| Malaria Journal, a novel substantially based on my experience as a Peace Corps volunteer, is set in Papua New Guinea and the United States, though primarily in Papua New Guinea. The first person protagonist, Sean, meets another American contract teacher, Tory, while visiting Goroka, the provincial capital of Eastern Highlands Province, before traveling to his rural teaching assignment. The novel charts their experience for the two years following their meeting. The novel, though, is not simply about their respective cross-cultural experiences in a stunningly diverse and unique country, the novel also contains doubling. Over the course of the novel, Sean and Tory's characters become readily integrated even as they remain distinct. When Tory is murdered, Sean “becomes” Tory, writing letters to Tory's mother as though Tory is still alive. The novel is a hybrid narrative project that melds together creative non-fiction (memoir), fiction, poetry, and newspaper reportage. The layering of the various narrative elements provides a pastiche through which to consider Papua New Guinea, a country with over eight hundred indigenous languages. |
