by Tony D'Souza

Tony D'Souza has used his experience as a Peace Corps worker in the Ivory Coast to conjure up a bewitching medley of characters and locales deep in the African bush that is less a novel than a series of vignettes. The 'whiteman' of the title is one Jack Diaz, who comes to help improve the potable water situation and finds himself caught up in the unfathomable mystery, beauty, and violence of an ancient world as it descends into modern warfare.