From the Bookshelf of Constant Reader…

Euphoria

Lily King

Start date: October 15, 2016

Finish date: November 1, 2016

Discussion: Reading List

Discussion leader: Mary Anne

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 428 topics — 16,892 comments total

Reading List

* The Schedule for July through Dec. 2025
By Lynn · 1 post · 41 views

last updated Jun 20, 2025 08:37AM

Circe - discussion with spoilers
By Jane · 17 posts · 23 views

last updated Sep 06, 2025 04:48PM

showing 10 of 10 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Jan 30, 2015 Jane rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-this-book-again, recentfiction

A wonderful book. Hard to say--loved it? Amazing? But I think many of the readers on this site will love it. It's a love story, and a story about who we are as humans. the author used biographies and the writings of Margaret Mead to set up the New Guinea research plot, and then she veered off into the story of three people who are anthropologists in this area of the world, open and curious (to varying degrees) to the world of the people on a particular river in New Guinea. It is so much more tha ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Dec 09, 2014 Rosana rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2015, roundtable-w15-challenge

I did love this book, but I am having trouble giving it 5 stars. I finished listening to Euphoria just a few hours ago, and maybe I should wait longer to write a review as often a story will linger for a while in my mind and I find that it has affected me more deeply than I had perceived at first.

So, what I loved: the beautiful language, the almost palpable sensuality, the encounter of like minds and their intellectual connection.

What I disliked: after reading/listening to it I found the char ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 28, 2021 William rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2021

A great story very well told. Based loosely on an episode in the biography of anthropologist Margaret Mead during her time in New Guinea.
On the surface, it centres on a love triangle involving Nell Stone, her husband Fen and Andrew Bankson, an anthropologist working at a nearby village and the narrator of the story. They each have inner demons to deal with. Bankson’s relate to feelings of depression and being a disappointment in the eyes of his family. His brothers died in the great war and he ...more

Like · see review

Mar 01, 2015 Kai Coates rated it liked it

Shelves: group-21st-century

I struggled with rating this one. If I had read it without the hype and the stickers proclaiming it one of the 10 best books of the year according to The New York Times, maybe I wouldn't have been quite so disappointed. This is a solidly OK book. The story is interesting, however author Lily King borrowed a lot of it from Margaret Mead. (I'd say "inspired by" - but that would be generous.)

The issue is that the characters are just so flat. (view spoiler) ...more

Like · see review

Feb 13, 2016 Patti Barber rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016

While looking on the table marked "must reads" at Barnes and Nobel , I found this was the only book I hadn't read. It was on so many famous "best book of 2014" lists I could not believe I hadn't heard of the book. I truly enjoyed reading this book. Ms King loosely based the novel on Margaret Mead (I mean very loosely). The subject was new to me and writing style was fresh. I am now looking up biographies of good old Margaret to really learn about her life. ...more

Like · see review