MACAMBA

A novel of the Dutch West Indies and the curse of a double heritage provides a believable picture of modern native and colonial life. Maria, dark of skin, loves white Willem Honduras, bears his son, Paul, but is unable to help the boy adjust to his hatred of the color line. Paul, desiring power to disprove his skin, studies to become a witch doctor but is unable to succeed; he then turns to school, shows his supremacy in his studies and proves himself worthy of a university aboard. Sent to Holland, where, in the war just starting, he displays his courage in his work with the Dutch underground and returns to Curacao a hero. The old festering rage at not being white, at not being recognized by his father turns him into a mental case, forces him to deny the girl he loves. A priest -psychologist probes to the roots of his psychosis and, in a test of meeting his father again, Paul learns he has fully exorcized his demons and is ready for marriage. The pattern of racial mixture given full, if tropical, treatment.