A review by annreadsabook
What Storm, What Thunder by Myriam J.A. Chancy

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Myriam J.A. Chancy’s WHAT STORM, WHAT THUNDER is an absolute powerhouse of a novel that absolutely everyone should read.

WHAT STORM, WHAT THUNDER follows a sprawling cast of Haitian characters who are in some way or another impacted by the devastating 2010 earthquake that took the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. There’s a Haitian-born musician who lives in Boston; a woman who his plagued by the ghosts of her children; a young architect who works for a global NGO; a sex worker and her business partner-slash-companion; and an aging madan sara who is familiar with each of these souls.

Even though this book is heart-wrenching and a punch to the gut, I couldn’t stop reading because of how beautifully Chancy writes and how compellingly she crafts each of these characters. Many of them struggle to find their place in life in bustling Port-au-Prince, aspiring for more in a country that has had so much stripped from it time and again. Others grapple with their ties to Haiti from afar, watching the chaos and destruction thousands of miles away on television or scrounging for news of loved ones on Facebook. Chancy paints a vivid picture of humanity in the darkest hours, of people continually dismissed and degraded by the global north (and, to this point, I loved Chancy’s evisceration of NGOs/international crisis response), and of the beauty of a people that so many ignore time and again.

Ugh. I want everyone to read this. Please do yourself a favor and if you haven’t already, add this to your list immediately! It’s easily one of the best books I’ve read this year. All the stars to this incredible book.
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