The Gospel of Gods and Crocodiles: A visit by Elizabeth Stead

Last night nine of our members met at my house to discuss The Gospel of Gods and Crocodiles. The discussion was led by TD.

We were honoured to have, as our special guest, the author Elizabeth Stead. At 75 years of age, Sydney resident Elizabeth made a lively guest, full of life and wit and fabulous stories of her time living on a tropical island like the one in The Gospel of Gods and Crocodiles.

The Gospel of Gods and Crocodiles is a story in the true sense of storytelling. It is set on an unnamed tropical island "just two degrees below the equator of its world" and tells, through linked stories, a tale of how missionaries and other visitors from the modern world impact the lives of the native villagers. And how the villagers impact them. We all agreed that the book was beautifully crafted and Elizabeth Stead's ability to develop characters and weave them together, in such a witty way, was superb.

Of the very few criticisms that exist of this book one is that the book doesn't specify a time in which it is set. This is quite deliberate. Ms Stead told us that she loves storytelling and for her "Once upon a time" is enough. Those with a keen ear to the historical references in the novel would probably place it in the 1950s as we emerged from the rubble of the second world war and before the feminist movement had traction.

Our group had already discussed how we felt about the book before Ms Stead arrived (we all liked it)and so could concentrate on asking her questions about her writing in general and about the three years she spent posted to a tropical island with her three small children (her husband was in the Navy).

Here's what we learnt about the book:

• Ms Stead thought of the title for the book 15 years ago. Before the current trend for books to be called "The Gospel of..."
• The book took 15 years to write (in between she wrote other novels such as The Fishcastle and The Different World of Fin Starling).
• The island represented in the book does not exist.
• Ms Stead does not plan out her books in advance. The stories emerge as she writes.
• Sam Maitland is based on the characteristics of a real person. That person has never lived on a tropical island. He doesn't know he is the basis for the character.
• So as not to offend the native villagers on the real tropical islands - the myths and legends represented in the book are made up by the author. The real myths and stories are safely held by the villagers themselves.

Here's what we learnt about Ms Stead's life on a tropical island:

• Ms Stead had two small children when she went to live on a tropical island. Her third child, a daughter, was born in primitive circumstances there. The natives held a "Sing Sing" for her to celebrate the birth. Talking about it still brings a tear to her eye.
• Milk was such a rare commodity on the island that when a US ship once docked with fresh milk the base wives held a "milk party".
• While the native children were immune to local diseases, the base children weren't. They lived on anti-biotics.
• Vegetables were impossible to grow and were rare. Base wives would buy Taro and Yams from the villagers who were able to grow them deep in the forests.

Here are sample reactions to Ms Stead's visit from our bookgroup:

"What I came away with last night is how very entertaining Elizabeth Stead is. She seems to me to be a 'character' herself and probably has another book full of stories about island life tucked away in her memories. It was a very enjoyable evening and I will definitely be waiting for her next published book."

"I really enjoyed the book. I was glad such a topic that could be serious, such as white "invasion", could be told with wit. I laughed alot."

"Meeting Elizabeth was very exciting her stories were fantastic. I was amazed at all she told. 15 years to write. Who says woman need to have it all at once, I love how she raised her family then had her writing career." (Ms Stead did not publish her first novel until she was 60)

"The book made me chuckle! I found the characters particularly interesting and loved it. Elizabeth Stead coming to our bookclub added an extra dimension to the evening and the book, and it was great to hear her views on writing the book and where her ideas came from."

"I loved the book because it reminded me of the places that we visited with my father in East New Britain and very much reflected some (not all) of the missionaries we met out there. It also questioned the validity of enforcing Christianity on indigenous people "for their own good". "

"Having Elizabeth at the meeting was very valuable as you rarely get the opportunity to ask questions about the background to - and motivation for - the novel. I hope that I have as much spark and enjoy my wine as much when I am 75"


Thank you Elizabeth Stead for visiting our group. And thank you to Simone (Ms Stead's publicist) for making this possible. We greatly appreciate it.

Rating:

Avg: 7.8/10

Lowest score: 7 Highest Score: 8.5


Next book: Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali to be held at LV's house on Monday 16th July


*photo above sourced from here.