White Man's Grave : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: no way Hollywood could do this story justice...
Review: I have never been to Sierra Leone and cannot speak to the issue of whether Dooling's depiction of the Mende is accurate or not. But I have lived and worked in both the US and West Africa (and dealt with Americans in West Africa) and the author is so dead-on in some of his characterizations that it is mind blowing. The only thing he left out was the juju man in fill-in-the-blank West African capital city's main market listed in the travel guides who sells young European tourist amulets at 50 bucks a pop, though the Peace Corps amateur pornographer was a nice touch. If Dooling had written the book today, he could thrown some Lariam-induced psychotic reactions into the mix.

No, if Hollywood got a hold of this, the Africans would be simpletons, and the Americans noble, and the kids with automatic weapons would be cartoonish instead of truly frightening. Besides, 17 year old Americans aren't interested in places they've never heard of.

On the other hand, if they could get Terry Gilliam to direct, this could have potential...

Rating:
Summary: A great book with a few unrealistic touches.
Review: I loved this book to its full extent. It is a perfect representation of some Americans travelling abroad, both of the foreign native extremist types that want to become like those of the native land and that of the American tourist type that can never fully appreciate a land and its people. It also has many implications on the development of West Africa and its role in the global economy. The only part that was disbelievable was the African magic that was actualized in the old American's closet. It is certainly worth a read, not only for the story, but for the cultural content that is difficult to find in other sources.

Rating:
Summary: Questions our understanding of reality
Review: White Man's Grave is reminiscent of Conrad's Heart of Darkness in its descriptions of a westerner becoming increasingly entangled in the ominous world of an alien jungle. Behind the obvious irony of contrasting life of a lawyer with life in the bush (which he does with some really apt metaphors), Dooling forces us to ask: What is civilization? To what extent is any culture just a comfortable reality built upon an agreed-upon set of beliefs? Describing "magic" in matter-of-fact terms, Dooling offers no explanation of its source, demanding that the reader take on the impossible task of reconciling magic with "western" "reality."

The character of Boone is far too simplistic. As a student of the humanities, in the western world (sleeping in a cemetary in Paris), Boone is sympathetic to the possibilities of thought and metaphor. But once he reaches Africa, he more and more resembles Lewis in his intolerance. Perhaps this highlights the limitations of western liberal studies; but the Lewis/Boone vs. Sisay/Killigan polarization became cartoonish by the end and detracted from the pure description of the world of the Mende.

The end is far too abrupt. After so many warnings about the dangers of the bush and of the baboon people, when Boone finally enters that world, it is anticlimactic. Once Killigan shows up, the story becomes a western spy story; Dooling passes up an opportunity to reveal the complexities of politics and culture of Sierra Leone in even more vivid and challenging detail.