“Life in the Damn Tropics is a witty book, ebullient in its observations about the human heart and mind, and the caprices of destiny. It is a sharply intelligent, passionately written novel by a writer who has much to say about that Life in the Damn Tropics—something which the author knows well—a book that is deserving of an appreciative readership.”

“Three Jewish brothers struggle to keep their family’s business ventures alive through a period of political unrest and upheaval in Unger’s satisfying debut novel, set in Guatemala in the early 1980s…Unger puts his unique setting to good use as he layers his unusual story line, building the suspense…that makes this book worth reading. Fans of political intrigue will enjoy this title which straddles literary and commercial fiction to good effect…”

“This is a sophisticated, often bitterly funny political-romance that made me think of Graham Greene. Through the eyes and voice of Unger’s more or less assimilated Jewish narrator, Guatemala City in the eighties—a place of terror, but also a place of family obligations and old friendships and mid-life love and loss—is beautifully evoked.”

“Life in the Damn Tropics is often funny, always vibrant with its surreally intense characters. It is a great read, not only for the ironies and wry humor about the human condition, but also because it celebrates human diversity, even perversity, as a procreative force.”