There are not many fiction books out there about anthropologists, but those that do exist often shine with insight, erudition and thrills of a real adventure. Below are seven books featuring anthropologists who often grapple with the meaning of their profession and the ethics of their research. Their field-works take them to various continents and countries, from Papua Guinea to Thailand, and from Congo to Peru. Let’s hope writers will be more inspired to write stories featuring anthropologists!

The Storyteller by Mario Vargas Llosa

With the very sad passing of Nobel Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa (The Time of the Hero) this year, there has probably never been a more appropriate time to delve into his work and its meaning, and there has probably never been a more intriguing or colourful character-anthropologist than in Vargas Llosa’s novel The Storyteller (El Hablador). This is a story of brilliant man Saúl Zuratas and his obsession with the tribe of Machiguengas in the forests of Peru. Told at first from the perspective of his university acquaintance, this fiction book about anthropology then details Zuratas’s eventual transformation. Steeped in indigenous folklore and knowledge, the story raises many thought-provoking questions, including on the proper way to preserve indigenous tribes and their traditions, and on the role that the tradition of storytelling plays in indigenous cultures.

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