The White Man in the Tree and Other Stories

"The White Man in the Tree and other stories"

"The White Man in the Tree" is a comedy of cultural misunderstandings set in the Caribbean, New York, and Paris, a novella and eight stories about people who, because of their differences -- between men and women, blacks and whites, Caribbeans and visitors, Jews and Christians, rich and poor -- misjudge each other. As celebrated a nonfiction writer as he is, Mark Kurlansky was born to write fiction as well: he has an ability to unmask our foibles and write about love with wit and outright humor.

Whether it is a sophisticated European filmmaker, an ambitious young black Haitian woman, a promising politician obsessed with women's feet, or a fish-out-of-water rabbi in search of a kosher chicken in Curaao, each of Kurlansky's characters engages us with impulses and interactions that are by turns comic, insightful, and poignant. "The White Man in the Tree" is an affectionate portrait of a unique society, where Europe, America, Africa, and Asia meet Latin America. Filled with surprises and delight as Kurlansky approaches each scene from a new and unexpected angle, "The White Man in the Tree" is a tender, wholly original, and thoroughly entertaining fiction debut.