Whitewashed Jacarandas

by Diana Polisensky

Hope looms in a vast land wide open with possibilities...
Dr. Sunny Rubenstein travels the night train through the black void of Africa to check out his 51st job prospect on the rich Cheetah Gold Mine. Along the way he hears that the mine might be running out. But the appendage to it, Umzimtuti, the smallest municipality in the world, could be big—even King George VI will stop off for tea on his Victory Tour on the Royal White Train.
The mine’s bonus is a free rambling house with the only indoor toilet in town. It’s the perfect antidote to his wife Mavourneen’s difficult war years with their ailing son, Douglas. Sunny cannot afford to lose a case in his first year to secure the post permanently. There’s plenty to challenge him. Early morning sick parade under the shadeless blue gum trees is followed by surgery, then on to afternoon clinics ending with calls to far-away farms and mud huts.
Umzimtuti’s a town where poker stakes are high. Liquor flows freely at the Umzimtuti Hotel bar. Bullet holes in the wall attest to its wild past. Sunny will have to unseat the tight-fisted, short-sighted Mayor if Umzimtuti’s ever going to put in street lights, get rid of bucket toilets and the honeysuckle brigade so the town can capture the new surge in post-war industry.
Sunny’s belief that competence, hope, hard work and idealism are enough will be sorely tested.

356 pages, Paperback

First published August 5, 2015

About the author

Diana Polisensky is a recluse living in a tree house on the edge of the Pacific. When colonialism was still respectable she was born into a medical family and grew up in a swimming pool in Africa. She crossed the Atlantic as a young woman and experienced life on all three American coasts, ending her career in genetic engineering behind the hedges at Rice University in the Lone Star State. Whitewashed Jacarandas marks the first installment in an epic saga chronicling the end of the colonial experience in Southern Rhodesia.

Diana would love to hear your response to Whitewashed Jacarandas through her website. Please know that your taking time to connect with her is deeply appreciated.

Reviews

[Marilyn (not getting notifications) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Before reading Whitewashed Jacarandas by Diana Polisensky I knew nothing about post World War II British Colonial Rhodesia. By the time I finished it though I had learned a lot including how some Jewish families had been able to escape there from Nazi Germany and make it their home, opening businesses and taking a strong interest in helping the community develop and flourish. Polisensky, through the dialogue in her book made you aware that anti-Semitism and racial discrimination was evident among the people of Umzimtuti. This made me a little sad. I loved the way Diana Polisensky described the countryside, foliage, and people of Umzimtuti. She did a marvelous job portraying the Rubenstein family and their struggles in balancing moving to a new home, raising a family, starting a medical practice and trying to help Umzimtuti make improvements to move into the future. I am so looking forward to the continuing saga of the Rubenstein family. Hopefully, I won't have to wait too long until the next book is published.

[Doranne Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whitewashed Jacarandas is a fascinating read! I love Diana's
attention to detail in describing post WWII British Colonial Rhodesia.
Her dialogue is delightful as she captures the various groups of people
who struggled to create a cohesive life in an often foreign frontier.
As I lived in Nigeria in 1966-68 I can relate to her vivid sights, sounds, and smells of Africa.
However as I was a child, I missed most of the class, cultural, ethnic,
and political clashes, but appreciate Diana sharing these memories with the rest of the world.

[Tim Bull · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book to help inform research into my own family’s life in Southern Rhodesia in the 1950s. Diana captures vividly the oddities of the white social network, with its pecking order, its rivalries and the subdivisions of the various white tribes. I recommend it to anyone who wants to understand more about a largely forgotten era.

[Lj Bousquet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Polisensky's tale of post WWII British Colonial Rhodesia captured me immediately and kept me to the very end. Historical fiction is best when you can feel – and feel for – the characters, the settings, the life. Whitewashed Jacarandas does it with well-drawn characters, exquisite scenery, impeccable research and a great story. I was transported to Dr. Sunny and Mavoureen’s life in Umzimtuti and want to return. I’m looking forward to the next installment in the Umzimtuti Series.

[Katrina Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is on loan to a friend of mine who is originally from South Africa and who works in the medical field. She is enjoying reading about this part of Africa a few generations before her time from a doctor's perspective.