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sam_bizar_wilcox's review
4.0
Maryse Condé brings together both a narrative that is enthralling -- a sort of modern Silas Marner -- and commentary on global migration. Where this novel is most compelling is in the multiple perspectives that the narrative inhabits, digging into what it means to be in Haiti -- a country where the living and the dead comingle -- as people who straddle international boundaries. Babakar is the main character. Malian, he comes to Haiti by way of Guadeloupe, where, in the process of delivering a stranger's baby, the mother dies. Babakar then decides to go to Haiti to find the baby's family. In the process, however, Condé gives space for other characters to share their stories and how they came to Babakar's orbit. In almost interlocking chapters, characters deliver autobiographies that feel decidedly honest in tone and scope (filled with intricate minutia but never overstuffed). The book also investigates how friendships and global solidarity is formed in a broadly post-colonial context, linking Palestinian freedom to a Pan-African movement to an Afro-Caribbean struggle with intelligently realized geodiversity.
Maryse Condé is, perhaps, one of the most astute anti-colonial storytellers, and her world of fiction is one that is profound to inhabit.
Maryse Condé is, perhaps, one of the most astute anti-colonial storytellers, and her world of fiction is one that is profound to inhabit.
tawallah's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
bookofcinz's review against another edition
3.0
Conde’s ability to take you on a journey is unmatched!
In Maryse Conde’s latest release we meet blue eyed Black people, we are taken to Mali, Guadeloupe, Palestine, Canada, and Haiti. A truly immersive read that you will not be able to put down.
In Waiting For The Waters To Rise we meet Babakar originally from Mali, he ends up living and working in Guadeloupe as a doctor. One night he is woken up and taken to a shack where he finds a dead mother and her recently birthed child. Babakar made the impromptu decision to take the child home and adopt her, not taking into consideration that the mother’s dying wish is to have her child taken back home to Haiti.
While in live improves significantly with the addition of the child to Babakar’s household, he feels complete and loved. One day a mother of the child shows up and convinces him to move back to Haiti so the child can be with her family- they journey to Haiti together. Nothing could prepare them for what would happen in next.
This story is well crafted. I love how Conde allows us to meet people, hear their backstory and how they end up where they are. I think for me, I love how we hear from a Palestinian who ends up in Haiti, a Haitian fleeing to Guadeloupe and the xenophobia that they face, Babakar who journeys from Mail to Guadeloupe… all of these people from all over the world meeting in Haiti. I love a book that is set in Haiti and it is not often I read about characters journeying to Haiti to settle and I enjoyed that.
Yes, some parts were a bit slow but overall I really enjoyed this one. The ending though… wow!
In Maryse Conde’s latest release we meet blue eyed Black people, we are taken to Mali, Guadeloupe, Palestine, Canada, and Haiti. A truly immersive read that you will not be able to put down.
In Waiting For The Waters To Rise we meet Babakar originally from Mali, he ends up living and working in Guadeloupe as a doctor. One night he is woken up and taken to a shack where he finds a dead mother and her recently birthed child. Babakar made the impromptu decision to take the child home and adopt her, not taking into consideration that the mother’s dying wish is to have her child taken back home to Haiti.
While in live improves significantly with the addition of the child to Babakar’s household, he feels complete and loved. One day a mother of the child shows up and convinces him to move back to Haiti so the child can be with her family- they journey to Haiti together. Nothing could prepare them for what would happen in next.
This story is well crafted. I love how Conde allows us to meet people, hear their backstory and how they end up where they are. I think for me, I love how we hear from a Palestinian who ends up in Haiti, a Haitian fleeing to Guadeloupe and the xenophobia that they face, Babakar who journeys from Mail to Guadeloupe… all of these people from all over the world meeting in Haiti. I love a book that is set in Haiti and it is not often I read about characters journeying to Haiti to settle and I enjoyed that.
Yes, some parts were a bit slow but overall I really enjoyed this one. The ending though… wow!
socorrobaptista's review
4.0
Uma narrativa que envolve muitas gerações e muitos relacionamentos conturbados, muitas perdas, muita dor. Mostra muito sobre alguns países caribenhos, sobre a pobreza e a dor do exilio. Mostra também o Haiti de forma crua, sem maquiagem. Muito bom!!
jacobs_books's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
sadiereadsagain's review
3.0
I think what drew me to pick up this book was the mention of Haiti, as I've not read a book set in that country and know very little about it. Plus, the premise sounded intriguing - an African doctor, Babakar, is left holding a baby after her mother dies in childbirth, and takes it upon himself to return her to her mother's country of Haiti in order to reunite her with her family.
So, on the Haiti aspect this book really delivered. The power struggles, international aid/interference and impact of climate change are all discussed as the story unfolds. But it isn't only Haiti this book takes you to - whilst the second half of the book is all set there, we travel through many different countries on the way and through some thought provoking prose on the nature of belonging, home, displacement and what makes a motherland. This is done not only through the story of Babakar, but his companions - a Palestinian in Haiti, and a Haitian who had fled to Guadalupe. I was glad of this, as I didn't really warm particularly to Babakar.
The story of returning the baby does get a little lost in all that other context though. She, like women in general in this books, is very much just a plot device with which to link the stories of the men together. I wasn't keen on that aspect, and coupled with the lack of warmth I felt for Babakar I found that something in this book just didn't touch me in the way I had hoped it would. It's a solid book, but not one I connected with particularly deeply.
I received a Netgalley of this title from World Editions in return for a review. All opinions are my own.
So, on the Haiti aspect this book really delivered. The power struggles, international aid/interference and impact of climate change are all discussed as the story unfolds. But it isn't only Haiti this book takes you to - whilst the second half of the book is all set there, we travel through many different countries on the way and through some thought provoking prose on the nature of belonging, home, displacement and what makes a motherland. This is done not only through the story of Babakar, but his companions - a Palestinian in Haiti, and a Haitian who had fled to Guadalupe. I was glad of this, as I didn't really warm particularly to Babakar.
The story of returning the baby does get a little lost in all that other context though. She, like women in general in this books, is very much just a plot device with which to link the stories of the men together. I wasn't keen on that aspect, and coupled with the lack of warmth I felt for Babakar I found that something in this book just didn't touch me in the way I had hoped it would. It's a solid book, but not one I connected with particularly deeply.
I received a Netgalley of this title from World Editions in return for a review. All opinions are my own.
wamannabanana's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
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? No
4.5
amyjo25's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sarahtonin_099's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
spiderfelt's review
3.5
Other reviewers have pointed out how masculine these stories were, leaving the women to be objectified and idealized accessories to the plot. Things happen to the women, but the female characters are not given the opportunity to voice their inner lives. They become devices on which the stories of the men rest.