A review by evalynnfarkashasanbasri
A Death in the Rainforest: How a Language and a Way of Life Came to an End in Papua New Guinea by Don Kulick

4.0

I kept going back & forth about whether to give this book 4 or 5 stars. (Realistically, I would say it is a 4.5, but GoodReads doesn't have half a star ratings.) I enjoyed my time with this book throughout, hearing this author's recounting of time spent with the people of Gapun. The honesty of the author was refreshing, particularly on the topics of the influence of Christianity in Gapun and all over Papa New Guinea, wishing for white skin/the resources and privilege that often comes with it, the genuine plea to study other cultures without placing the burden to be taught on the people we seek to understand a little better, and the acknowledgment of a Western abundance of stuff, as well as the less glamorous parts of anthropological field research in the rainforest, including Dengue fever, malaria, perceptions of wealth or "progress," etc.