In After the Dance, one of Haiti's most renowned daughters returns to her homeland, taking readers on a stunning, exquisitely rendered journey beyond the hedonistic surface of Carnival and into its deep heart. Edwidge Danticat had long been scared off from Carnival by a loved one, who spun tales of people dislocating hips from gyrating with too much abandon, losing their voices from singing too loudly, going deaf from the clamor of immense speakers, and being punched, stabbed, pummeled, or fondled by other lustful revelers. Now an adult, she resolves to return and exorcise her Carnival demons. She spends the week before Carnival in the area around Jacmel, exploring the rolling hills and lush forests and meeting the people who live and die in them. During her journeys she traces the heroic and tragic history of the island, from French colonists and Haitian revolutionaries to American invaders and home-grown dictators. Danticat also introduces us to many of the performers, artists, and organizers who re-create the myths and legends that bring the Carnival festivities to life. When Carnival arrives, we watch as she goes from observer to participant and finally loses herself in the ove

After the Dance: A Walk Through Carnival in Jacmel, Haiti

Politics & Social Sciences

EDWIDGE DANTICAT

Social Sciences

Vintage Books USA

Brother, I'm Dying (Vintage Contemporaries)

Vintage

When her mother leaves Haiti to find work in the US, Sophie is raised by her aunt. Their parting, years later, when her mother sends for her, is as wrenching as the reunion in New York. Though she barely knows her mother they both carry secrets from their homeland that will haunt them forever.

Breath, Eyes, Memory

Literature & Fiction

Contemporary

Abacus Books

The Farming Of Bones

It is 1937, and Amabelle Desir is a young Haitian woman working as a maid for a wealthy family in the Dominican Republic, across the border from her homeland. The Republic, under the iron rule of the Generalissimo, treats the Haitians as second-class citizens, and although Amabelle feels a strong sense of loyalty to her employers, especially since her own parents drowned crossing the river from Haiti, racial tensions are heightened when Amabelle's boss accidentally kills a Haitian in a car accident. The accident is a catalyst for a systematic round-up of Haitians, ostensibly for repatriation but in fact a prelude to slaughter. Amabelle, caught up in the chaos and confusion, returns to Haiti after much hardship to make a new life, but is for years uncertain of the fate of her lover, Sebastian, and haunted by a nagging sense of guilt. A powerful, fiercely economical and deceptively moving work, blending historical accuracy with lyrical brilliance.

ABACUS +

Breath, eyes, memory

Eight Days

Scholastic. Inc.

Behind the Mountains : The Diary of Celiane Esperance

Children's Books

Econo-Clad Books, Div. of American Cos., Inc.

BOOKS-ON-TAPE, INC.

The author tells the story of her family and their struggles to stay together when only some of the members were able to immigrate from Haiti to America.

Brother, I'm Dying

KNOPF

The Farming of Bones

Perfection Learning

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Books by EDWIDGE DANTICAT