Introduction

The King of America traces the short, brilliant life of Stephen Hesse, firstborn son of one of America’s wealthiest, most powerful men—yet Stephen’s distinguished paternal lineage and the great privilege it has conferred on him are at odds with the working-class background of his mother. Ultimately, a scandalous divorce and the replacement of the somber, dark-eyed mother and child with a new family more becoming to Stephen’s father’s political ambition leave the young man an outsider. The sole focus of his abandoned mother, Stephen Hesse grows up lonesome and restless.

At Harvard, recovering from a failed love affair, Stephen falls under the sway of a charismatic anthropology professor and, at last, feels a sense of direction and identity. As a scholar, writer, and art collector for his father’s museum, Stephen accompanies his mentor to the impossibly strange and distant world of Netherlands New Guinea, where a Neolithic culture, still practicing its ancient rites of head-hunting, thrives in its last moments before modernity arrives. There Stephen discovers the Asmat bisj poles—terrifying, glorious, towering pieces of carved woodwork honoring tribal ancestors—which he hopes will secure his professional standing and guarantee him a lasting place in his father’s esteem. But his hardheaded insistence on securing the art before the onset of the monsoon season has tragic consequences.

Loosely based on the mysterious 1961 disappearance of Michael Rockefeller, The King of America moves seamlessly from the bastions of East Coast privilege to the tropical lushness of New Guinea. Samantha Gillison writes with the powers of observation of a naturalist and the assurance of a born novelist. Part love story, part adventure yarn, part family tragedy, The King of America is an exceptional feat of storytelling.

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Excerpt

Chapter 1

The Arafura Sea

At the end of november the monsoon bursts over the southern coast of Irian Jaya, pounding the villages of thatch-roof huts that sit along the Asmat River. Brackish, cloudy streams that run like veins through the salt swamps swell and then, pulled by the tide, gush muddy, debris-filled water into the shallow Arafura Sea. The air, full of rain, becomes heavy with an earthy, briny smell of rotting shrimp and salt water. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

Questions from Publisher's Reading Guide:

1. How is The King of America shaped by its two very distinct and opposite settings: cosmopolitan New York and lush New Guinea? How does Gillison explore the duality of culture and character through these two settings?

2. Gillison describes Nicholas Hesse as “the source of life, of oil: the blood of America. Loving him was like loving the sun or the wind” (p.18). How does his father’s immense wealth color Stephen’s existence? How would you characterize their relationship? How would you describe the pressure Stephen feels as his father’s son?

3. How is Stephen torn between his parents? Describe where his loyalties lie and the conflict he feels within his family life. How does he change in his father’s presence? What expectations does Marguerite have of him? Why does Nicholas Hesse insist that his ex-wife and first son stay close to him?

4. Stephen Hesse is portrayed as a very physical character; he relishes the release he gains through athletics and is hyperobservant of the sensual aspects of his surroundings. What does this trait show about his character? How does his physicality shape his emotions and motives?

5. Describe Stephen’s sexual identity and growth. What are the implications of Stephen’s affair with his professor, MacNeice? What attracts him to Sheila? And what does Gillison mean when she writes “Somehow she reminded him of himself” (p. 51)? Discuss Sheila’s feelings for Stephen. How does she regard him?

6. What do you think are Stephen’s ultimate motives for his trip to New Guinea? He really comes to life in New Guinea–throughout most of the novel we’ve seen him as a fairly disconsolate character, but in this new environment, he undergoes a transformation. What is it about New Guinea that inspires Stephen? How is he different in this new world?

7. What do you think are Stephen’s reasons for joining this expedition to New Guinea? What does he want to accomplish?

8. Stephen witnesses a sick boy’s death in New Guinea that deeply disturbs him. Later, in his journal, he writes: “The difference between our feelings for human remains and the Asmats’ is a very simple one. Our feelings seem to be the exact opposite to theirs–so really, in a way, our two cultures feel identically about death” (p. 160). How is death treated in The King of America? Do you think the sick boy’s death parallels Stephen’s in any sense?

9. How does Stephen feel about the treatment of New Guinea art, and how do his opinions differ from those of the other men on the expedition? What do the bisj poles mean to Stephen, and what do they symbolize for the novel as a whole?

10. How does the poetry that recurs throughout the novel work to enhance our understanding of the different characters–specifically, Marguerite and Stephen? How does it help us explore Stephen’s complicated feelings about his mother? How do Gillison’s frequent references to the Bible and classical mythology move the narrative forward?

11. Throughout The King of America, Stephen grapples with confusion over his identity. Does he ever reach any kind of personal freedom and comfort? When is he happiest and most free?

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