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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
So good! I loved this collection, and I love Danticat's writing. I need to read more by her ASAP!
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I picked this book specifically because I was looking for a book set in Haiti and written by a Haitian author, in order to fulfill a challenge prompt. I realized that I knew absolutely nothing about Haitian literature and had no ideas for what to read (well, except for The Kingdom of This World, which I read in school), so I had to do some googling to find something that would work.
Krik? Krak! was an interesting read — a collection of short story that were somewhat interwoven, which I didn't realize when I chose it. I think I would have preferred a regular novel, because it's just hard for a whole collection of short stories to be winners! I did quite like some of the stories in this collection and found others to be a bit more forgettable.
Overall, this collection did have a distinct emotional tone, a sort of dark twist of resignation and hope. I liked this tone, but I think something about Danticat's writing style keeps the characters seeming just a little distant, as though their suffering numbs them slightly to the world. But that's not to say that individual moments from these stories won't stick with me.
Krik? Krak! was an interesting read — a collection of short story that were somewhat interwoven, which I didn't realize when I chose it. I think I would have preferred a regular novel, because it's just hard for a whole collection of short stories to be winners! I did quite like some of the stories in this collection and found others to be a bit more forgettable.
Overall, this collection did have a distinct emotional tone, a sort of dark twist of resignation and hope. I liked this tone, but I think something about Danticat's writing style keeps the characters seeming just a little distant, as though their suffering numbs them slightly to the world. But that's not to say that individual moments from these stories won't stick with me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Animal cruelty
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
just so haunting and visceral. what a master of language!
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, Murder, War
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Confinement, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
This short story collections gives insights in the lives of (sometimes related) women in Haiti. It made me look up Haitian history about which I knew very little beforehand. The writing is beautiful and makes the sometimes very difficult stories even more impactful. Overall, I am very glad that I read this book.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Ah, I do love Edwidge Danticat's writing! Another beautiful, passionate portrait of the incredibly difficult lives and times of Haitians in the modern age, struggling to stay alive and yet finding beauty and love and meaning in the struggle.