Whiteman - Paperback

by Tony D'Souza (Author)

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 village guardian, learn that hate knows no color and that true heroism waits where we least expect it.

During lulls in the violence, Jack learns the cycles of Africa--of hunting in the rain forest, cultivating the yam, and navigating the nuances of the language; of witchcraft, storytelling, and chivalry. Despite the omnipresence of AIDS, he courts a stunning Peul girl, meets his neighbor's wife in the darkened forest, and desperately pursues the village flirt. Still, Jack spends many nights alone in his hut, longing for love in a place where his skin color excludes him.

Brimming with dangerous passions and the pressures of life in a time of war, Whiteman is a stunning debut and a tale of desire, isolation, humor, action, and fear.

Front Jacket

Jack Diaz arrives in Ivory Coast as yet another American relief worker in West Africa. But when religious tensions rise and Muslims and Christians square off for civil war, he quickly becomes something else: acolyte to the village witch doctor, agile polyglot, adopted son of the local chief, reckless maverick to his own aid organization. And most important to the Worodougou people of his village, he becomes Adama Toubabou: Whiteman.
Despite the mounting violence and the psychic isolation it brings, Jack refuses to leave his post, a Muslim village deep in the bush. With no funding and little contact with the outside world, he devotes himself to learning the cycles of life there of hunting in the rain forest, cultivating the yam, navigating the nuances of the language; of witchcraft, storytelling, and chivalry. Longing for love in a place where his skin color excludes him, he courts Djamilla, the stunning Peul girl; meets Mariam, his neighbor s wife, in the darkened forest when the moon is new; and desperately pursues Mazatou, the village flirt, all the while teaching his neighbors about the dangers of AIDS.
Alongside Mamadou, his village guardian, Jack learns that hate knows no color, that heroism waits for us where we least expect it. Brimming with dangerous passions, ubiquitous genies, spirited proverbs, and the pressures of life in a time of war, Whiteman is a harrowing tale of desire, isolation, humor, action, and fear.
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Back Jacket

What makes Whiteman so affecting is D Souza s understanding of what it s like to fall in love with people who will never be like you, with a place that will never be home and with a troubled continent that despite your best intentions you can do nothing to save. People (Critic s Choice, four stars)

In a vibrant Ivory Coast village, Christians and Muslims are squaring off for war. Against this backdrop of bloody conflict, Jack Diaz an American relief worker--follows the cycles of Africa. From the villagers and his village guardian, Mamadou, he learns of hunting in the rain forest, cultivating the yam, and navigating the nuances of the language.He witnesses witchcraft, storytelling, and chivalry. And together, he and Mamadou realizethat hate knows no color and true heroism waits where weleast expect it. Brimming with dangerous passions and the pressures of life in a time of war, Whiteman is a stunning debut and a tale of desire, isolation, survival, fear, and humor.
"A powerful debut novel, full of insight and sly humor, about a man who desperately wants to belong to a place that has little need of him. This is a visit to Africa you will not soon forget." St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"It's the quality of vision that makes D'Souza's novel notable . . . In original, unfussy prose, Whiteman suggests, with force and restraint, why a young American serving abroad, however haplessly, might not relish the prospect of having to return home."--The New York Times Book Review (Editors Choice)
TONY D SOUZA s writing has appeared in the New Yorker, Playboy, Salon, Esquire, McSweeney's, and Tin House, among other publications. His story Djamilla earned a 2007 O Henry Prize. Tony is a recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and lives in Sarasota, Florida."