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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
More like 3.75: beautifully written and compelling subject, but not as cohesive as I'd hoped (more like loosely interconnected stories).
challenging
emotional
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Kidnapping
dictatorship, corruption
Good lord. I so enjoyed the two other novels I've read by Edwidge Danticat, that I was really looking forward to this one. BUT... It begins with a father committing several heinous acts of betrayal in rapid succession, then telling his daughter of his true past. Oddly, it is a past that is more admirable than the lie he had previously told her, so his shame is hard to swallow. Her acceptance (and covering up) of his despicable deeds made me question her sanity as much as his humanity. Ugh. With characters like these, who needs the gas chamber? I wanted to reach through the page and slap some sense into both of them, but try as I might...nope. Nothing doing. Take a pass on this one, and read one of her less aggravating works.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"He was too angry to feel pity. It was something else, something less measurable. It was the dread of being wrong, of harming the wrong man, and making the wrong woman a widow and the wrong child an orphan. It was the realization that he would never know why-why one single person had been given the power to destroy his entire life." ('Night Talkers', 107)
I appreciated the artistry, writing and story in this one so much more than Danticat's previous book. It's not my favorite but it was excellent. The main drawback for me is that some of these stories don't work as well as stand-alones. Specifically the stories that focused on the barber/torturer's NYC tenants were weaker to me with the exception of "Night Talkers". Those stories seemed more like vignettes which conflicted with the idea of this being a collection of interconnected stories because they weren't able to stand on their own as short stories. However many passages and lines from "Night Talkers" will haunt me but one of my favorites was towards the end of the story, "Claude was a palannit, a night talker, one of those who spoke their nightmares out loud to themselves. Except Claude was even luckier than he realized, for he was able to speak his nightmares to himself as well as to others, in the nighttime as well as in the hours past dawn, when the moon had completely vanished from the sky" ('Night Talkers', 120). The imagery combined with the quietly stunning illustrative power of those words. Astounding and by far my favorite story/chapter closely followed by "The Dew Breaker" and "The Bridal Seamstress." Danticat once again is grappling with thorny issues and duality is at play, I was fascinated by the conundrum of Ka being both the daughter of a murderer and the niece of one of the torturer's victims. That dichotomy is on hand throughout, even in the roommates, as they depend on the cheap rent to live and survive in New York. It's a fascinating moral issue (not even sure that's the right word) that doesn't have easy answers.
Memory and dreams once again play a large role in this book, themes present in Danticat's earlier books as well. The torturer's victims swear they'll never forget his face and even the loved ones of victims who may not have witnessed the murder firsthand are convinced of his complicity or the reader is let in on the knowledge that he played a part in their death. They keep the memory of their loved ones alive by remembering them and also keeping an eye on him and dreaming of revenge or confrontation. There's also an emphasis on ordinary people doing horrible cruel things, at one point Anne notes “He hadn’t been a famous “dew breaker,” or torturer, anyway, just one of hundreds who had done their jobs so well that their victims were never able to speak of them again.” As if his lack of infamy makes everything okay. But it's never clear why Ka's father is driven to become a torturer, a love of power, a tendency to engage in cruelty. It's all conjecture which I think is Danticat saying ultimately it doesn't matter about the why. Which I'm not sure I agree with but it works for this narrative. The book also asks interesting questions about healing and forgiveness. It's not clear if Anne knows about her brother and her husband's brutal relationship but it is clear that she believes her husband is redeemable.
THE DEW BREAKER is a profoundly emotional story about a tumultuous and violent period of time in Haiti and its reverberations on Haitians now living in America. As it explores questions of healing, loss, memory and trauma, it remains a deeply compelling story. The interconnected short story format keeps readers guessing what the eventual connections to the title character/story will be and while the payoff isn't the greatest it's well done. I say it's not the greatest because to me it quickly became obvious what all the stories would have in common but I also thought some of those connections were tenuous and not necessary to move the story along. The stories vary in length but most pack an emotional wallop and convey complex ideas around atonement and forgiveness when it comes to historical and personal memory. And of course the writing is gorgeously expressive and illuminating.
I appreciated the artistry, writing and story in this one so much more than Danticat's previous book. It's not my favorite but it was excellent. The main drawback for me is that some of these stories don't work as well as stand-alones. Specifically the stories that focused on the barber/torturer's NYC tenants were weaker to me with the exception of "Night Talkers". Those stories seemed more like vignettes which conflicted with the idea of this being a collection of interconnected stories because they weren't able to stand on their own as short stories. However many passages and lines from "Night Talkers" will haunt me but one of my favorites was towards the end of the story, "Claude was a palannit, a night talker, one of those who spoke their nightmares out loud to themselves. Except Claude was even luckier than he realized, for he was able to speak his nightmares to himself as well as to others, in the nighttime as well as in the hours past dawn, when the moon had completely vanished from the sky" ('Night Talkers', 120). The imagery combined with the quietly stunning illustrative power of those words. Astounding and by far my favorite story/chapter closely followed by "The Dew Breaker" and "The Bridal Seamstress." Danticat once again is grappling with thorny issues and duality is at play, I was fascinated by the conundrum of Ka being both the daughter of a murderer and the niece of one of the torturer's victims. That dichotomy is on hand throughout, even in the roommates, as they depend on the cheap rent to live and survive in New York. It's a fascinating moral issue (not even sure that's the right word) that doesn't have easy answers.
Memory and dreams once again play a large role in this book, themes present in Danticat's earlier books as well. The torturer's victims swear they'll never forget his face and even the loved ones of victims who may not have witnessed the murder firsthand are convinced of his complicity or the reader is let in on the knowledge that he played a part in their death. They keep the memory of their loved ones alive by remembering them and also keeping an eye on him and dreaming of revenge or confrontation. There's also an emphasis on ordinary people doing horrible cruel things, at one point Anne notes “He hadn’t been a famous “dew breaker,” or torturer, anyway, just one of hundreds who had done their jobs so well that their victims were never able to speak of them again.” As if his lack of infamy makes everything okay. But it's never clear why Ka's father is driven to become a torturer, a love of power, a tendency to engage in cruelty. It's all conjecture which I think is Danticat saying ultimately it doesn't matter about the why. Which I'm not sure I agree with but it works for this narrative. The book also asks interesting questions about healing and forgiveness. It's not clear if Anne knows about her brother and her husband's brutal relationship but it is clear that she believes her husband is redeemable.
THE DEW BREAKER is a profoundly emotional story about a tumultuous and violent period of time in Haiti and its reverberations on Haitians now living in America. As it explores questions of healing, loss, memory and trauma, it remains a deeply compelling story. The interconnected short story format keeps readers guessing what the eventual connections to the title character/story will be and while the payoff isn't the greatest it's well done. I say it's not the greatest because to me it quickly became obvious what all the stories would have in common but I also thought some of those connections were tenuous and not necessary to move the story along. The stories vary in length but most pack an emotional wallop and convey complex ideas around atonement and forgiveness when it comes to historical and personal memory. And of course the writing is gorgeously expressive and illuminating.
I enjoyed this collection of short stories about a man who was a prison guard in Haiti, and his story of forgiveness in a sense. I am reading this book for a project for school, and I think it delves into some very deep topics. However, I came into the book believing the stories would connect with each other in the end, but I'm still not sure how all of them connect together. I also found it hard to keep track of who is who, and the specific details about them. Although that may just be a personal problem. Overall I enjoyed the book.
Danticat has incredible talent. She creates vibrant, realistic, heartbreaking stories. It is because of this that I feel that many of these stories are too short. I was left wanting more. Also, (though this may be my fault) until the last story did not see the subtle connection between the stories.
That does not take away from the vibrancy of these stories which are drenched in Haitian history and culture.
I highly recommend this book.
That does not take away from the vibrancy of these stories which are drenched in Haitian history and culture.
I highly recommend this book.
3.5 stars
The Dew Breaker is a story in nine parts. Each part could be read as its own short story, and I vacillate between liking and disliking this structure. Usually I'd enjoy something like this, but the stories are at times so loosely connected that it's hard to see the bigger picture. And yet, part of me likes the way the author drops information ever so carefully, that it makes a sort of puzzle out of the reading.
Regardless, the stories are beautifully written and tragically told. You get an on-the-ground look at life in Haiti as well as the lives of Haitian immigrants. All of this frames the story of one man—the dew breaker—who we come to know by the end as a tortured and incomprehensible figure.
The Dew Breaker is a story in nine parts. Each part could be read as its own short story, and I vacillate between liking and disliking this structure. Usually I'd enjoy something like this, but the stories are at times so loosely connected that it's hard to see the bigger picture. And yet, part of me likes the way the author drops information ever so carefully, that it makes a sort of puzzle out of the reading.
Regardless, the stories are beautifully written and tragically told. You get an on-the-ground look at life in Haiti as well as the lives of Haitian immigrants. All of this frames the story of one man—the dew breaker—who we come to know by the end as a tortured and incomprehensible figure.
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced