The White Man in the Tree and Other Stories [Paperback]

The White Man in the Treeis 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 Treeis an affectionate portrait of a unique society, where Europe, America, Africa, and Asia meet Latin America.Mark Kurlanskyis the author ofThe Basque History of the World;theNew York TimesbestsellerCod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World; A Chosen Few: The Resurrection of European Jewry;andA 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 theChicago Tribune'sCaribbean correspondent, and has written numerous works of short fiction and journalism about the region. He lives in New York City.Contents

The White Man in the Tree: A novella in two parts

Devaluation

The Unclean

Naked

Beautiful Mayagüez Women

Vertical Administration

Packets and Paperscraps

The Deerness of Life

Desaparecidos

The White Man's GlossaryThe New York Times Book ReviewRich, complex, and delicious as the islands themselves, boiling with humanity.The Boston GlobeMark Kurlansky writes with a quirky verve that makes his books as entertaining as they are enlightening.Chicago TribuneFunny, touching, and thought-provoking.Publishers WeeklyA sunny collection, lithely written and full of Caribbean sunshine.