![]() ![]() The common thread running through all of these narratives is the evangelical fervour with which these people approach their mission, their unwavering faith in what they see as God’s plan, and their unquestioning willingness to accept the hardships, dangers and tragic outcomes as part of that plan. Thomas’s intricate, detailed narrative is related from many different perspectives, primarily the men leading the excursion and their wives. Thomas’s novel begins in the lead-up to the operation, providing background on the participants-all of them very young-showing how they came together, explaining how the plan was hatched and describing the complex mechanisms that finally set it into motion. The Waorani were known locally as the “Auca,” a derogatory term meaning “savage,” and the missionaries adopted this term, calling their action “Operation Auca.” Little was known about them or their way of life other than their itinerant practices and their tendency to defend themselves ferociously against outside encroachment. ![]() To this point, the Waorani’s exposure to the outside world was virtually nil. In 1956, a group of American missionaries set their sights on a group of indigenous people living in the Ecuadorian rainforest with the intention of converting them to Christianity. Joan Thomas’s GG-award winning fourth novel, Five Wives, based on actual events, is mainly set in the 1950s in Ecuador. ![]()
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