I didn't invite him. The idea was all my father's, my
seventy-four-year-old father who had never been outside America and
who suddenly thought that Sri Lanka, where I was a Peace Corps
volunteer, would be a jolly place to visit.
When John Toner, a retired Cleveland judge, decided on a whim in
April 1990 to spend a month with his son in war-torn Sri Lanka, he
was as much a stranger to his seventh--and last--child as he was to
the hardships of life in a Third World country. "Serendib"
chronicles the journey that follows as a father and son who had
never been alone together live in close quarters, in the poorest of
conditions--and replace awkwardness and distance with understanding
and love.
Along the way are the stories of John learning to eat with his
fingers, bathing in a river alongside cows, and trading his wool
trousers for a traditional sarong. We witness his coming
face-to-face with a Hindu priest in a loincloth and his first
encounter with the everyday violence of a country at war with
itself. John watches with awe as students learn without computers,
books, or even paper; he bonds with Sri Lankan children and learns,
once again, how to give and how to play. Each new experience pushes
Toner's father to face his fears--and brings him closer to his
youngest son.
"Serendib" offers a colorful, humorous, and touching account of
multiple discoveries--of an old man exploring deep within himself,
of a father and son finding each other, and of two cultures coming
together on uncommon ground and awakening to the joy and hope of
the life they share.
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