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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
Normally I'm not a fan of books that switch narrators. I'd rather focus on one person and be in their head the entire time. However, Danticat does an excellent job of using each narrator as a lens with which to view the character at the center of the book--the dew breaker himself. Danticat's writing is clear and efficient without mincing words, and the book is carefully balanced with characters who give differing perspectives on what it is to fear and forgive.
This primarily reads like a collection of short stories, but they are linked with some common characters appearing in several of the episodes. Basically, it describes incidents in the lives of Haitian immigrants in the U.S., and, in some cases, describes their lives in Haiti prior to their immigration, or in one case, on a return trip.
The book was the "One Read" book for Bunker Hill CC this past year, and even though BHCC gave me the boot several years ago, I was interested in reading what they thought would be useful for their students. It probably would have helped me when I did teach. I did have a student who came from Haiti. As I recall, he made a rather beautiful web site about his home country.
The book was the "One Read" book for Bunker Hill CC this past year, and even though BHCC gave me the boot several years ago, I was interested in reading what they thought would be useful for their students. It probably would have helped me when I did teach. I did have a student who came from Haiti. As I recall, he made a rather beautiful web site about his home country.
The narrative structure of this novel is so aggressively bad I almost physically destroyed the book when I gave up on it. The multi threads are not woven together so much as embarrassingly and artlessly mashed together in a way that despite really wanting to know the story it just was not worth it.
This is the first book I've read by Danticat and she is excellent! Loved the way she put together the stories!
I was initially drawn in by the first story of the book. But then it totally took a different turn with completely new stories that lost my interest, nor could I connect them with the previous story. I don't do well with books that jump around with different settings and new characters. And, The Dew Breaker was a classic example of this. On a positive note I do like Danticat's writing style and prose. If she just didn't jump around so much and better develop her characters she would be an excellent author bar none.
edwidge danticat lures you with the promise of a sweet and simple story; but what you get is vin diagram of haitian american lives. imagine playing six degrees of seperation with a national identity being the binding link. in the memories of home/ponderings about the present danticat paints a vivid picture of the complexities of being human while being haitian in american. i know that sounds wierd, but there is a huge dose of humanity that comes along with these tales. the way people react in the face of political unrest, uncertain futures, strained filial relationships, and the silent ghosts from the past screams HUMAN BEING. the ebb and flow of time breezes through the pages as you see life from different social-economic-gender-age groups. everything comes back to haiti. from the moment you begin the journey you are simultaneously there and here. once you enter the lives of the artist, reporter, seamstress, preacher, patriot, solider, barber, bride, thug, nurse, aunt, janitor, and hairdresser your journey walks you into the misty mornings that dew breakers greet with steel resolve. you find yourself absorbed into something that is greater than the sum of the people exposed on the pages of this enchanting book. it's just magnificent!
The Dew Breaker is a book organized into 9 sections (chapters), which are all perfectly able to stand alone as short stories. Each chapter features different characters and different points of view, and seem random at first, but by the end you realize they’re all interlocking and related in some way.
The novel is about an unnamed prison guard/torturer who was part of the Tonton Macoutes, the voluntary militia under Jean-Claude Duvalier’s reign in Haiti. The book is just as much about his life and redemption as it is about those whose lives he’s affected. One chapter is told from the point of view of his own daughter, while one is told from the point of view of the son of a couple he’d shot. If you try to understand everything at first, you’ll probably drive yourself crazy, so I recommend just sitting back and enjoying each chapter as its own story until you get to the point where it all starts to come together.
Out of all the chapters, my personal favorite was Water Child. Arguably, it has the least to contribute to the overall plot, but I really enjoyed the character Nadine and all her emotional intricacies. When I read the last page of the chapter, I burst out into tears. Nadine seems to be aloof and difficult to manage, but the truth is, she’s just a very hurt woman who fell in love with the wrong guy. And that’s all I’ll say about that.
The unnamed prison guard (I’ll just call him Uncle Gunnysack from now on) was a really difficult character for me. I spent a good half-hour or more once I finished the book, just lying on my bed and trying to pin him down. If you look at him in his youth (the last chapter), it’s hard to imagine he’ll become the sort of man he does (in the first chapter). I kept thinking about who he was to his daughter, and how he acted in old age, then wondering how he could even be related to the man he’d been before. Uncle Gunnysack narrates a good portion of the last chapter, and just reading that much makes me sick. He seems to have no morals, no conscience… Although the last chapter does help to explain his odd behavior in the beginning. It’s strange, to see how guilty he is, when at the time, he had no qualms about all the terrible things he was doing. And I guess a lot of it’s left up to the reader, which can be frustrating at times.
Despite my trouble with this book, I have to admit that it’s now one of my favorites. I love the short story format. I love it. As an aspiring writer, I feel a bit intimidated by it, though. I don’t think I could ever write a book like this, with so many different characters who are so well-formed and fleshed out that each and every one of them is real. Some of the symbolism is a little heavy-handed at times (there is a character who is a mother figure in the valley where she lives in Haiti, and she also happens to be a midwife), but I have literally no other complaint about this book. It was such an enjoyable read, and there was never a dull moment!
I would highly recommend this book to just about everyone. The plot(s) was engaging, the characters realistic, and when everything comes together in the end, it just sort of blows your mind. It blew mine, at least.
The novel is about an unnamed prison guard/torturer who was part of the Tonton Macoutes, the voluntary militia under Jean-Claude Duvalier’s reign in Haiti. The book is just as much about his life and redemption as it is about those whose lives he’s affected. One chapter is told from the point of view of his own daughter, while one is told from the point of view of the son of a couple he’d shot. If you try to understand everything at first, you’ll probably drive yourself crazy, so I recommend just sitting back and enjoying each chapter as its own story until you get to the point where it all starts to come together.
Out of all the chapters, my personal favorite was Water Child. Arguably, it has the least to contribute to the overall plot, but I really enjoyed the character Nadine and all her emotional intricacies. When I read the last page of the chapter, I burst out into tears. Nadine seems to be aloof and difficult to manage, but the truth is, she’s just a very hurt woman who fell in love with the wrong guy. And that’s all I’ll say about that.
The unnamed prison guard (I’ll just call him Uncle Gunnysack from now on) was a really difficult character for me. I spent a good half-hour or more once I finished the book, just lying on my bed and trying to pin him down. If you look at him in his youth (the last chapter), it’s hard to imagine he’ll become the sort of man he does (in the first chapter). I kept thinking about who he was to his daughter, and how he acted in old age, then wondering how he could even be related to the man he’d been before. Uncle Gunnysack narrates a good portion of the last chapter, and just reading that much makes me sick. He seems to have no morals, no conscience… Although the last chapter does help to explain his odd behavior in the beginning. It’s strange, to see how guilty he is, when at the time, he had no qualms about all the terrible things he was doing. And I guess a lot of it’s left up to the reader, which can be frustrating at times.
Despite my trouble with this book, I have to admit that it’s now one of my favorites. I love the short story format. I love it. As an aspiring writer, I feel a bit intimidated by it, though. I don’t think I could ever write a book like this, with so many different characters who are so well-formed and fleshed out that each and every one of them is real. Some of the symbolism is a little heavy-handed at times (there is a character who is a mother figure in the valley where she lives in Haiti, and she also happens to be a midwife), but I have literally no other complaint about this book. It was such an enjoyable read, and there was never a dull moment!
I would highly recommend this book to just about everyone. The plot(s) was engaging, the characters realistic, and when everything comes together in the end, it just sort of blows your mind. It blew mine, at least.
I started off really enjoying this book and then lost steam with it. She tells many different stories of Haitians and then connects their stories together, but I had a hard time remembering the connections.
Damn she can write. These were powerful short stories with a vague connection to each other and all about Haiti and Haitian immigrants to NYC and the way the past is always with you.