Hello to the Cannibals by Richard Bausch

Released: 2002

Hello to the Cannibals by Richard Bausch is such an expansive book and took me awhile to read, and I definitely wouldn't do it again. The synopsis of Hello to the Cannibals is much more interesting than what it actually turned out to be.

Hello to the Cannibals is about a young woman named Lily Austin who is mature, intelligent, and incredibly insightful for her age. At her 14th birthday party, Lily receives a biography about Mary Kingsley, an adventurer in the 19th century who traveled the world over. For the next 10 years of Lily's life, she drowns herself in Mary Kingsley and uses the woman as comfort and inspiration to help herself through her own hard times. Descended from playwrights, Lily also writes a play with Mary Kingsley being the focal point. The book spans back and forth between Lily's life and Mary's life until we are greeted with Kingsley's early death at the end.


Although Hello to the Cannibals didn't lag enough to be totally boring, I was disappointed with the overall outcome. Lily is presented to us as being an intelligent, bright young woman; however the choices she makes in life are somewhat boring and unimpressive. Mary's character is so witty and smart and we expect her to rub off more on Lily, but this isn't the case. Whereas Mary was modern and adventurous, Lily is old-fashioned and lazy with her dreams.

I expected the book to be uplifting and happy,with Lily accomplishing great things, but it is Mary we end up being impressed with; not Lily.

For 661 pages, Hello to the Cannibals just isn't exhilarating enough to waste time on. I don't recommend it at all!