Crossing the Mangrove by Maryse Conde is steeped in native traditions. Born and raised in the village of Guadeloupe, Conde sets her story in her hometown as an homage. She uses her strengths in the French language and in indigenous literature to wrap her story in a deep layer of tradition. From Indian funeral rites to the village mentality she captures the complex nature of remote societies. Guadeloupe is home to an interesting amalgamation of peoples trying to coexist despite their relatively disparate lifestyles. You'd expect such a diverse village to be relatively open-minded, but these folks are holding onto their traditions tightly. They don't welcome strangers well, but they learn their lesson after Sancher. He teaches them so simply the beauty of an outside perspective that they doubtless will rethink their approach to hospitality.
Francis Sancher arrives in Guadeloupe seeking to understand a curse which he believes has affected all the men in his family for generations. Apparently they all die before the age of fifty inexplicably. Since the curse and his family have their origins in the village, Sancher decides to move there. At first he's not welcome, but eventually people can't resist his infectious personality. He makes a friend in the Chinese-African mailman who is the second-newest resident and thus sympathizes with Sancher's plight as the newcomer. He also has affairs with two women, Mira and Vilma, and impregnates both of them without knowing it. Slowly but surely he meets and impacts every single person in the village. When he suddenly dies, they are all left stunned.
Since the entire plot occurs in a single setting, the book is compact, narratively speaking. The events of the book are contained within the all-night wake which the village holds of Sancher. Each of the villagers pass before his casket and share how he impacted his or her life. In this way the audience never actually meets Sancher or can judge for themselves what sort of a person he is. They only have second-hand tales, but the lesson is about judgement. The residents of Guadeloupe didn't welcome strangers, but they change their tone after getting to know the enigmatic Sancher. How many lives can one person impact with knowing? Conde seems to believe an entire village's worth.
