bahareads's Reviews (1.09k)

chouket lawoze or dew breaker (as translated by Danticat) refers to a torturer during the reign of Papa Doc and Baby Doc. The Dew Breaker is a series of stories that are semi-connected. I did not realize this was a collection of stories, I thought it was one central story. This is an overarching connection between the stories. The theme of duality or doubling is most prevalent.

Danticat is an excellent writer and this book once again showcases her prowess. However, this is by far my least favourite Danticat book I've read. The stories were good, but I wanted more from each of them. In a few cases, I wondered why I was reading the current story that I was reading and the connection to the main story. The subtly of Danticat's story connections are great. I liked seeing different angles of Haiti and immigrant life from various perspectives. The Dew Breaker is a shorter book, but powerful in its own way.

"Well. I am guilty of this. I was a woman who loved a woman, chief among the womanly sins, like barrenness, and thinking. After all, my thoughts were all of her, and coarse and lewd, disturbing as dog-barks. Oh, the shock of it. The wrongness. The dark, surprisingly glee."

Collins has written something that is not easy to put to the back of your mind. I could not stop thinking about the book while I was reading it. Frannie and her story is a thing that keeps the reader thinking. Collins is a master storyteller. She unfolds the story, putting all the pieces together in the end in a great chain link. This is not the usual enslaved narratives I have read and I enjoy that. From being the hands of a mad scientist to a romantic relationship with her English mistress, it was a rollercoaster ride. The gothic feel reminded me of Jane Eyre with a mix of Sherlock Holmes.

Frannie is not a likeable character. None of the characters are 'likeable' characters. They are real people. Complex people. This is not the purpose of the story. The story is powerfully brutal to the life that many people had to live during enslavement. The confessions of Frannie give readers an insight into the psychological ongoings of different incidents people could have had to experience. The frustration I felt while reading this story built until the very bitter end. I wanted to throw the book across the room. There is any number of situations in this book that can be triggering, so proceed with caution.

This novel has me thinking about criminal cases versus civil cases with enslaved people or free people of colour. My studies covered civil cases this past semester which was very interesting. I have a few posts pertaining some of the books related to those topics but I think I'm going to make another one.

"We used parsley for our food, our teas, our baths, to cleanse our insides as well as our outsides. Perhaps the Generalissimo in some larger order was trying to do the same for his country."

The Farming of Bones is another well-written masterpiece by Danticat. Danticat is an amazing storyteller who creates a narrative that takes the reader along on a journey they won't soon forget. The narrative told by Amabelle puts the reader back into time along the Haitian-Dominican border. The 'Parsley' massacre is a real event that happened under the reign of Trujillo. The entire Haitian population along the Dominican border were murdered or forced to flee.

The unfolding of understanding that severe persecution was taking place is very historically accurate. The sense of urgency and sudden fleeing of the characters in the book is set in contrast with the slow-moving writing style of Danticat. Amabelle's struggle to accept that persecution was happening can be annoying but I think it is an accurate response for people who have coexisted together for a few generations.

I can see why people might not like The Farming of Bones. I do not think I would have liked it either if I had not studied Dominican history this past semester. I loved the little things Danticat does throughout the stories that I could relate back to what I learned this semester. The historical note at the end might need some updating because it has been proven that civilians did participate and help in killing their Haitian neighbours and friends along the border.

The ending had me wanting to pull my hair out. I wanted something that brought me comfort and happiness. I did not really get that. I got some semblance of sad peace at the end. If you want to know more about the 1937 Massacre. Richard Lee Turits' 'Foundations of Despotism: Peasants, the Trujillo Regime, and Modernity in Dominican History has a chapter dedicated to it which is really good.

The Dictator's Seduction focuses on the state extending itself into civil society based on the vernacular politics of personhood. The themes of masculinity and fantasies of race and class mobility are seen clearly. Derby studies the everyday form of domination of the Trujillo regime. She does a great job of showing how the regime was understood by the poor as well as the educated Dominican. Derby helps to rethink the boundaries of the Dominican state and the locus of politics.

Blue is about the blues of life, family, love, and nationhood; basically, anything that could be felt when having the "blues." Blue is more than just a hue associated with sadness. It's broader than that, it is life in all its fullness. Pratt directs Blue to women but honestly the poems and feelings in Blue can be felt by mostly anyone. I know there's something in Blue that can resonate with anybody. The poetry regarding family and Pratt's grammy were some of my favourites. I felt the love and connection with those. There are different types of poetry in Blue. My favourite style has to be from Compartments which were actually little poems in compartments. Pratt has a lyricalness to her poetry that I enjoy and reading them aloud made them come to life. The openness with which the poetry is presented to the reader made me sit in awe and respect.

A few of my absolute favourites were
Mary
Fyre
It is Not the Sea that Binds Us
No Brackets on my Tongue
Teach yi How ta Swim
Gaulin Wife
You only write bad poems about me
On Friendship
Poinciana Tell Me ta Burn

I received an uncorrected proof copy of this novel from HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.

I really read an 800-page book for it to end on an opening/cliffhanger?!?! Now that I have got that off my chest let's get to the meat of The Falcon's Eyes

The Falcon's Eyes is about Isabelle and how she forges her own path and life for themselves. The description marks this book as a sweeping and suspenseful tale about many things but I would not go as far as to say that. I think it falls right in line with other historical fiction novels. It sets a person on a path and we, as the reader, see the completion of the path. The novel is advertised as "a novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine" and Eleanor is present in the novel but the wording of that phrase makes me think she's going to be a stronger presence throughout the novel than she actually was.

The book is split into six different sections which signify different changes happening in Isabelle's life. However, the first section of the book is about 1/3 of the book or around 300+ pages. I think too much time was spent building up that section, which consists primarily of Isabelle's marriage. I understand the reasoning behind it but I think about 100 pages could have been cut. Honestly overall I think Isabella's girlhood and most of the marriage could have been cut to make the book shorter. What regular person is going to buy and read an 800+ page book?!?

The theme of freedom that shines so much throughout the early pages I find the idea somewhat modern. Isabella's husband Gerald honestly is not free either. I am simplifying things but he has responsibilities that require things of him, just like she has of her. I honestly did not find anything here new or refreshing for the historical fiction genre. I think The Falcon's Eyes is well written and decently researched but once again, 800 pages..... I don't think I can get over that.

"Lord, you make your people see hard things, you make us to drink the wine of astonishment."

The Wine of Astonishment was something else, I see why it is a 'Caribbean classic'. Earl Lovelace managed to a simple story with a simple narrative and turn it into something beautiful. The examination of a society struggling to rid itself of colonial (e.i. white) ideals. I loved the historical narrative of the Baptist church in the country, trying hard to survive. I wonder how the explosion of the Pentecostal Movement in America (1906) affected Spiritual Baptish Church in Trinidad and Tobago. The explanations of the feeling of the spirit and the church experience seem very similar to that of the Pentecostal movement. (The Azua Street Revival was started by an African American).

I enjoyed Eva's narration immensely. She was a very perceptive character whose insights added to all of the characters around her. She was able to see and perceive them in a way that allowed the reader into the mind of those characters. Bolo, Bee, and Ivan Morton played their roles well. They were all examples of different ways of adapting and dealing with a country in evolution. Seeing how the characters clung to the old way of doing things or embraced colonial (e.i. white) ideals was an interesting one. The unwavering belief that things would eventually get better and God would make a way really really touched me deeply.

Lovelace's writing is simple and yet so lyrical. I love that The Wine of Astonishment is not written in standard English. It allows Eva's narrative personality to stand out.
"We have this church in the village. We have this church. The walls make out of mud, the roof covered with carrat leaves: a simple hut with no steeple or cross or acolytes or white priests or latin ceremonies. But is our own. Black people own it. Government ain't spent one cent helping us to build it or to put bench in it or anything; the bell that we ring when we call to the Spirit is our money that pay for it. So we have this church."

Dionne Brand is a brillant writer. The prose and the poetic way this book was written had me drawn in. The loose POV and switching of places kept my head in a tizzy. I wished the narrative had been tighter. However, I think if it had, the book would have lost its loose prose feeling. I loved the story and the dialect in the book. I'm a huge fan of dialect in books. The hurt and hell these characters went through can be felt throughout every chapter. It was a good read.

4.5 stars - I would like to preface this review by saying I am a Bahamian so this is an #OwnVoice review.

I am not a big short story collection fan because they tend to be a mixed bag for me. However, Mather did not disappoint. There was not one story in this collection that didn't hit me in a powerful way. These stories may seem just like that - stories, but they speak to the very real and lived experiences of many Bahamian (and Caribbean) women. I have read Mather's other works and this has been by far my favourite of hers. I can see her growth as an author in this collection. This collection was marketed as an "adult" novel, but I found it still be more YA in nature and with the age of the characters.

The book was split into four sections - the stories having similar themes - and my favourite section was A Bond Unseen. All of those stories hit in a way that's hard to explain. There wasn’t a story in this book that I thought didn’t belong. I love seeing my dialect, my culture, and places familiar to me in the pages of a book. It speaks to my literary soul to see my dialect on the pages of a book (I actually would have liked to see even more). I wish Mather had transferred the dialect into the character's thoughts as well. Some of the stories - like Princess - reminded me of ones my aunties have told me about their youth or - like Mango Summer - reminded me of the Marco Archer case. Mather captures Bahamians in The Bahamas and those who immigrate to Canada in a way that makes them come to life. The everyday challenges of life were captured perfectly well. These stories are will stick with you.