I started reading this book four and a half hours ago, and I finished it in one sitting, with only one break to get some more tea. Danticat so successfully sketched out her characters that it felt like 12 year old Sophie was grabbing my hand and pulling me along with her.

The language of this book isn't particularly ornate - no need to bust out a dictionary here - but the author still manage to make Haiti seem so very real. In fact, the clarity of the language lent the story a fable-like quality that only made the words and messages all the more powerful.


This is a book is alternately uncomfortable and inspiring. There is some horrific violence that is actually uncomfortable to read, but it's counteracted by the sheer strength that these women show. Every chapter contains some small nugget of wisdom to apply to life.

Breathe, Eyes, Memory is a vibrant and beautiful novel about memories and inheritance, strength and insanity, mothers and daughters and the cycles we are all unconsciously a part of. Watching Sophie attempt to break free was a uniquely magical experience and one I highly recommend to everyone.