Monkey Beach (2000), Eden Robinson’s first novel, elaborates on her short story “Queen of the North”, which first appeared in her collection Traplines (1996). This coming-of-age narrative is framed as a mystery – two sailors have gone missing in a shipwreck – and is related in a series of non-linear, retrospective episodes centered on the experiences of a young Haisla woman. Robinson, herself a member of the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations, informs the novel with traditional mythic elements, including descriptions of the b’gwus (“wild man of the woods” [7] or sasquatch), birds who speak Haisla, and tree spirits apprehensible to those with special powers.
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Citation: Hamilton, Geoff. "Monkey Beach". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 July 2019 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38903, accessed 21 November 2024.]
