilo, Hawai’i in 2013, but in 2020 left again for the mainland. I now live in Ithaca, NY.
In 2020 I published a memoir about a nearly half-century old murder: "Shibai: Remembering Jane Britton's Murder." It's reviewed here on Goodreads.
Right now I'm at work on a novel in which a murder resembling Jane's is a crucial plot element.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 27, 2021
I loved the immersive journey into another culture. Each story stands on its own but they all lead you deeper into the complexity of life lived another way. The writing brought me into the story and left me feeling present - as if I was there. I’m left knowing that I don’t know this culture even having read the collection of stories. Even better, I’m challenged to open my eyes to the depth I’m missing from the cultures I am part of now. Thank you for sharing the recognition that richly beautiful ways of life are just around the corner - perhaps as close as a story away.
September 8, 2021
Disclaimer: I received this book as part of GoodReads' First Reads program
This book is a collection of stories, beginning with a traditional one, and then a series based on the author's experiences when he was living among the Nagovisi people on the island of Bouganville in the Solomon Islands during the 1960s and 1970s. The author states that some of the people in the book are based on actual people he interacted with, while most are made up. Each story is seen from the first person view of a different person, and through this the reader, besides reading an interesting story, is also introduced to the culture of the Nagovisi people. I found the book very interesting and would recommend it to anyone who likes to read literate books about exotic people.
This book is a collection of stories, beginning with a traditional one, and then a series based on the author's experiences when he was living among the Nagovisi people on the island of Bouganville in the Solomon Islands during the 1960s and 1970s. The author states that some of the people in the book are based on actual people he interacted with, while most are made up. Each story is seen from the first person view of a different person, and through this the reader, besides reading an interesting story, is also introduced to the culture of the Nagovisi people. I found the book very interesting and would recommend it to anyone who likes to read literate books about exotic people.
January 28, 2014
Don Mitchell has written a brilliantly original work of fiction. He calls "A Red Woman was Crying" “Stories from Nagovisi” -- stories told by men and women from the Bougainville village of Pomalate. The subtitle emphasizes the debt that the author owes to the people he celebrates in his lyrical prose. These stories are not “about” the Nagovisi, but come out of them and their interactions with colonizers who must still be resisted. Elliot Lyman, anthropologist, may have intended to study the Nagovisi, but he learns quickly that he is himself the subject of the villager’s studies of the white man’s colonizing ways. Good readers of character, these Nagovisi observe, analyze, and predict Lyman’s actions. They are also great storytellers, eager to spin long, boisterous takes, but just as likely to produce short, compelling myths like “Crocodile Kills His Father” and “Tricking Poreu.”
Don Mitchell first met the Nagovisi when he did field work as an anthropologist in the 1960’s and 70’s in Bougainville. It is fascinating to see the way he never allows his fictional anthropologist a point of view. We learn about Eliot from the villagers. They know him by the questions he asks, and often by the way he has learned from them. What do you do when you are offered a betel nut? Eliot has learned how the giver should lick it before handing it over, since licking it insures its non-poisonous status. The Navogisi trust Eliot because he has learned to be wary of them. Wariness means respect.
This is a work of fiction that demands respect, but ends in a sort of love. In “My White Man,” Siuwako, teaches Eliot the Navogisi way of gardening. But she also teaches him how to talk about menstrual blood. When she bleeds, she teaches him its name, just as the men are always telling him ”the name of this and the name of that.” He’s surprised because men in America don’t talk about such things with women. She goes on, teaching him, leading him, “her" white man. The proprietorial sense of the title of her story reveals just how much Eliot owes to the people he came to study. They have taught him as much about himself as about their own lives. And we are all the better for what he has learned. This is a work of fiction that makes very real the meaning of respect, wariness and love.
Don Mitchell first met the Nagovisi when he did field work as an anthropologist in the 1960’s and 70’s in Bougainville. It is fascinating to see the way he never allows his fictional anthropologist a point of view. We learn about Eliot from the villagers. They know him by the questions he asks, and often by the way he has learned from them. What do you do when you are offered a betel nut? Eliot has learned how the giver should lick it before handing it over, since licking it insures its non-poisonous status. The Navogisi trust Eliot because he has learned to be wary of them. Wariness means respect.
This is a work of fiction that demands respect, but ends in a sort of love. In “My White Man,” Siuwako, teaches Eliot the Navogisi way of gardening. But she also teaches him how to talk about menstrual blood. When she bleeds, she teaches him its name, just as the men are always telling him ”the name of this and the name of that.” He’s surprised because men in America don’t talk about such things with women. She goes on, teaching him, leading him, “her" white man. The proprietorial sense of the title of her story reveals just how much Eliot owes to the people he came to study. They have taught him as much about himself as about their own lives. And we are all the better for what he has learned. This is a work of fiction that makes very real the meaning of respect, wariness and love.
January 6, 2015
Read 9/3/14 - 9/11/14
3 Stars - Recommended to fans of interconnected stories / stories that take place in a foreign setting, told from a foreign perspective
Pages: 266
Publisher: Saddle Road Press
Released: 2013
An American eco-anthropologist relocates himself to the Bougainville Island in the 1960's with the intent of studying the group of native Nagovisi there. Instead, he finds himself becoming an active member of their tribe, viewed as student and fellow clan-member, and the subject of the Nagovisi's own curiosities.
Based on the real life research of author Don Mitchell, these fictional narrations closely mirror the interactions and experiences Don had with the Nagovisi people. But there's a twist. The narratives are written from the Nagovisi point of view. Natural born story tellers and teachers, the tribe members each get an opportunity to share their thoughts and conversations with Elliott - our fictional anthropologist protagonist - as well as dishing up the dirt on some of their local legends. It's a clever spin on the short story with each story containing a vivid, colorful peek into their fears, uncertainties, and willingness, though not without wariness, in accepting a white man into their lives. And through these stories, the reader is then able to piece together just who this Elliott character is.
This collection of "Stories from Nagovisi", unlike anything I've read before and not likely to match anything I'll read going forward, is both sensitive and emotionally jarring. The writing is simple and beautific, perfectly complimenting what life in the bush must have been like back then. Clan members sit in their "cookhouses" and chew betel to pass the time. They teach Elliott their ways and immerse him in their daily chores. But this collection is also harsh, direct, and unpredictable, as is the culture of those who are narrating. Dogs are trained to dislike different races and are killed without a second thought when they misbehave. Each clan operates under it's own rules and laws. Trust is hard to come by and when the clan feels threatened, it's leader, Mesiamo, will lay false blame to control the threat, which results in fighting and unchecked murder, all of which is forgiven once each side "becomes even".
Sparse and extremely straight forward, A Red Woman Crying breaks down the barriers and allows its readers to get directly into the heads of the Nagovisi; no holds barred, no punches pulled. The subtle beauty of a foreign way of life shines through in Don's capable hands.
*This book will be featured in an upcoming TNBBC Author/Reader Discussion: the giveaway will be held during the first week of December, with the week-long discussion taking place in mid-January. Details will be released as we get closer to the giveaway date.
*My review is in no way colored by the fact that we've selected this title for the discussion series.
3 Stars - Recommended to fans of interconnected stories / stories that take place in a foreign setting, told from a foreign perspective
Pages: 266
Publisher: Saddle Road Press
Released: 2013
An American eco-anthropologist relocates himself to the Bougainville Island in the 1960's with the intent of studying the group of native Nagovisi there. Instead, he finds himself becoming an active member of their tribe, viewed as student and fellow clan-member, and the subject of the Nagovisi's own curiosities.
Based on the real life research of author Don Mitchell, these fictional narrations closely mirror the interactions and experiences Don had with the Nagovisi people. But there's a twist. The narratives are written from the Nagovisi point of view. Natural born story tellers and teachers, the tribe members each get an opportunity to share their thoughts and conversations with Elliott - our fictional anthropologist protagonist - as well as dishing up the dirt on some of their local legends. It's a clever spin on the short story with each story containing a vivid, colorful peek into their fears, uncertainties, and willingness, though not without wariness, in accepting a white man into their lives. And through these stories, the reader is then able to piece together just who this Elliott character is.
This collection of "Stories from Nagovisi", unlike anything I've read before and not likely to match anything I'll read going forward, is both sensitive and emotionally jarring. The writing is simple and beautific, perfectly complimenting what life in the bush must have been like back then. Clan members sit in their "cookhouses" and chew betel to pass the time. They teach Elliott their ways and immerse him in their daily chores. But this collection is also harsh, direct, and unpredictable, as is the culture of those who are narrating. Dogs are trained to dislike different races and are killed without a second thought when they misbehave. Each clan operates under it's own rules and laws. Trust is hard to come by and when the clan feels threatened, it's leader, Mesiamo, will lay false blame to control the threat, which results in fighting and unchecked murder, all of which is forgiven once each side "becomes even".
Sparse and extremely straight forward, A Red Woman Crying breaks down the barriers and allows its readers to get directly into the heads of the Nagovisi; no holds barred, no punches pulled. The subtle beauty of a foreign way of life shines through in Don's capable hands.
*This book will be featured in an upcoming TNBBC Author/Reader Discussion: the giveaway will be held during the first week of December, with the week-long discussion taking place in mid-January. Details will be released as we get closer to the giveaway date.
*My review is in no way colored by the fact that we've selected this title for the discussion series.
October 14, 2013
Don Mitchell's "A Red Woman Was Crying" is a very different type of book for me. As a fan of mostly fantasy and scifi, I have very little experience with either anthropology or literary fiction. This book is a mix of the two, described in a blurb on the back as "ethnographic fiction". The book's format is simple: short-story length chapters about the Nagovisi are punctuated with flash-fiction length folk tales. The twist? The stories' narrators are Nagovisi themselves, describing their experiences with a white anthropologist named Elliot. It's a great way to explore people (and that's really what fiction's about anyways). Despite my lack of experience with anthropology, I imagine the concept behind the book might be an issue for some people. Mitchell sidesteps this by writing the Nagovisi with clarity and honesty instead of presumption.
The book was a little slow for me to begin with, but by the end I was enjoying it thoroughly. I suspect this has less to do with the book itself than it does with my tastes -- once I got "into it", I was hooked. It's definitely a book I would consider reading again so I can get the most out of those earlier chapters.
Overall, "A Red Woman Was Crying" is a great book, especially for those looking for character-driven literary fiction, or for someone interested in anthropology. I'm glad to have read it -- hopefully things will go this well next time I decide to try expanding my literary horizons.
The book was a little slow for me to begin with, but by the end I was enjoying it thoroughly. I suspect this has less to do with the book itself than it does with my tastes -- once I got "into it", I was hooked. It's definitely a book I would consider reading again so I can get the most out of those earlier chapters.
Overall, "A Red Woman Was Crying" is a great book, especially for those looking for character-driven literary fiction, or for someone interested in anthropology. I'm glad to have read it -- hopefully things will go this well next time I decide to try expanding my literary horizons.
August 24, 2013
Beautiful stories, fascinating, sometimes funny or horrific, often moving. The stories are all told by Nagovisi narrators (Nagovisi is on Bougainville in the Solomon Islands) and the characters return in various stories, including the American anthropologist, Elliot. But instead of the anthropologist telling us about the Nagovisi, they are telling us about him! And about themselves, and WWII (Allies vs Japanese on Bougsinville), Australian colonialism, the huge copper mine that is taking over, and Western religion and cultural pressures that are changing their world. The stories take place in the early 70s, and Elliott is also preoccupied with the Viet Nam War and his own issues as a young American man in a faraway place. The book evokes a way of life that has now disappeared. Yet the most moving stories show the growth of deep friendships and understanding between Nagovisi and the American, and show the vivid personalities of some of the Nagovisi, especially Mesiamo, who was a real (famous) person. I think this would be a fascinating book for a book discussion group -- rich and enjoyable to read, yet with so much to talk about.(less)
August 24, 2013
This book combines some of my favorite things: unexpected characters, mind games, humor. Each story is told from a different character, most of whom are puzzling out how to get into the mind of "their white man." It's a bit like Victor/Victoria, but rather than a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman; it's a white man getting into the mind of a Nagovisi getting into the mind of a white man. The stories are layered and complex in themselves, and then they play off each other offering larger insight in the village/world the characters live in. The writing is more than just a neat trick to explore how people think, it's absorbing because it gets into their hearts as well.
September 30, 2013
This book totally surprised me! At first I was unsure if I would enjoy it, but I kept reading. There was something that unsettled me about the voices of the characters I met. And then I realized that what was unsettling me was also bringing me into the world of the novel, a world so different from my own.
My favorite story of the whole collection was "My White Man," partly because it was told by the only woman narrator in the book, partly because that story revealed so much about Eliot, the White Man who was so changed by his time with the Nagovisi.
This was a good read.
My favorite story of the whole collection was "My White Man," partly because it was told by the only woman narrator in the book, partly because that story revealed so much about Eliot, the White Man who was so changed by his time with the Nagovisi.
This was a good read.
December 7, 2016
I stumbled upon this collection of linked short stories at a bookstore in Hilo and was immediately absorbed in the Nagovisi way of life and the glimpses of human nature we share. Through the perspective of various narrators the author explores his experience as an anthropologist in the South Pacific Island of Bougainville during the Vietnam era. As such, these short stories form a fictional memoir. Don Mitchell writes with an anthropologist's eyes and ears, and a writer's heart. A Red Woman Was Crying is compelling, enduring literary fiction. I highly recommend it!
August 26, 2013
A fantastic work of storytelling and ethnography from Don Mitchell, channeling his days in the early 70's amongst the Nagovisi people of the South Pacific. The narrative device is original and immersive. These interlinked tales form an incredibly complex and moving narrative capable of transporting us far from our everyday lives. The content ranges from gorgeous to disturbing to profound. Worth buying several copies and sharing with friends.
June 25, 2019
"When you understand what the copper mine has done to you, there will be trouble".
I quite enjoyed these stories. It was just enough, not too much. Don Mitchell touches on all the key points without getting preachy or lecturing.
Sorcery, kinship, incest, head hunting, war, gardening, beetle nut.
Don's account of his friends violent internal resistance to America's war in Vietnam has a troubling micro-parallel in the war against the Panguna copper mine which developed in the years after he left Bougainville post anthropological field work. The interconnected narrative of his lover's ambiguous suggestion he was father to her child, a child adopted out under a false name at birth, is the most powerful thread in the book for me. connected like a spiders web to so many aspects of the story.
I was afraid I might shame myself by feeling disrespect for the native characters, but I found Don's writing immensely sympathetic towards them, and his affection was clear, and unsparing of himself - so I trusted his rendition of life in the Nagovisi village.
In the end quite a melancholic tale, but rich, clean and kind.
I quite enjoyed these stories. It was just enough, not too much. Don Mitchell touches on all the key points without getting preachy or lecturing.
Sorcery, kinship, incest, head hunting, war, gardening, beetle nut.
Don's account of his friends violent internal resistance to America's war in Vietnam has a troubling micro-parallel in the war against the Panguna copper mine which developed in the years after he left Bougainville post anthropological field work. The interconnected narrative of his lover's ambiguous suggestion he was father to her child, a child adopted out under a false name at birth, is the most powerful thread in the book for me. connected like a spiders web to so many aspects of the story.
I was afraid I might shame myself by feeling disrespect for the native characters, but I found Don's writing immensely sympathetic towards them, and his affection was clear, and unsparing of himself - so I trusted his rendition of life in the Nagovisi village.
In the end quite a melancholic tale, but rich, clean and kind.
May 11, 2017
This was a different type of book than I'd typically read. I've never really known much about cultural anthropology, or been too interested in it for that matter. I was hesitant to pick up this book, because I wasn't sure if I'd like it. That being said, I'm so glad I did! It took me a while to get into it, so definitely keep reading. It has opened my eyes in so many ways about how important and necessary it is to understand other cultures and how they live. The book is about the Nagovisi describing their experiences and interactions with a white male anthropologist named Elliot. I loved how the book wasn't talking about how Elliot was feeling, rather the Nagovisi talking about him. It was a different take, which I thought was really cool. The short stories throughout this book were all extremely interesting, and changed the way I think about cultures different than my own. I enjoyed how each story was told by a different character and how they're all trying to understand Elliot. This is definitely a great read, I would highly recommend it!
October 17, 2021
Though this is a collection of short stories, they all weave together to form a full picture of the Nagovisi culture and the relationship they have with their white man, Elliot. It's quite an intimate read and you can immediately feel the friendship and familial bonds between the individuals, as well as the cultural divides that will always remain between them. There was also a lot friendly jesting and crude jokes that had me smiling with these richly developed characters as if I were there with them.
The only real complaint I had was with the formatting, where at times I couldn't tell who was speaking due to a lack of paragraph breaks between speakers, but it didn't happen enough that it detracted from how much enjoyed the read.
I wish I had read this with my book club, because there are a lot of discussions to be had regarding colonialism, war, and humanity in general here. I'll have to settle with recommending this book to them and hoping they'll give it a read.
The only real complaint I had was with the formatting, where at times I couldn't tell who was speaking due to a lack of paragraph breaks between speakers, but it didn't happen enough that it detracted from how much enjoyed the read.
I wish I had read this with my book club, because there are a lot of discussions to be had regarding colonialism, war, and humanity in general here. I'll have to settle with recommending this book to them and hoping they'll give it a read.
October 5, 2021
Wow!
I won this book as a Goodreads giveaway.
This book is an amazing journey into another culture that is so unique that everyone should read it at some point. I would even recommend it for high school honors, AP, and DE classes.
I won this book as a Goodreads giveaway.
This book is an amazing journey into another culture that is so unique that everyone should read it at some point. I would even recommend it for high school honors, AP, and DE classes.
August 23, 2013
Beautifully written, fascinating, sometimes funny or horrific, often moving. The stories are all told by Nagovisi narrators (Nagovisi is on Bougainville in the Solomon Islands) and the characters return in various stories, including the American anthropologist, Elliot. But instead of the anthropologist telling us about the Nagovisi, they are telling us about him! And about themselves, and WWII (Allies vs Japanese on Bougsinville), Australian colonialism, the huge copper mine that is taking over, and Western religion and cultural pressures that are changing their world. The stories take place in the early 70s, and Elliott is also preoccupied with the Viet Nam War and his own issues as a young American man in a faraway place. The book evokes a way of life that has now disappeared. Yet the most moving stories show the growth of deep friendships and understanding between Nagovisi and the American, and show the vivid personalities of some of the Nagovisi, especially Mesiamo, who was a real (famous) person. I think this would be a fascinating book for a book discussion group -- rich and enjoyable to read, yet with so much to talk about.
October 6, 2017
At the start of A RED WOMAN WAS CRYING, Don Mitchell mentions that in the early 1970s he lived among the Nagovisi people and what’s contained in the book is fiction. Good storytelling entertains. Great storytelling makes things real, and that’s what he does in the collection.
From the different narrators, a reader learns about the the Nagovisi’s culture—learning as one goes along, possibly much in the same way the anthropologist, Elliott, did as well. “I Don’t Kill People Anymore” is a well-paced story about Mesiamo, a leader among his people, and Elliot, who discover that shame and courage aren’t perceived the same way. “Fireflies Killed Her” is about a man who grapples with who actually killed his wife and why the violence ever happened. In “My White Man,” Elliot and Siuwako’s friendship is genuine and touching. Their attraction, one they could never explore, is completely believable.
What stood out for me was how a willingness to understand others transcended cultural barriers. Friendships endure because of shared humanity.
Highly recommended.
From the different narrators, a reader learns about the the Nagovisi’s culture—learning as one goes along, possibly much in the same way the anthropologist, Elliott, did as well. “I Don’t Kill People Anymore” is a well-paced story about Mesiamo, a leader among his people, and Elliot, who discover that shame and courage aren’t perceived the same way. “Fireflies Killed Her” is about a man who grapples with who actually killed his wife and why the violence ever happened. In “My White Man,” Elliot and Siuwako’s friendship is genuine and touching. Their attraction, one they could never explore, is completely believable.
What stood out for me was how a willingness to understand others transcended cultural barriers. Friendships endure because of shared humanity.
Highly recommended.
December 14, 2014
Speaking in several voices, Don Mitchell reveals another culture (as well as our own) with grace, thoughtfulness and wit. This gem of a collection is thought provoking, intelligent, and utterly accessible. His characters are insightful, complex and utterly real and quite identifiable. It's a joy to discover them and spend time with them through both their joy and pain. A Red Woman Was Crying is a true treasure on the shelf.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews