SOLVED. A lawyer on a small island finds the native chief translating Shakespeare [s]

[Mary]

I think it was at least five years ago that I read this but I can't be sure...

A young lawyer with obsessive-compulsive disorder travels to a small island to convince the native tribe that they are entitled to compensation for occupation by a military base during the war.

The villagers are illiterate except for the chief, who's prize possession is The Complete Works of Shakespeare, which he's using to translate the Hamlet Soliliquy.

He later comes back to the island to find that his interference has had horrible consequences.

It's a very funny book, and quite sad. I just wish I could remenber the title...

[Andria]

One Big Damn Puzzler by John Harding