Whiteman

by Tony D'Souza

Book Overview

In an Ivory Coast village where Christians and Muslims are squaring off for war, against a backdrop of bloody conflict and vibrant African life, Jack Diaz--an American relief worker--and Mamadou, his... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0151011451
• ISBN13: 9780151011452
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 279 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.4" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

A Stunning Read!

A young, idealistic American makes his way to the Ivory Coast of Africa, a relief worker intent on making a difference by providing clean drinking water to a small, remote village. Instead, funding runs out, and Jack Diaz spends three years befriending the villagers, learning their Worodougou language, and becoming an integral part of their daily life. He violates taboos, at first out of ignorance and later out of errors in judgment. He falls in love, more than once. He questions the good he is really doing, and then creates an AIDS awareness campaign with his best village friend, Mamadou. Finally, he gets caught in the violence between Christians and Muslims as the Ivory Coast erupts in war, and ultimately he must leave the people and country he has come to love. Tony D'Souza's debut novel is a stunning immersion into the details of what happens when one man finds himself falling in love with people and a place remote to his own experiences. "Whiteman" reads much like a book of intimately linked short stories, each adding layers of detail and emotional complexity, forming finally a cohesive novel of awakening and loss. Internationally award-winning D'Souza was himself a Peace Corps volunteer in the Ivory Coast, and one wonders how much of Jack Diaz's experiences are autobiographical. Mamadou and the other villagers among whom Jack lives and works are painted vividly and empathetically. And Jack Diaz, who begins the book as an idealistic cliche of himself, soon emerges as a complex, conflicted man whose actions and perspectives call into question the effectiveness of intention and the idea that Western aid to Africa is always entirely beneficent. D'Souza's prose is never pretentious, and though in the beginning of the book it reads as somewhat simplistic, as the story progresses and Jack Diaz becomes increasingly absorbed into his Ivory Coast life, you fall more and more deeply into a created world that feels truer and truer. Armchair Interviews says: An excellent and very intimate glimpse into the day-to-day joys and struggles of a people not usually visible to those of us living comfortably in the West.

It read a bit like The Heart of Darkness'

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I read it because I too have been an expatriate and wondered other people's experiences (even though this was fiction). The protagonist struggled with the same elements that the protagonist did in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. When one steps so deeply into another culture, there is an oppotunity to either become a part of the fabric (although you never really can) or be an obsever. This is the page turner tension in this book. Great read.

This is....

...A magical & delightful book. One that lingers in my mind long after reading it. Opening me up to a larger universe - a deeper understanding of a fascinating culture. Just tonight on NPR I heard a story about the Niger situation and because of this book I had a totally different appreciation of what is happening there. Great job, Tony ! !

"I got up and opened the door of my hut, and there she was, framed in the doorway like a painting .

I read Whiteman and couldn't put it down. I'm not much of a reader of fiction but this novel opened my eyes to Western Africa like nothing I've read before. Tony D'Souza is a rising star and this, his first novel, is a book that will live with you for weeks after. I was fortunate enough to hear Tony read portions of the book at the college where I work. My students sat for 45 minutes quiet and enthralled. I wish my words had that kind of magic. One faculty member,in fact, has decided on adopting it as one of her required readings for next semester. You will enjoy it and it will move you.

Brilliant Debut

"Whiteman" is a captivating and enchanting read from start to finish. D'Souza magically changed my reading space into an Ivorian landscape. He has a unique ability to engage the reader with the characters and scenes in the book. Tony D'Souza has gone to the head of my "writers to watch for" list. IEM (New York)