Whiteman

Suitable for readers of back-packer classics such as "The Beach" and "Are You Experienced"; those who loved Alexandra Fuller's "Don't Let's Go To The Dogs Tonight"; gap-year wanderers; those who feel the call to become a VSO; this is the perfect summer page-turner for airport-shoppers or armchair travellers. Young, American, and idealistic, the Whiteman bounds into the Ivory Coast with a deep desire to Make a Difference. But then the NGO's funding dries up and he's stranded, unable to establish a water supply for the village and with plenty of time on his hands. Taking place against the backdrop of bloody civil war, this is the story of a whiteman losing his aid-worker illusions and discovering a different, more complicated Africa: perplexing and brutal, beguiling and sexy.