Synopses & Reviews
"If you look at a map, you will see that the island chain known as the Caribbean, or, to confuse you, the West Indies, lies between Florida and South America and resembles a string of gems or possibly drool." And so begins author Gary Buslik's tale of tropical adventure. Each chapter of this often hilarious and sometimes poignant travelogue recounts another island-hopping, culture-clashing crisis that pits the homesick author against falling coconuts, hospitals that remove wrong organs, insects as big and dangerous as stealth bombers, ticket agents that put him on hold for hours, mysteriously calculated currency exchanges, over-proofed rum, livestock, singing Rastafarians, garbage-bin sex, peanut-crazed children, Idi Amin, flesh-eating monkeys, dentists, cricket, steel drum bands, and the French. Fortunately, even when making fun of his West Indian hosts, the curmudgeonly author's essential good nature and devotion to his wife twinkle through, and in the end his stubborn geocentricity gives way to a heartfelt appreciation of his island hosts.
Book News Annotation:
With unbridled attitude and love for the Caribbean, Buslik
(literature and creative writing, U. of Illinois at Chicago) offers a
quirky perspective on the islands and cross-cultural relations
between natives and tourists of various nationalities. Nine of the 17
stories (titles include "The Power of MasterCard" and "The Time I
Accidentally Urinated on Idi Amin") appeared in literary magazines
from 1999-2008.
Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Synopsis:
Each chapter of this often hilarious and sometimes poignant travelogue recounts an island-hopping, culture-clashing crisis that pits the homesick author against falling coconuts, hospitals that remove wrong organs, insects as big and dangerous as stealth bombers, garbage-bin sex, steel drum bands, and the French.
Don't Miss
