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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
A series of sometimes tragic, sometimes brutal short stories concerning the Duvaliers' reign of terror and its consequences. There were moments when this book was very hard to read indeed.
I love this author's writing. The style of this book, however, was awkward for me to follow, i almost gave it up as a book of short stories before i began thi dress the thread. I read it as a book on cd, i think i would have followed it better in a book format.
I read The Dew Breaker while reading Breath, Eyes, Memory and I must say that I prefer Breath, Eyes, Memory. I feel like I kinda cheated myself out of a real opportunity to enjoy The Dew Breaker because I was in constant comparison between the two novels. The Dew Breaker is an amazing collection of tales nonetheless. I like the short story cycle Danticat perfects throughout the novel & her retelling of history is interesting, too. I'm not a fan of the structure of the novel, but I got the point & I find Danticat's retelling of history particularly interesting for readers ignorant of the history of Haiti or the literature of the Haitian diaspora.
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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:
Yes
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-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
I read this for school, but actually ended up enjoying it more than I anticipated. I liked the style of short stories that tie together in one way or another, honing in on the relationships between them and one specific character. However, there were times where I didn't see the connection to the primary character, and I tried to look up all of the connections after reading but couldn't find an easily accessible answer.
Prior to this book, I hadn’t read any book by Danticat nor have I read any Haitian literature. With less than 300 pages, The Dew Breaker delivered beyond expectations. It is a collection of 9 short stories that focus on different characters whose lives were affected by “a dew breaker”. Dew breaker is the English moniker given to members of the Tonton Macoute: a groups of brutal death squads who were private mercenaries of Papa Doc. François Duvalier (Papa Doc) was a brutal dictator that served as the president of Haiti from 1957-1971.
Their activities wrecked havoc to the lives of Haitians, both home and abroad. Hardly would one meet a Haitian whose family was t remotely affected by the actions of this squad and I think that influenced the writing style for this collection.
In the ‘Book of Dead’ an artist struggled to accept that her beloved father wasn’t who she thought him to be and in ‘Seven’, Danticst described the strangeness and beauty that accompanied the reunion of a couple who had been separated by the quest to find a better life. ‘Waterchild’ tells an inconclusive story of a nurse who moved away from home as she knew it to be and in the ‘Book of Miracles’, the mother of our artist describes her new life away from Haiti, her husband’s dark secrets and her detached daughter: all through the lens of faith. ‘Night Talkers’ saw the estranged husband from ‘Seven’ recalling the role of a dew breaker in the death of his parents.
My favorite story is the title story where Danticat showed us another picture of most dew breakers; the ones thrust into the deadly squad by circumstances and kept down by greed, money and power. The Dew Breaker is a lovely collection and it rose my bar for short stories collection when all its stories formed a grand picture, at the end. It’s a 4 star
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
read for postcolonial literature module
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Danticat brilliantly captures the world of Haitians, and Haitian refugees, before and after the brutal Duvalier years, through a family whose lives are wrapped in a dark secret past. Powerful and reflective on the choices people are forced to make.