Monkey Beach

“I wish the dead would just come out and say what they mean instead of being so passive-aggressive about the whole thing.”

Lisa’s exasperated comment suggests one of the central themes of Monkey Beach: communicating with the dead. She is haunted by visions and voices of the dead, some of which belong to her family, others of which belong to strangers. Lisa accepts the appearances and believes spirits are out to communicate with her. Yet she is only the recipient of their messages and doesn’t immediately know the purpose of their communication.

“She’s got to know about these things.”

Mick is a major influence on Lisa, and they share personality traits of rebelliousness and independence. Mick is also important for introducing Lisa to new ideas and culture, including protest music and the American Indian rights movement. To Lisa’s mother, he insists that Lisa, even as a young girl, must develop pride in her culture and become conscious of the injustices that have been committed against Canadian Indigenous groups.

“Oolichan grease is a delicacy that you have to grow up eating to love.”

Monkey Beach often references Haisla vocabulary, history, and culture. Food is one of the most frequently discussed aspects of culture in the book. The novel even includes a long description of how to prepare and use grease from oolichan fish. The grease has a distinctive flavor and not everyone enjoys it,