Seducing the Spirits

When Jenny, a budding ornithologist, is sent to a remote region of Panama to observe its eagles, she discovers that interacting with the Kuna villagers of the area is just as important (and sometimes just as puzzling) as studying the birds. Cassandra Campbell's facility with accents helps to bring the characters to life and provides a contrast to the descriptive and reflective passages in this slow-paced novel. At one point, when Jenny is reading from a villager's diary, it's difficult to determine who is speaking, but Campbell's narration is otherwise easy to follow. Her smooth voice lends a sensual tone to this story of a young graduate student who falls under the spell of her tropical surroundings. A.E.B. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

September 7, 2009
Anthropologist Louise Young has turned her nearly two decades working with the indigenous Kuna people of Panama into a compassionate and passion-filled debut novel of a white woman’s journey into this unique culture. Grad student Jenny Dunfrey is an ornithologist studying the harpy eagle when she’s sent off to do her research in a remote area near the Colombian border where she knows neither the language nor the culture. Her only directive: don’t “piss off” the natives. Slowly, as Jenny makes progress on her research of the eagles, so, too, does she learn about the Kuna, who are fascinated with her: a tall, blonde American from Montana. Jenny is an inconsistent character, but Young does an excellent job with the supporting cast. Pedro is a protector; Litos, the devoted friend; Eulogio “the most handsome man” Jenny has ever seen; and Ceferino, the community healer. As Jenny navigates these new friendships—and avoids the one American, a caricature of a violent white missionary—she gets herself into trouble, but also absorbs the culture in many unexpected ways. Young’s narrative is enthralling and entertaining—a decidedly fun, exotic read.