Kundu (West novel)

Kundu is a 1956 Australian novel by Morris West. It was one of West's first novels - the second published under his own name - and was reportedly written in only three weeks.[1] A 1993 review of West's career said the novel was a "potboiler" redeemed by his descriptions of New Guinea.[2]

Kundu
AuthorMorris West
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
PublisherDell
Publication date
1956
Media typePrint

It was reprinted paperback in 1978.[3]

Premise

A story of people living in a village in the New Guinea highlands. They include the mysterious doctor Kurt Sonderfield, a former Nazi; a native girl N'Daria; a sorcerer called Kumo, an old French missionary Pere Louis; Sonderfield's wife Gerda; a coffee company agent, Theodore Nelson; Lee Curtis, the patrol officer; Oliver, the Assistant District Officer; and an anthropologist, Nelson.

Reception

The Pacific Islands Monthly called it "a sexy piece."[4]

The Bulletin said "Well written and swift-moving, with touches of interesting characterisation and much lurid lore of the country, the novel passes away an hour or so pleasantly enough; but by the adoption of these dime-novel plots Mr. West really removes his work from serious consideration."[5]

References
  1. "WRITERS' WORLD". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 20 August 1983. p. 12. Retrieved 7 April 2020 – via Trove.
  2. Missen, Mollie (February 20, 1993). "A master storyteller signs off". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 44.
  3. "The pick of Australian paperbacks in print". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 15 October 1978. p. 17. Retrieved 7 April 2020 – via Trove.
  4. "Two Novels of Note identifier". Pacific Island Monthly. August 1963. p. 97.
  5. "New Guinea Novel". The Bulletin. June 5, 1957. p. 59.
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