The White Man in the Tree and Other Stories - by Mark Kurlansky (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

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, misjudge each other. 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 Curaçao, 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.

Review Quotes

Chicago Tribune Funny, touching, and thought-provoking.

Publishers Weekly A sunny collection, lithely written and full of Caribbean sunshine.

The Boston Globe Mark Kurlansky writes with a quirky verve that makes his books as entertaining as they are enlightening.

The New York Times Book Review Rich, complex, and delicious as the islands themselves, boiling with humanity.

About the Author

Mark Kurlansky is the author of The Basque History of the World; the New York Times bestseller Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World; A Chosen Few: The Resurrection of European Jewry; and A Continent of Islands: Searching for the Caribbean Destiny. During the past twenty years he has spent a great deal of time in the Caribbean, including seven years as the Chicago Tribune's Caribbean correspondent, and has written numerous works of short fiction and journalism about the region. He lives in New York City.