Here's what I wrote in 2009 about this read: "Dominican Republic & Trujillo reveiwed again. A haunting tale of loss, partially, but not only, from the purging of Haitians from the Dominican Republic by Trujillo in 1937. Amabelle Desir is memorable, lonely survivor, spending her life hoping for the return of her love." ( )

“The slaughter is the only thing that is mine enough to pass on.”

Beautifully written historical fiction about the 1937 Haitian massacre in Hispaniola. Haitian workers had emigrated to the Dominican Republic, many to serve as sugar cane cutters. Protagonist Amabelle Désir, a Haitian orphan, is a domestic servant to a wealthy Spanish family. She has formed a relationship with one of the cane cutters, Sebastién, and they plan to marry. She fulfills the role as preserver of memories, and this story is her testimony. While she tells her personal story, she also speaks for the many voiceless victims of the massacre that took place under Trujillo’s regime.

The story is told in a linear fashion. It is interspersed with chapters told in present tense that allow the reader a glimpse into Amabelle’s interior world, as she attempts to work through her traumatic experiences. These sequences include haunting dreams, disjointed memories, and painful reflections. They are short and in bold type. It feels like a creative way to reflect the delay between the onset of a harrowing experience and the ability to speak about it. And the reader is relying upon Amabelle to tell a coherent story.

This is historical fiction of the highest quality. It is easy to empathize with the characters. While there is much death, there is also hope. The conclusion, which could have easily gone awry, is deftly handled and provides a sense of closure. It is superbly crafted. This book will linger in my memory.
( )

Beautifully written story of a Haitian girl living in the Dominican Republic who experiences the 1937 Parsley Massacre. While most of the novel focuses on the weeks before and after the massacre it extends to her old age where we see the life-long effects of the trauma of her's and others' lives.

I am still processing this novel. I thought is was extremely well-written; the characters and place came to life so clearly. While I hoped for a happy ending (as did Amabelle) I understand that the book would not only have been cheesy and ridiculous, but a horrible disservice to the Haitians who lived through the Massacre. In addition to memorializing the poorly-remembered/documented event, Danticat seems to be showing the reader that traumas (hurricanes, massacres, beatings, losing loved ones) don't just last for the moment but are with the survivors for life. Amabelle was haunted and could not really recover happiness though the opportunities were there. While not a tear jerker, the story was deeply sad, perhaps all the more because these types of tragedies happen all over the world constantly. ( )

Danticat has one of those voices that just spills over you in a warm ooze. Be warned, though. She does not shy away from the harsh realities of extreme violence spurred on by dictatorial blind hatred. It begins slowly and subtly; almost a foreshadowing. A Haitian man, walking down the side of the road, is struck and killed by an automobile driven by a man rushing to get to the birth of his grandson. Consider this - the Haitian's corpse is unceremoniously thrown into a deep and dark ravine to cover up the accident. The Dominican Republican man continues his hurried journey home without a second glance. Days later said-same grandson dies in his sleep and is given an elaborate vigil, an orchid painted casket, and ceremonial burial of grandeur. These two families, the hit and run victim and the newborn babe, share the same level of shock and grief but only one is allowed to fully demonstrate their pain. The Haitian man doesn't even get a pine casket.
This is just the beginning of Danticat's tale as we follow Haitian servant Amabelle Desir as she works in a wealthy Dominican Republic household. Life seems to be perfect considering the circumstances and her position in life. She is passionately in love with a cane worker she plans to marry and her employer was once a childhood playmate. They get along and Amabelle is treated well. Enter Domincan Republican dictator Rafael Trujillo and his plan to wipe out the entire Haitian population by mass genocide. Those who can not flee fast enough are subject to horrific torture before being hacked or burned to death. Amabelle's world is turned upside down when she is separated from her love as she tries to escape the massacre.
The ending was perfect. I won't give it away, but in order for this book to mean something there was no other ending possible. ( )

Glad I was able to get this from the library. Made it to page 25. I don’t care for the writing - it feels too contrived - like he’s trying to hard to be obscure and literary. ( )