cover image Serendib

Serendib

Jim Toner. University of Georgia Press, $26.95 (216pp) ISBN 978-0-8203-2269-8

Peace Corps volunteer Jim Toner relates the story of his 74-year-old Irish-Catholic father's unexpected visit to Sri Lanka in Serendib. Conservative, retired judge John Toner had never been outside America; his experiences during his month on the beautiful but impoverished, civil war-torn island are wryly observed through his son's eyes as the older man gradually learns to adapt to alien surroundings and customs while forming a bond with a son he never really knew. This book is effective not only as a touching memoir but as an illumination of a complex and fascinating culture. ( Mar.)