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bolotareads's review against another edition
3.0
I am sure this is a very important book culturally but I hated reading it...
srudick's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
glittercherry's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
danacoledares's review against another edition
3.0
I feel all kinds of ways about this, most of it not related to the book, but to the author. It's a novel(la?) whose style the author referred to as the "real maravilloso," marvelous reality, and it strongly influenced magical realism as a style and even genre.
He was born in Switzerland, but his family emigrated to Cuba when he was very young, and he was raised in Havana. As an adult, he lived in Paris and in Venezuela for over a decade each. What was it that made him choose to write about Haiti, a country he'd only visited? It feels somewhat appropriative, and the style and tone reek of exoticism, particularly given the vivid description that is both luscious and putrescent.
I am skeptical of his ongoing apparent derision for earlier styles, his insistence particularly on abandoning European art, culture, and customs – or, rather, the idea that such would even be possible. Ignoring the influence of the ideas that shaped your own just strikes me as incredibly arrogant.
He was born in Switzerland, but his family emigrated to Cuba when he was very young, and he was raised in Havana. As an adult, he lived in Paris and in Venezuela for over a decade each. What was it that made him choose to write about Haiti, a country he'd only visited? It feels somewhat appropriative, and the style and tone reek of exoticism, particularly given the vivid description that is both luscious and putrescent.
I am skeptical of his ongoing apparent derision for earlier styles, his insistence particularly on abandoning European art, culture, and customs – or, rather, the idea that such would even be possible. Ignoring the influence of the ideas that shaped your own just strikes me as incredibly arrogant.
mariana_cscs's review against another edition
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
leeann_deleonm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
joh17's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
anabey's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
mattbeatty's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fascinating read. I knew essentially nothing of the Haitian revolution before reading this, and it has really sparked my interest. The voodoo, Henri Christophe, the Cap, Sans Souci, the Citadelle, all of this is amazing and makes for great historical fiction.
Told through the eyes of Ti Noël, a slave who can't seem to escape his bondage until his elder years spent in senility, witnesses Saint-Domingue on the island of Haiti though many phases: during the French occupation, the Haitian revolution, throughout the reign of King Henri Christophe, and after the mutiny which led to his fall. His narrative weaves through voodoo and promiscuity, incorporates aspects of French life and slavery both from whites and blacks. There is hopelessness and hope, cyclical revolutions and uprisings, prosperity and ruined cultures. The line between what is real as seen by the voodoo religion and what occurred from the historical perspective (Henri Christophe's stroke, poisionings, shapeshifting, group power through chants and drumming, etc.) is well-crafted and left to the reader to discern.
Two complaints: the narrative drifts too easily (Ti Noël, to Pauline Bonaporte and Soliman, back to Ti Noël, to Sans Souci, etc.), although it does steadily returns to Ti Noël; and the passage of time is not clear or well-defined, though I admit this may be a purposeful device employed by Carpentier.
A good read, a fairly quick read, and one steeped and storied in history.
Told through the eyes of Ti Noël, a slave who can't seem to escape his bondage until his elder years spent in senility, witnesses Saint-Domingue on the island of Haiti though many phases: during the French occupation, the Haitian revolution, throughout the reign of King Henri Christophe, and after the mutiny which led to his fall. His narrative weaves through voodoo and promiscuity, incorporates aspects of French life and slavery both from whites and blacks. There is hopelessness and hope, cyclical revolutions and uprisings, prosperity and ruined cultures. The line between what is real as seen by the voodoo religion and what occurred from the historical perspective (Henri Christophe's stroke, poisionings, shapeshifting, group power through chants and drumming, etc.) is well-crafted and left to the reader to discern.
Two complaints: the narrative drifts too easily (Ti Noël, to Pauline Bonaporte and Soliman, back to Ti Noël, to Sans Souci, etc.), although it does steadily returns to Ti Noël; and the passage of time is not clear or well-defined, though I admit this may be a purposeful device employed by Carpentier.
A good read, a fairly quick read, and one steeped and storied in history.