"Things Bright and Beautiful" was a gorgeous book: dense and cloying with amazing description. Highly recommended.

Rather than a continuous flowing story, this just seemed to be a random book of ramblings with no coherence to them at all. I struggled to keep going with it, as it was very very slow and a bit confusing and it just didn’t capture my attention. The descriptive nature of various bodily fluids was quite disgusting. Never have I grimaced so much when reading a book due to the author’s repeated use of the words pus and vomit! Sorry, just not for me I’m afraid.

With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Things Bright and Beautiful is set in the New Hebrides in the 1950s. Max, a missionary, and his new wife, Beatriz, are trying to settle on the island to pursue missionary work. It’s a huge culture shock with the terrain, climate, food, odd spiritual goings-on and then the previous missionary suddenly appears.

I really didn't get on with the book as I found it a bit confusing - it seemed to chop and change around timewise with flashbacks and in the now time. I'm afraid I lost the plot somewhere in about a third of the book and gave up!

It was a very descriptive book and although that's always a good thing i found the plot difficult to get into around all the descriptions of the island etc.

Sorry, it wasn't for me!

An interesting read that encaptures how difficult it is to live as missionaries on the outskirts of a jungle. I was certainly intrigued by this premise and the execution was done well. Not something I would typically read but I was pleasantly surprised.

The writing and setting of this story were both wonderful and fully immersive, however I unfortunately struggled to connect with characters other than Max and Bea.

A sensual and original novel about missionaries on a remote tropical island. This debut is beautifully written and darkly humorous. It will completely transport you to another time and place while exploring a marriage in crisis and the influence of Christianity. Would definitely recommend.

How to describe ‘Things Bright and Beautiful’ by Anbara Salam? It is a tale of the 1950s set on a Pacific island where the author authentically creates the sweltering heat, the humidity, the tropical jungle and the natives. It is a claustrophobic tale of differing religious beliefs where confusion, conviction and malaria bring about an unexpected ending. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, it was a wild card choice and I really enjoyed it.
Bea and Max Hanlon arrive on Advent Island in the remote New Hebrides as Max takes up his post as island missionary to spread the word to the heathen natives. It is not what they expected. Bea is soon picking rat droppings from their bag of rice while Max deals with a lack of clocks making scheduling a morning service difficult. Not to mention the group praying and singing at night, this ‘dark praying’ is intended to expel dark spirits and is done outside the Mission House whilst Max and Bea attempt to sleep. The authorial tone is at first fond and humorous as Bea and Max face up to their difficulties shackled by language differences and the late arrival of their trunks. They are literally thrown in at the deep end. Bea negotiates the many taboos and starts a kitchen garden. I particularly enjoyed the description of one mysterious vegetable as ‘hedge’. But their house is their own, until the previous missionary reappears unannounced. The always-humming Marietta cannot take a hint and tramps around as if she owns the place. She is the grit on which the story takes a dark and threatening turn.
Two small criticisms. There are so many peripheral characters with island names that I ceased to remember who was who. And at times the island dominated character and plot.
If you are looking for a novel in which to lose yourself, this is it. An atmospheric, spooky and at times downright yucky tale of how religion can turn quickly into fanaticism. It is about a fight for survival in a world which starts off as a dream and ends as a nightmare. I enjoyed Bea’s journey as she adapts to her new world, makes the best of things, makes friends, ignores the silliest taboos and gets herself into trouble.
In the jungle, is it the fittest that survive or the cleverest? A highly imaginative debut.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

An immersive and claustrophobic read. Salam's debut takes place on the fictional Advent Island and for the duration of the book the reader really feels every movement, hears every noise and experiences every smell. I was desperate to leave the island as the plot descended into madness but that's the best part of the book - how it sucks you in to the action and doesn't let you go.

I have had a run of books which weren't what I expected by the preview. I found this one rather boring and didn't connect with any of the characters. Probably just me having a bad day.

Anbara Salam’s debut novel is an atmospheric and powerful tale. Pastor Max and his wife Bea have moved to a South Sea Island, where Max is the new missionary for the church.

The claustrophobic atmosphere of the island sets the scene for this strange story, which considers the power of religion and superstition. It addresses the dislocation between the traditional beliefs of the islanders and Max’s intention for them to find Christianity. It also looks at the deterioration in the relationship between Max and Bea.

The oppressive nature of life on the island is beautifully described and you can sense the heat and humidity. Whilst the novel is set in the 1950s it feels older and almost gothic. An excellent debut.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

This novel is set in the New Hebrides in the 1950s. It is historical fiction although not based on a real place or actual historical characters. Max is an American Christian missionary who has been posted to the small Advent Island in the Pacific to where he takes his new Venezuelan wife, Bea. They both have expectations of how their life there will be and the narrative concerns the many ways in which these expectations are thwarted, The unusual setting and themes caused me to wish to find out more about the author. Anbara Salam has a degree in theology and spent 6 months working on a South Pacific island.
Bea and Max arrive on the island long before their luggage and belongings and have to make do in a situation very different from their previous life experiences. Their marriage quickly seems to suffer from their deprivations but these are as nothing compared to the descent into darkness of Max's behaviour. In contrast Bea gradually becomes at one with the island although not with the taboos and restrictions placed on her as a woman. The island is so well described it is a character in itself.
This is a dark and upsetting story which is very well told. My stomach churned with some of Bea's experiences and I shivered at the descriptions of the exorcising rituals. I wonder will there be more about Bea in a future novel as there could certainly be more stories to tell, both of her past and her future.
I received a complimentary arc of this novel form the publisher via Net Galley in return for an honest review.

What a debut! This must be one of the most powerfully evocative novels, which I read feverishly. Anbara Salam’s mesmerising prose is full of fertile, almost hypnotic imagery and I was captivated by the terrifying remoteness of the savage island she describes and the relentless struggle for survival by its inhabitants.
But the central theme is the emotional, mental and physical toll on a newly married couple, when they arrive on this most unglamorous of islands. In the fifties Bea dutifully follows her missionary husband, Max, to the remote Advent Island in the South Pacific, now known as Vanuatu.
Advent Island bore absolutely no resemblance to ‘South Pacific’, which Max had taken Bea to see as preparation for their trip. Instead she’d been greeted by the sight and smell of a bloated and skinless corpse of a cat that had been washed on to the beach, impenetrable jungle, treacherous ravines hung with vast spiders’ webs, vertiginous, spiralling paths and half naked men wielding machetes. Their new home, Mission House, was made of woven bamboo and pandan leaf; their furniture consisted of 2 stools and a splintery table; their lavatory was a great hole in the ground reached by circuiting the whole house, and entailed bearing your behind to teeming insects.
The purpose of Max’s mission was to bring the Word of Christianity to the island; his firm belief being that there could be no higher calling than to bring the Good News to untouched communities. On their third week on Advent Island Max is awoken to the sounds of young women screaming in his church, and discovers an exorcism being performed. Max is bemused by how the locals cling on to the corrupted parts of their faith and is naively undermined by Mr Aru, the local religious leader, who teaches his hybridised interpretation of the Protestant faith. At the same time Max overestimates his own ability to help them turn their backs on their heathen practices and superstitions.
Bea struggles to adapt to the numerous ‘tabus’ and cultural restrictions surrounding women, but she attempts to grow her own vegetables and forages off the land for anything edible to supplement their meagre rice supplies. Her daily life sets her fresh challenges, such as discovering mushy rat droppings in their cooked rice, sorting weevils out of the powdered milk or doing the laundry with a wooden slab and bucket. When the torrential rains threaten the little she has to eat, Bea has to break into the church to grab the last crumbs of rat-gnawed Communion crackers. Little by little she develops an unflinching determination to cope with her harsh new life.
Things take an unfortunate turn with the unannounced arrival of an earlier missionary, the imperious, self-righteous and parasitic Marietta. Her controlling personality and repulsive traits test Bea and Max to breaking point, leaving us wondering who will break first. Although Max always asks Bea to appeal to her charitable nature, he is equally harbouring mutinous thoughts.
As pressures build on Max and with increasing loss of control of his ‘flock’, the new religion failing to impact on the islanders’ ‘kastoms’ and ‘tabus’, and under Marietta and Mr Aru’s thumb, his inaction leads to a situation that threatens his sanity and places Bea through a terrifying ordeal.
This story couldn’t be further from the usual glamourised portrayals of palm-fringed paradise islands. With its primitive, nightmarish scenarios and claustrophobic atmosphere, it is a psychologically intense character study, but it also tells a story of stoicism, endurance and hope and is written with great talent.
Many thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Books (UK) Figtree and to Anbara Salam for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of Things Bright and Beautiful.

Mission House in 1954 is a house not built for 3.

Beatrix Hanlon agrees to accompany her missionary husband to a remote island. It would be challenging, hot and humid and dirty but she was a devoted wife and was willing to put up with it.

As months go by Bea slowly gets used to the island - that is until a visitor arrives; a visitor who hums interminably and the couple are pushed to their limit in their tiny house.

Events lead to Bea watching her husband go mad with guilt and her own life and freedom are almost taken away from her.

This book is a good read, an unusual storyline which explores subjects that are not always comfortable to read. Bea and Max are strong characters and you are rooting for them and must keep reading to find out the ending. This was not always easy because the book had a lot of slow moments which pushed my patience several times.

A book which explores religion and the power of belief even in the most testing of situations.

Chester.

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of this book to review.

The description of the landscape is amazing- you can truly appreciate the level of research and experience the author has of the jungle. Set in the Hebrides islands, max and bea arrive without their possessions and take up residence in a hovel of a home, with little food or supplies. The unrest is palpable- the whole island seems unstable. This book examines mental health and oppression, shedding a light on a community being torn apart

Thanks Penguin Books (UK) and netgalley for this ARC.

Starts out slow and makes you want to give up but don't because you will be rewarded in the end with a funny, furious, and crazy novel.

This is a beautiful book in terms of colour and bringing imagination to the forefront. It centres around Bea and her preacher husband Max who move to a remote island in the Pacific. The mix of religion and island superstitions is a key element to the story. For me personally I found it difficult to fully engage with the story, and although the characters and parts of the story was lovely it just wasn't for me.

It' s not often I give up on a book but after getting half way I just couldn't go on.It is so slow and oppressive,and takes so long for anything to happen that it lowered my spirits.It does convey the heat and humidity of the islands in which it's set,but in such a way that you would never ever want to go there.
Sorry,but not for me.

This was one of those novels where I adored the beautiful writing and was immersed into the setting but didn't quite manage to connect with the characters.

The premise was highly intriguing, the actual backdrop to the life of these missionaries was pitch perfect, I felt I was living there with them. The theme of religious beliefs and differing cultures was fascinating and I felt like Anbara Salam really got into the deep seated island community and she writes with an unsettling and dark prose that really appealed.

Overall it was a mesmerising read but my lack of character love just dropped it slightly on a very subjective and personal level. Overall this was a literary debut of high standard and I'll look forward to more from this author.

This book was both enlightening and shocking in the turn of a page. I was transported to the depths of the jungle and could feel the heat, the need for food and water and the fear of not getting either, for the characters in the story. I was wrapped up in the turmoil surrounding the missionary and his wife and was left reeling at the blood-curdling occurrences within the story. The story had many shades of dark and light; included in these, suspicion and maybe superstition? The ending........ totally unexpected.

Full of great detail, the book moves along at staid pace until last quarter when it becomes a frenzy ...- not sure why the author thought it necessary to build up so slowly except we are watching in close up the upheavals of value. .. what is commendable (and I did not expec it) are the developments of character, when the earlier missionary, Marietta, arrived and then just did not leave .. they both are tested and grow .. bea across it, Max has more ...and when an accident bairns, they begin to take on each others accommodations. Local people respond to them, and are carefully depicted as different culture.. well observed... in some ways the structure are events feeding on character development and so it's slow .. Johnson an administrator zaps energy into the narrative, but his role is solving problems created by natives and mixng with them by whites. When murders or bad things happen the pastor, Max, internalises it, so we have glimpses of people arguing him back to his own morality .. he leaks into being others. Even his wife. But she seems to have gone 'maybe' beyond his control...by the last section of the. book, things have gone almost horrific as Bea find new support and Max tries to take her back.