"Watched by Ancestors" is an enchanting memoir by artist Kathy Golski of two years spent with her young family in the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea. Arriving with her three children from a previous marriage and a small baby from the new one, the author is confronted by a hastily-built hut with no amenities and no escape from the fascinated, perpetual scrutiny of the local people. The nearest town with rudimentary services is several hours' perilous drive away. The villagers are not a background to this story, but an integral part of it. Their generous friendship is double-edged. While they take the Golski family to their hearts, their different concepts and values are a constant source of misunderstanding; often hilarious, but occasionally life-threatening. Golski observes what goes on around her with amusement, interest, despair and occasionally horror; but also with respect, honesty and a marvellously earthy humour. Struggling to adapt to a new marriage, trying to maintain her identity as a painter and her responsibilities as a mother, the author's warm personality carries the reader into wonderful and unexpected places.
