Cast of Players
Island Fruit Remedy features an ensemble of characters unlike any that have appeared in my previous work. Most of them have their roots in the botanical world. In order to make the IFR experiment a bit more digestible, I offer this “Cast of Players,” in which the underlying essences of the novel’s principal and supporting characters are revealed.
The connection between the character and the edible counterpart will, in some cases, be obvious. Guava, Fig and Cashew would be hard to mistake. Players like Tamarind and Pumelo may be less clear. And there are fruits from the tropics like Annona and Guanabana that may be unknown to readers in northern climes. Using the “Cast of Players,” it should be easy to identify the source for each character, along with the qualities that have inspired, and hopefully infuse, each of them.
While the inside story on the characters in most novels is the author’s secret, I have no special claim on the players in IFR. They are all freely available to anyone with a desire to sample them. I had a fine time doing that during the writing, and I hope some of my readers will do the same. What’s the point of inventing characters, and struggling to give life to them, when such exotic, fragrant and distinctive ones spring naturally from the earth?
The images are from the paintings of Ramón Alejandro, a Cuban-born, self-taught artist who lives in Miami and has spent his life with tropical fruit. He believes, and so do I, that it’s a glorious feast. We hope you enjoy the basket.
Rich Shapero
September 1, 2020