White Man's Grave: A Novel [Paperback]

Richard Dooling (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 1995

When Peace Corps volunteer Michael Killigan goes missing in West Africa, his father Randall and his best friend Boone Westfall begin separate quests to find him. Randall, a bankruptcy lawyer, is the warlord of his world, a shark in a fishbowl, exercising power with mad, relentless, hilarious glee; Boone, an American innocent abroad, journeys to the African bush, protected by the twin charms of the passport and the almighty dollar. In seeking Michael, both men find much more than they bargain for.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dooling's novel about a Peace Corps volunteer missing in Africa and the two men-his naive friend and his boastful father-who try to use American influence to find him was a 1994 National Book Award finalist.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Behind the fairly simple story of a Peace Corps volunteer missing in West Africa and a friend's search to find him, one feels that some larger significance is brooding and expects it to appear at any moment. Unfortunately, it never does. The pace is fast, the style lush, and the atmosphere slightly ominous; there is plenty of action, adventure, and suspense; but somehow Dooling has not quite managed to make it all come alive. The result has to be one of the longest shaggy-dog stories on record. The book would have been better if the author had curbed his tendency to overexpansiveness and exercised a little control of his material. A potentially good novel that does not quite make it.
A.J. Anderson, GSLIS, Simmons Coll., Boston
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Picador (March 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031213214X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312132149
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #750,303 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars White Man's Grave ain't no Jungle Book, March 6, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: White Man's Grave: A Novel (Paperback)

Richard Dooling wrote White Man's Grave, and effectively threw the gantlet down at the Michael Crieghtons and Tom Clancys of the literary world. The novel is an in your face look at the contradiction that is the modern American society. Dooling puts the typical young American (Boone) in the topsy-turvy world of Sierra-Leone, and creates a modern version of Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The great part is that he didn't have to revert to talking talking rabbits to do it. White Man's Grave moves quickly. I know I found myself paging through it one day (over a year since I had read it) and before I knew it I was on the 20th page. This kind of book stares Hollywood in the face and says,"Go ahead, try to make me into a movie. I dare you." I very seriously doubt this book will ever be crafted into a Spielberg blockbuster, and it's just as well. It's a great book, and deserves to be recognized as just that

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Owner's manual for the American "Way of Life", February 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: White Man's Grave: A Novel (Paperback)

This book is so engaging, I took the time to write a review--a first for me. This is without a doubt one of the best books I have read this year. It is by turns scaldingly satiric and ironic, descriptive and informative, and just ambiguous enough to leave the reader intellectually juiced up at the end! This tale invites the imagination to soar, and the soul to search. Highest recommendation.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Africa you never visited from a cruise ship!, June 22, 1998

By 

Gerald Lipsky - See all my reviews

This review is from: White Man's Grave (Hardcover)

I read the author's "Critical Care" and liked his humor and his apparent medical knowledge or research, so I read this novel. I had visited Africa for two days during two cruise ship stops. What I read was mind boggling over what I saw with my eyes. I certainly know more about Africa than I ever knew before, and unlike college, smiled my way through Africa 101 with the author as Tutor.Loved his humor. A good read. I am hooked for his future works.