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The Beast in the Jungle
April 1914. Former US President Theodore Roosevelt and his son Kermit have embarked on a dangerous expedition down an uncharted river in the Brazilian Amazon. Threatened as they are by disease, drowning and starvation, an even greater peril awaits them when they are captured by a local Indian tribe, the mysterious Cinta Larga, and forced to hunt for a savage creature laying waste to the jungle's inhabitants. In their search for the elusive beast, they find unexpected allies in a young mother and her half-caste child. But with hopes, dreams and lives at stake, father and son must confront the fissures in their own relationship and the dark secrets from their shared past. This exciting psychological thriller, inspired by actual historical events and figures, charts an audacious journey through the Amazonian heart of darkness and explores the demons that live within and without.
321 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 13, 2014
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122 people want to read
About the author
Louis Bayard
30 books715 followersA staff writer for Salon.com, Bayard has written articles and reviews for the New York Times, the Washington Post, Nerve.com, and Preservation, among others. Bayard lives in Washington, D.C.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 10, 2014
Kermit has been cajoled into accompanied his aged and ailing Father, former president Theodore Roosevelt on an exploration down an uncharted river in the Brazilian Amazon despite his imminent marriage. When they get lost in the jungle and discovered by a tribe who command them via Luz, a missionary’s daughter, to kill a mysterious beast that has destroyed many people. Kermit comes to realise the beast is more than flesh and blood and more akin to the spectral hallucinations that have haunted him his whole life.
This is one of the best surprises I’ve had in book blogging so far! I requested this from Bookbridgr, not really sure what to expect, and when it arrived the size, shape and cover made me expect something fairly dry and historical. But though it was a bit slow to get started, the book grabbed my attention and took me on an engrossing adventure where I really had no idea where I was going.
The scenes and descriptions were marvellous, the characters well-realised and the adventure thrilling – the interplay of different cultures and the relationships were cleverly conveyed and explored.
The book started very realistically (though slightly dully) detailing the exploration of the river, and it took a little while for the real action and beast of the jungle to appear. This gave an interesting flavour to it: we see everything from Kermit’s viewpoint, which we have already come to trust with realistic details. The beast which seems so out of the realms of reality is presented from a trusted source – but we still can’t quite believe it.
Therefore we don’t know what to think of what Kermit thinks. Is this all a result of tribal imagination? A Brazillian creature we’ve not heard of? Or more supernatural, as it appears to be? The tension and mystery is sustained well: and mixed with well painted characters who have definite opinions, the puzzle of what is actually going on is engrossing.
The characters of different races, backgrounds and personalities were intriguing in themselves. I particularly enjoyed the more retiring Kermit’s interactions with his larger-than-life eccentric father; the balance of differences which separated them and family ties that brought them together was well played.
The main female character, Luz, was also well portrayed. She could easily have been set up as a stereotype: warrior princess or damsel in distress or even just confusing and complex, but instead she had a definite self-hood that didn’t depend on any male, an intelligence, world-view, opinions and a plan. Unlike the two-dimensional fiancé Belle, who Kermit was distantly in love with – but her shallowness was rather the point. A nice device was that Kermit could speak Portuguese to Luz, who could then translate to the tribe, which meant that all communication had to go through them, creating a in between space that only they could understand.
Structurally we move between Kermit’s experience in the jungle and his life outside of it through his reminiscing, highlighting the strengths and fissures in his relationship with his father and what made him who he is now, and also showing the effect of the time in the jungle on the rest of his life. This adds to the mystery and broadens the scope of this experience, though I would have liked to know
more about after the jungle – it felt unbalanced.
This was a surprising, exciting and mystifying adventure that I’d recommend – though keep pushing through the first bit!
This is one of the best surprises I’ve had in book blogging so far! I requested this from Bookbridgr, not really sure what to expect, and when it arrived the size, shape and cover made me expect something fairly dry and historical. But though it was a bit slow to get started, the book grabbed my attention and took me on an engrossing adventure where I really had no idea where I was going.
The scenes and descriptions were marvellous, the characters well-realised and the adventure thrilling – the interplay of different cultures and the relationships were cleverly conveyed and explored.
The book started very realistically (though slightly dully) detailing the exploration of the river, and it took a little while for the real action and beast of the jungle to appear. This gave an interesting flavour to it: we see everything from Kermit’s viewpoint, which we have already come to trust with realistic details. The beast which seems so out of the realms of reality is presented from a trusted source – but we still can’t quite believe it.
Therefore we don’t know what to think of what Kermit thinks. Is this all a result of tribal imagination? A Brazillian creature we’ve not heard of? Or more supernatural, as it appears to be? The tension and mystery is sustained well: and mixed with well painted characters who have definite opinions, the puzzle of what is actually going on is engrossing.
The characters of different races, backgrounds and personalities were intriguing in themselves. I particularly enjoyed the more retiring Kermit’s interactions with his larger-than-life eccentric father; the balance of differences which separated them and family ties that brought them together was well played.
The main female character, Luz, was also well portrayed. She could easily have been set up as a stereotype: warrior princess or damsel in distress or even just confusing and complex, but instead she had a definite self-hood that didn’t depend on any male, an intelligence, world-view, opinions and a plan. Unlike the two-dimensional fiancé Belle, who Kermit was distantly in love with – but her shallowness was rather the point. A nice device was that Kermit could speak Portuguese to Luz, who could then translate to the tribe, which meant that all communication had to go through them, creating a in between space that only they could understand.
Structurally we move between Kermit’s experience in the jungle and his life outside of it through his reminiscing, highlighting the strengths and fissures in his relationship with his father and what made him who he is now, and also showing the effect of the time in the jungle on the rest of his life. This adds to the mystery and broadens the scope of this experience, though I would have liked to know
more about after the jungle – it felt unbalanced.
This was a surprising, exciting and mystifying adventure that I’d recommend – though keep pushing through the first bit!
March 5, 2021
Disappointed. This is my first Henry James, recommended by a good friend. It was a tough 49 pages of long confusing run-on sentences. The third person storyteller apparently knows little about the characters, John and Mary, but at least John is easy to understand. He is an inert, self-absorbed, clueless individual who does nothing with his life but sit and wait for something big and scary to happen. Mary is the mystery. Why does she spend decades of her life putting up with John? She says she knows what is troubling him, but can never quite express it. She speaks in half sentences suggesting she knows something almost profound. This is an interesting exercise in story telling creating a deep mystery out of an essentially two dimensional melodramatic tale. I will try another of Henry James’ short stories.
February 4, 2019
I'm going to keep this simple; the ending to this book ruined the concept for me. What started as a pretty good mystery, adventure novel turned into a somewhat psychological story that made little sense to me. The ending almost felt very rushed.
February 10, 2023
One of my favorite writers—even enjoyed the recent video adaptation of Pale Blue Eye—this story remained so disjointed to me, midway through the total page count that I gave it up. I was sad about that.
May 21, 2016
Former President Theodore Roosevelt and his son Kermit need an adventure. Living in South America, they take the chance to chart an unknown river, the Rio da Duvida. As they get deeper into the jungle, they begin to realise that something else is following in their path.
Told from Kermit's perspective, The Beast in the Jungle is rich with setting and atmosphere. It is reminiscent of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness - particularly given the framing narrative and the superstitions surrounding the jungle in both novels - but Bayard adds a complicated father-son relationship into the mix to give The Beast in the Jungle depth and richness.
The magical and superstitious sections where Kermit 'sees' his brother Edward or where he investigates what the beast is take a bit of getting used to. It's difficult to be truly invested in these sections because they differ so much from the real and tangible settings that Bayard creates for the rest of the novel. However, the fascinating relationship between Theodore and Kermit, plus the mysterious setting, carries the novel forward.
The Beast in the Jungle is a good, short read for anyone wanting to escape to the deepest part of South America.
Told from Kermit's perspective, The Beast in the Jungle is rich with setting and atmosphere. It is reminiscent of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness - particularly given the framing narrative and the superstitions surrounding the jungle in both novels - but Bayard adds a complicated father-son relationship into the mix to give The Beast in the Jungle depth and richness.
The magical and superstitious sections where Kermit 'sees' his brother Edward or where he investigates what the beast is take a bit of getting used to. It's difficult to be truly invested in these sections because they differ so much from the real and tangible settings that Bayard creates for the rest of the novel. However, the fascinating relationship between Theodore and Kermit, plus the mysterious setting, carries the novel forward.
The Beast in the Jungle is a good, short read for anyone wanting to escape to the deepest part of South America.
June 3, 2015
Clever - perhaps that was the problem. The blurb calls it an "exciting psychological thriller" but I was never really drawn into it.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews