Amerigo

Formerly known as Kinja, the island of Amerigo passed into United States' hands after being owned by a string of European nations. Its population is roughly 95 percent black, with a scattering of wealthy Americans and successful islanders who are known as "the hill people." Although it has a veneer of civilization with roads, telephones, and electricity, just below the surface is an unpredictable atavism that produces violence, indifference to the North American work ethic, and madness. Amerigo's white population is an oddball collection of hermits, drunks, dreamers and debauchers. In the period of this novel, Americans are beginning to "discover" Amerigo and coming in increasing numbers as tourists and as opportunists hoping to profit from its popularity.

Guadeloupe

A French island near to Amerigo, Guadeloupe is where Hippolyte Lamartine goes for psychiatric treatment. The island has the only mental hospital close to Amerigo because building such a...