Monkey Beach

The loss of loved ones is a sustained theme in Monkey Beach. Lisa is devastated by the deaths of Mick and Ma-ma-oo, and by the possible death of Jimmy after his disappearance. What makes Lisa’s response to these losses unique is her ability to see and hear the dead. As the novel unfolds, Lisa contacts her lost family members and a variety of other spirits.

At various points in Monkey Beach, Lisa hears spirits. Voices of the dead bookend the novel. Lisa hears them at the beginning, when she has just learned of Jimmy’s disappearance. There, they speak through crows, in Haisla, saying, “La’es—Go down to the bottom of the ocean” (1). She hears voices to the very end of novel, when they again speak in Haisla, chanting, “Aux’gwalas […] Take care of her” (374).

Lisa’s gift also manifests visually. The little red-haired man that Lisa sees is one of the most prominent examples of her experiences with the supernatural. In time, Lisa comes to see the little man as a sign that terrible events are imminent, to the point that “the pattern of the little man’s visits seems unwelcomely obvious” (27).