Color, Friendship and the Absence of Ignorance

About the Book

The story takes place in the beautiful city of Paris. Stalin, a writer and traveler, uses his stay to explore the city and make use of his visit by connecting with friends while working on his writing project. Stalin uses his 3 month stay in Paris to enjoy the festivities and nightlife with 2 great friends, Alex and Frederick, with whom he spends time with consistently during his stay. Alex, Frederick and Stalin all portray to have very similar qualities in one another. Each has their own professions as teachers, artist and writers. They are all young adults in their late 20’s and early 30’s. However, it is a special bond that they make as friends that help them enjoy and make the most out of life whenever they are in each others company. In spite of their professions, they all relate well to one another. They can all cook well; have great taste in art, nice homes and value friendships. Alex and Frederick show Stalin a great time in Paris. These individuals both have their own places in Paris and they find pleasure in spending time with Stalin who is an African American from the United States. These 3 people constantly go out to drink on a daily basis. All of them use their time to enjoy the lavish restaurants and festivities around the city. They also visit each others Pub in the city and gear themselves for a fun and adventurous trip. Conflict starts to arise in the story as Stalin figures out that the world and life he is living is too good to be true. Stalin finds out that Alex and Frederick may perhaps be gay and probes them for information regarding their lifestyle. Oddly enough, Alex and Frederick were gay but it did not interfere with Stalin enjoying their company. Stalin meets a beautiful woman named Isabelle who happens to be Alex’s good friend. Stalin finds her extremely attractive and feels she could be the person that he would want to marry. Alex aggressively told Stalin that it is okay for you and Isabelle to be friends but nothing should ever go beyond your friendship with her. Regardless of the comments hurled at Stalin, he still pursued her throughout his stay. When Stalin would go out with his two buddies, he would request to always see Isabelle. Alex and Isabelle have a great friendship. As a matter of fact, Alex cherishes the friendship he has with Isabelle to the point where no one else should interfere, including Stalin. Alex used different alternatives and excuses through his plans to not invite Isabelle around Stalin. Alex felt the need to protect the friendship he has with Stalin as well as Isabelle, even if it meant absolute separation between the both of them. There is always something to do for Stalin each day in the city but he ends up spending too much money throughout his stay and realizes that he may not afford to pay the rest of the rent for his Pub. Stalin asks Alex if he can stay with him until it is time for him to go home. Alex grants Stalin’s request. Stalin’s personality engages him into the drinking habits of Alex and Frederick. They go out everyday to drink, socialize and enjoy the city. Even though Stalin spends most of his time with Alex and Frederick, it did not deter him from working on his writing project. Stalin also finds time to break away from his friends to explore parts of the city. He uses parts of his journey to find places that would propel him further to completing his project. Stalin has high expectations that he will become a famous writer someday. The tireless efforts that are placed into his writing will one day make him become a huge success. Each time Stalin visits Paris, he is marveled by the people of this great city. He likes the fact that interracial couples can be together without any signs of hatred or jealousy by someone else. Stalin also sees how men can greet each other with a kiss on the cheek and it is regarded as acceptable to other people. Life in the city of Paris seems too good to be true. Stalin feels that many people’s culture and lifest

About the Author

Errol Shaw was born in Jamaica W. I. and migrated to the United States in the nineteen seventies. He has traveled extensively around the world to places such as Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. He spent some time at the Nanjing Normal University in China where he studied Chinese culture. Mr. Shaw received BFA degree at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. He lives in Brooklyn New York