The Madagascar Novels

There are three Madagascar novels. The first, Madagascar in the Time of Covid, follows an elderly novelist to Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, where he is confined in his hotel for months thanks to the COVID pandemic. While there, he writes a meta-novel about Madagascar, using some real people in his hotel as characters, but mixing them in with characters he imagines, and with the addition of magic realism scenes. The second novel, The Big Tsingy follows the fortunes of a group of tourist trekkers led by their guide, the illegitimate son of wealthy Europeans. The third entry, Avenue of the Baobabs, has a giant baobab tree for its narrator. This wise, but somewhat arrogant tree makes wry comments about the human beings who come to view it.