The Riverbones

The Riverbones

Stumbling after Eden in the Jungles of Suriname

Home to the largest tract of pristine rainforest left on earth, Suriname is an unknown lad of ecological wonder.

Also the smallest sovereign state in South America in both area and population, Suriname became an obsession for Andrew Westoll after he spent a year studying monkeys deep inside its primordial jungles. Yearning to return to its rainforests, five years later Andrew quit his job, gave away most of his possessions, and kissed the love of his life goodbye.

For the next five months, he explored the surreal country for a glimpse of the quintessential soul of its 470,000 people. Immersing himself in Suriname culture. Andrew met a cast of characters whose eccentricities perfectly mirrored the strangeness of their land.

The Riverbones charts Andrew's at times harrowing journey by foot, bus and canoe through Suriname.

Adventures include attending a jungle rave, floating through a drowned rainforest and tracking the rare okopipi frog.

Mapping its natural and human geography, Andrew also reveals how the modern struggles for human rights and ecological preservation are vying with the economic needs of the proud Surinamese people.

'A freewheeling and vividly written essay on the mysteries and longings of what it is to be human in a world of cynicism and loss.' - The Globe and Mail

Andrew Westollis a former biologist and primatologist. Based in Toronto, he is now an award-winning freelance journalist who is featured in many of Canada's premier publications. Specialising in science, social justice, travel and culture, in 2007 Andrew won a gold medal at the Canadian National Magazine Awards for his first feature article 'Somewhere Up a Jungle River', the story that grew into The Riverbones.

The Riverbones
University of Queensland Press
Author: Andrew Westoll
ISBN: 9780702237294
Price: $34.95