A review by savaging
The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat

5.0

I thought this was a novel, and then started to feel disoriented that each chapter was jumping to different characters. So then I told myself it's a book of short stories. But I don't think that's correct either. I think this is a novel but one with a wider, deeper conception of how you tell one story. This story has to include everyone's story. In this story time itself spirals in and out. And the big political events: they are always there looming, but no character is reducible to their history.

The power of the structure is matched by the beauty of each line. This is a remarkable book. It is disturbing and challenging and rewarding. I finished this book and sat unmoving, not wanting to break Danticat's spell.