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The Dew Breaker
We meet him late in life: a quiet man, a good father and husband, a fixture in his Brooklyn neighborhood, a landlord and barber with a terrifying scar across his face. As the book unfolds, moving seamlessly between Haiti in the 1960s and New York City today, we enter the lives of those around him, and learn that he has also kept a vital, dangerous secret. Edwidge Danticat's brilliant exploration of the "dew breaker"—or torturer—is an unforgettable story of love, remorse, and hope; of personal and political rebellions; and of the compromises we make to move beyond the most intimate brushes with history. It firmly establishes her as one of America's most essential writers.
256 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2004
About the author
Edwidge Danticat
123 books2,639 followersEdwidge Danticat was born in Haiti and moved to the United States when she was twelve. She is the author of several books, including Breath, Eyes, Memory, an Oprah Book Club selection; Krik? Krak!, a National Book Award finalist; and The Farming of Bones, an American Book Award winner. She is also the editor of The Butterfly's Way: Voices from the Haitian Dyaspora in the United States and The Beacon Best of 2000: Great Writing by Men and Women of All Colors and Cultures.
Danticat earned a degree in French Literature from Barnard College, where she won the 1995 Woman of Achievement Award, and later an MFA from Brown University. She lives in Miami with her husband and daughters.
Danticat earned a degree in French Literature from Barnard College, where she won the 1995 Woman of Achievement Award, and later an MFA from Brown University. She lives in Miami with her husband and daughters.
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April 5, 2019
عن الغربة ومشاكلها تدور أحداث تلك القصص
القصص تستعرض شخصيات مختلفة لغرباء من هايتي مهاجرون لأمريكا، بعضهم ما زال يطارده ماضي غير سعيد في بلده، وبعضهم يحاول التأقلم مع بيئة مغايرة
بشكل العام القصص متوسطة المستوى لكنها غنية بالمشاعر وتستحق القراءة
القصص تستعرض شخصيات مختلفة لغرباء من هايتي مهاجرون لأمريكا، بعضهم ما زال يطارده ماضي غير سعيد في بلده، وبعضهم يحاول التأقلم مع بيئة مغايرة
بشكل العام القصص متوسطة المستوى لكنها غنية بالمشاعر وتستحق القراءة
February 23, 2019
One of the things I love about GR is discovering new authors and new books. One day I happened to read a review of The Dew Breaker, both an author and book I never heard of before. I was interested. A number of days later I went to my library book sale and came across this book and snatched it up. Didn't even think twice about it. Then, it sat on my shelves for two years. Finally, the day came and I picked it up and I was hooked.
The Dew Breaker is a series of stories of various peoples lives in various times and locations around the world. But they are all linked together in some small way. By The Dew Breaker, or those who break the serenity of the morning dew. It is the nickname given to a group of torturers in Haiti long ago. But one man stands out as 'the Dew Breaker'. A man who did unspeakable things to people a long time ago back in Haiti. Torture, murder, and left them scared for life. But seeking refugee, and a place to hide and escape what he did, he now lives in New York. Trying to lead a very quiet, peaceful life with his wife and daughter. He works as a barber. But the people we learn about via the various stories, once again, cross paths with the Dew Breaker(s), and are haunted by their past. It's a slow burn of a story but one that comes together in the end. Some stories go back to Haiti long ago where people tell of their encounter with the Dew Breakers or present day in NYC where people see him, and go through that pain and trauma all over again. But the man himself, is he trying to redeem himself for his past sins.
I really liked this story. Since it was a series of linked short stories, I was able to read a story, put it aside and come back to it when I had time. Issues with reading too many books at once. But I'm glad I read this and want to read more by this author. Perhaps it was timing I finally picked this one up as the author has a new book coming out this summer and I'll be grabbing it first chance I get. This time, I'm reading it straight thru, no delays so I can savor the writing.
The Dew Breaker is a series of stories of various peoples lives in various times and locations around the world. But they are all linked together in some small way. By The Dew Breaker, or those who break the serenity of the morning dew. It is the nickname given to a group of torturers in Haiti long ago. But one man stands out as 'the Dew Breaker'. A man who did unspeakable things to people a long time ago back in Haiti. Torture, murder, and left them scared for life. But seeking refugee, and a place to hide and escape what he did, he now lives in New York. Trying to lead a very quiet, peaceful life with his wife and daughter. He works as a barber. But the people we learn about via the various stories, once again, cross paths with the Dew Breaker(s), and are haunted by their past. It's a slow burn of a story but one that comes together in the end. Some stories go back to Haiti long ago where people tell of their encounter with the Dew Breakers or present day in NYC where people see him, and go through that pain and trauma all over again. But the man himself, is he trying to redeem himself for his past sins.
I really liked this story. Since it was a series of linked short stories, I was able to read a story, put it aside and come back to it when I had time. Issues with reading too many books at once. But I'm glad I read this and want to read more by this author. Perhaps it was timing I finally picked this one up as the author has a new book coming out this summer and I'll be grabbing it first chance I get. This time, I'm reading it straight thru, no delays so I can savor the writing.
February 7, 2017
"Aline had never imagined that people like Beatrice existed, men and women whose tremendous agonies filled every blank space in their lives. Maybe there were hundred, even thousands, of people like this, men and women chasing fragments of themselves long lost to others."
Although this quote appears later in the book, it sums up succinctly what these linking stories encompass. People who were tortured by the Dew Breaker, or family members were, people who think they see him and even the people who live with him. None are without inner scars that have had a profound effect on their lives. Going from New York city today, or back to Haiti in the 1960's, all these stories are powerfully told. The first story starts with the Dew Breaker in the states and the last story ends with the Dew Breaker, and what exactly he did in Haiti. The stories come together like the joined pieces of a puzzle and give a glimpse of the current and in some cases past lives of these people.
Love and hope, remorse and the compromises many have to make to find and go on living a life after they have lost so much. Touching and profound, will be reading more from Danticat.
Although this quote appears later in the book, it sums up succinctly what these linking stories encompass. People who were tortured by the Dew Breaker, or family members were, people who think they see him and even the people who live with him. None are without inner scars that have had a profound effect on their lives. Going from New York city today, or back to Haiti in the 1960's, all these stories are powerfully told. The first story starts with the Dew Breaker in the states and the last story ends with the Dew Breaker, and what exactly he did in Haiti. The stories come together like the joined pieces of a puzzle and give a glimpse of the current and in some cases past lives of these people.
Love and hope, remorse and the compromises many have to make to find and go on living a life after they have lost so much. Touching and profound, will be reading more from Danticat.
May 2, 2021
The Dew Breaker, Edwidge Danticat
Edwidge Danticat is Haitian American author, whose works, focus on the lives of women, and their relationships. She also addressed issues of power, injustice, and poverty.
The Dew Breaker consists of nine episodes, or short stories, although each tells its own story, leading to a coherent and unified understanding of a whole, and each illustrates the lives of people through a vein and a root.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش روز نخست ماه می سال 2009میلادی
عنوان: ژالهکش؛ نویسنده: ادویج دانتیکا؛ مترجم فرزانه قیاسینوعی؛ سبزوار: انتشارات یوبان، 1394؛ در 255ص؛ شابک 97860095226999؛
عنوان: ژالهکش؛ نویسنده ادویج دانتیکا؛ مترجم شیوا مقانلو؛ تهران، چشمه، 1388؛ در 230ص؛ شابک 9789643624644؛ چاپ دوم 1393؛ موضوع داستانهای کوتاه از نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا، سده 21م
کتاب «ژاله کش» نوشته «ادویج دانتیکا» نویسنده ی «هائیتی» تبار «آمریکایی» است؛ عنوان کتاب، برگرفته از عبارتی «کریولی» است و به برهم زدن صفا و آرامش چمن، در وقت نشستن ژاله ی صبحگاهی بر آن، گفته میشود؛ این عنوان در تاریخ «هائیتی» نامی برای «شکنجه گران» است، که تلویحاً به «میلیشیای امنیت ملی»، در دوران حکومت دیکتاتوری «دووالیه»ها گفته میشد؛ «دانتیکا» همانند سایر آثارش در این رمان نیز به شرح رویدادهای سیاسی رخ داده در زادگاهش، «هائیتی» و نیز تجربه ی مهاجرت، و شوک فرهنگی ناشی از آن میپردازد؛ فریب، محور اصلی رمان است، همه چیز در کمال آرامش، و با بیطرفی روایت می���شود، اما حکایت چیز دیگری است؛ رمان سراسر خشونت و نزاع است، چه به لحاظ فیزیکی و مشهود، و چه به لحاظ روانی و آنچه در قلب شخصیتها میگذرد؛ شخصیتهایی که در سکوت و انزوایشان، و در جهان درونیشان کشمکش و تقلایی شدید حاکم است؛ هیچ گونه نظمی در روایت وجود ندارد، و روایتها از یک موقعیت جغرافیایی به موقعیت دیگر، از زمانی به زمان دیگر و از شخصیتی به شخصیت دیگر در حرکت هستند؛
کتاب، شامل نه اپیزود، یا داستان کوتاه است، با اینکه هر کدام داستان ویژه ی خود را روایت میکنند، به درکی منسجم و یکپارچه از یک کل ِ یگانه میانجامند، و هر کدام تصویرگر زندگی مردمانی است، که به واسطه ی رگ و ریشه ای مشترک با یکدیگر در ارتباط هستند؛ ارتباطهایی خواه سرراست و خواه جز از آن؛ «ژاله کش»، داستانی خواندنی و پر از شخصیتهای جذاب و واقعی است؛ تا اندازه ای که شخصیتهای فرعی و حتی پاراگرافی آن، بسیار با دقت و استادانه تصویر شده اند؛ داستانی به یاد ماندنی درباره ی عشق، ندامت، بخشش، امید و رستگاری است
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 11/02/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
Edwidge Danticat is Haitian American author, whose works, focus on the lives of women, and their relationships. She also addressed issues of power, injustice, and poverty.
The Dew Breaker consists of nine episodes, or short stories, although each tells its own story, leading to a coherent and unified understanding of a whole, and each illustrates the lives of people through a vein and a root.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش روز نخست ماه می سال 2009میلادی
عنوان: ژالهکش؛ نویسنده: ادویج دانتیکا؛ مترجم فرزانه قیاسینوعی؛ سبزوار: انتشارات یوبان، 1394؛ در 255ص؛ شابک 97860095226999؛
عنوان: ژالهکش؛ نویسنده ادویج دانتیکا؛ مترجم شیوا مقانلو؛ تهران، چشمه، 1388؛ در 230ص؛ شابک 9789643624644؛ چاپ دوم 1393؛ موضوع داستانهای کوتاه از نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا، سده 21م
کتاب «ژاله کش» نوشته «ادویج دانتیکا» نویسنده ی «هائیتی» تبار «آمریکایی» است؛ عنوان کتاب، برگرفته از عبارتی «کریولی» است و به برهم زدن صفا و آرامش چمن، در وقت نشستن ژاله ی صبحگاهی بر آن، گفته میشود؛ این عنوان در تاریخ «هائیتی» نامی برای «شکنجه گران» است، که تلویحاً به «میلیشیای امنیت ملی»، در دوران حکومت دیکتاتوری «دووالیه»ها گفته میشد؛ «دانتیکا» همانند سایر آثارش در این رمان نیز به شرح رویدادهای سیاسی رخ داده در زادگاهش، «هائیتی» و نیز تجربه ی مهاجرت، و شوک فرهنگی ناشی از آن میپردازد؛ فریب، محور اصلی رمان است، همه چیز در کمال آرامش، و با بیطرفی روایت می���شود، اما حکایت چیز دیگری است؛ رمان سراسر خشونت و نزاع است، چه به لحاظ فیزیکی و مشهود، و چه به لحاظ روانی و آنچه در قلب شخصیتها میگذرد؛ شخصیتهایی که در سکوت و انزوایشان، و در جهان درونیشان کشمکش و تقلایی شدید حاکم است؛ هیچ گونه نظمی در روایت وجود ندارد، و روایتها از یک موقعیت جغرافیایی به موقعیت دیگر، از زمانی به زمان دیگر و از شخصیتی به شخصیت دیگر در حرکت هستند؛
کتاب، شامل نه اپیزود، یا داستان کوتاه است، با اینکه هر کدام داستان ویژه ی خود را روایت میکنند، به درکی منسجم و یکپارچه از یک کل ِ یگانه میانجامند، و هر کدام تصویرگر زندگی مردمانی است، که به واسطه ی رگ و ریشه ای مشترک با یکدیگر در ارتباط هستند؛ ارتباطهایی خواه سرراست و خواه جز از آن؛ «ژاله کش»، داستانی خواندنی و پر از شخصیتهای جذاب و واقعی است؛ تا اندازه ای که شخصیتهای فرعی و حتی پاراگرافی آن، بسیار با دقت و استادانه تصویر شده اند؛ داستانی به یاد ماندنی درباره ی عشق، ندامت، بخشش، امید و رستگاری است
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 11/02/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
April 26, 2020
في رواية "حفلة التيس" للبيروفي "ماريو بارغاس يوسا"، سمعت عن جمهورية "هايتي" للمرة الأولى، وهي دولة صغيرة لها تاريخ طويل من المعاناة؛ مع الأسبان ثم مع الفرنسيين وفي النهاية مع جمهورية الدومينيكان، جمهورية تروخيو ديكتاتور الأدب الأشهر وأحد شخصيات "يوسا" الخالدة.
الآن أقرأ عنها لأول مرة بتفاصيل أكثر.
"كاسر الندى" هي مجموعة قصصية لكاتبة من "هايتي"، وُلدت هناك ثم سافرت إلى الولايات المتحدة، بلد الأحلام، حيث كل ما نريده يتحقق. للمجموعة ثيمة واضحة، وشخصياتها تتشارك في شيء واحد وهو شعور الغربة. مجموعة من الأشخاص رحلوا عن بلدهم "هايتي" لأسباب مختلفة هربًا من الماضي أو بحثًا عن المستقبل.
القصص بسيطة جدًا، تكاد تخلو من أى تعقيد، نجحت الكاتبة، في بعضها، أن تجعلني أشعر بغربة هؤلاء البؤساء دون أن تفرد لهذا عشرات الصفحات، دون أن تستطرد في السرد والوصف، وهذا ما أحترمه كثيرًا.
لكن هذه القصص، في مجملها، افتقدت شيئًا هامًا وهو القدرة على الإبهار، لم تبهرني أى قصة منها، لم أشعر بصفعة القصة القصيرة التي اعتدت عليها، لم أجد نفَسي يتسارع في أي منها.
الآن أقرأ عنها لأول مرة بتفاصيل أكثر.
"كاسر الندى" هي مجموعة قصصية لكاتبة من "هايتي"، وُلدت هناك ثم سافرت إلى الولايات المتحدة، بلد الأحلام، حيث كل ما نريده يتحقق. للمجموعة ثيمة واضحة، وشخصياتها تتشارك في شيء واحد وهو شعور الغربة. مجموعة من الأشخاص رحلوا عن بلدهم "هايتي" لأسباب مختلفة هربًا من الماضي أو بحثًا عن المستقبل.
القصص بسيطة جدًا، تكاد تخلو من أى تعقيد، نجحت الكاتبة، في بعضها، أن تجعلني أشعر بغربة هؤلاء البؤساء دون أن تفرد لهذا عشرات الصفحات، دون أن تستطرد في السرد والوصف، وهذا ما أحترمه كثيرًا.
لكن هذه القصص، في مجملها، افتقدت شيئًا هامًا وهو القدرة على الإبهار، لم تبهرني أى قصة منها، لم أشعر بصفعة القصة القصيرة التي اعتدت عليها، لم أجد نفَسي يتسارع في أي منها.
October 26, 2016
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.
March 20, 2018
3 stars
Finished this book earlier in the month. I held off reviewing it because the story was so disjointed for me. I tried to go back and reread a bit of it, then tried to read each vignette separately, but neither really worked for me. I clearly did not like this book as much as others did. I just felt that each story meandered along, with a couple sentences relating back to the general premise of the book. This book was hard for me to pick back up and complete.
Story line is a man with a deep dark disturbing secret. Relates to his past in Haiti, but story now takes place in New York. The best I can assume was that his horrific past was contrasted with his present and the people who were presently in his life.
Finished this book earlier in the month. I held off reviewing it because the story was so disjointed for me. I tried to go back and reread a bit of it, then tried to read each vignette separately, but neither really worked for me. I clearly did not like this book as much as others did. I just felt that each story meandered along, with a couple sentences relating back to the general premise of the book. This book was hard for me to pick back up and complete.
Story line is a man with a deep dark disturbing secret. Relates to his past in Haiti, but story now takes place in New York. The best I can assume was that his horrific past was contrasted with his present and the people who were presently in his life.
January 3, 2017
3.5 stars
Maybe this is the beginning of madness...
Forgive me for what I am saying.
Read it...quietly, quietly.
-Osip Mandelstam
The title of this book "Dew Breaker" "comes from a Creole phrase which refers to those who break the serenity of the grass in the morning dew. It is a Creole nickname for torturer."The "Dew Breakers" are a group of volunteers who tortured and killed thousands of civilians under the regimes of François and Jean-Claude Duvalier in Haiti.
This book is a combination of short stories that move between Haiti and the United States. I did not really know about the novel being made up of short stories when I chose to read this book, so as I was reading, I thought "Wait, What? Who is this person?" It quickly became evident that this book is comprised of 9 sections/short stories where many of the characters in the sections have something in common with a character in another section.
The book begins with Ka, an artist who sculpts a sculpture of her father. As they are taking a road trip to deliver the sculpture, she learns the truth about her father. She believed her father to be a quiet man who was once tortured in prison. He is now a father, husband, landlord and barber. But he has a dark secret - he is not the man she thinks he is. He was not a prisoner but a "hunter" and the prisoners were his "prey." A man who voluntarily tortured and killed people.
As the book goes on, we meet other characters who have ties to Haiti who in some way have a connection to each other. The chapters are : The Book of the Dead, Seven, Water Child, The Book of Miracles, Night Talkers, The Bridal Seamstress, Monkey Tails, The Funeral Singer, The Dew Breaker. The short stories are about coming characters traveling from Haiti to America. They tell tales of oppression, family, redemption and heartache. There is also resiliency to the tales. No matter what the characters have gone through, they try to keep going, to make a way for themselves. They show hope and a need to create new lives for themselves.
See more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com
Maybe this is the beginning of madness...
Forgive me for what I am saying.
Read it...quietly, quietly.
-Osip Mandelstam
The title of this book "Dew Breaker" "comes from a Creole phrase which refers to those who break the serenity of the grass in the morning dew. It is a Creole nickname for torturer."The "Dew Breakers" are a group of volunteers who tortured and killed thousands of civilians under the regimes of François and Jean-Claude Duvalier in Haiti.
This book is a combination of short stories that move between Haiti and the United States. I did not really know about the novel being made up of short stories when I chose to read this book, so as I was reading, I thought "Wait, What? Who is this person?" It quickly became evident that this book is comprised of 9 sections/short stories where many of the characters in the sections have something in common with a character in another section.
The book begins with Ka, an artist who sculpts a sculpture of her father. As they are taking a road trip to deliver the sculpture, she learns the truth about her father. She believed her father to be a quiet man who was once tortured in prison. He is now a father, husband, landlord and barber. But he has a dark secret - he is not the man she thinks he is. He was not a prisoner but a "hunter" and the prisoners were his "prey." A man who voluntarily tortured and killed people.
As the book goes on, we meet other characters who have ties to Haiti who in some way have a connection to each other. The chapters are : The Book of the Dead, Seven, Water Child, The Book of Miracles, Night Talkers, The Bridal Seamstress, Monkey Tails, The Funeral Singer, The Dew Breaker. The short stories are about coming characters traveling from Haiti to America. They tell tales of oppression, family, redemption and heartache. There is also resiliency to the tales. No matter what the characters have gone through, they try to keep going, to make a way for themselves. They show hope and a need to create new lives for themselves.
See more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com
March 23, 2018
Winner of The Story Prize, Pen/Faulkner Award Finalist, a Washington Post Book World Notable Book, a San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, and Detroit Free Press Best Book of the Year and National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, THE DEW BREAKER by Edwidge Danticat has a beautiful cover.
"With characteristic lyricism and grace, Danticat proves the painful legacy of a time when sons turned against their fathers, children were orphaned, and communities were torn apart."-The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Ms. Danticat's most persuasive, organic performance yet...Each tale in THE DEW BREAKER could stand on its own as a beautifully made story, but they come together like jigsaw-puzzle pieces to create a picture of this man's terrible history and his and his victim's afterlife."-The New York Times
Because THE DEW BREAKER was BOTM for our book club I requested this book through interlibrary loans and immediately started reading it. The nine short stories are like windows giving me glimpses of life in Haiti during the 1960s and the Haitian communities and people in New York City in the early 2000s. It 'opened my eyes' to the unrest, uncertainties, horrors and tortures that took place in Haiti.
This quote from the back cover of the book sums it up for me, "Edwidge Danticat's brilliant exploration of the "dew breaker"-or torturer-is an unforgettable story of love, remorse, and hope; of personal and political rebellions; and of the compromises we make to move beyond the most intimate brushes with history."
3.5***
"With characteristic lyricism and grace, Danticat proves the painful legacy of a time when sons turned against their fathers, children were orphaned, and communities were torn apart."-The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Ms. Danticat's most persuasive, organic performance yet...Each tale in THE DEW BREAKER could stand on its own as a beautifully made story, but they come together like jigsaw-puzzle pieces to create a picture of this man's terrible history and his and his victim's afterlife."-The New York Times
Because THE DEW BREAKER was BOTM for our book club I requested this book through interlibrary loans and immediately started reading it. The nine short stories are like windows giving me glimpses of life in Haiti during the 1960s and the Haitian communities and people in New York City in the early 2000s. It 'opened my eyes' to the unrest, uncertainties, horrors and tortures that took place in Haiti.
This quote from the back cover of the book sums it up for me, "Edwidge Danticat's brilliant exploration of the "dew breaker"-or torturer-is an unforgettable story of love, remorse, and hope; of personal and political rebellions; and of the compromises we make to move beyond the most intimate brushes with history."
3.5***
December 16, 2024
A wrenching, almost hard to read novel of intertwining tales of people who've crossed paths with infamous Dew Breaker. It reminded me a bit of Sweeney Todd since the Dew Breaker becomes a Brooklyn barber. Eerie, violent and haunting, it’s trademark Madam Danticat.
September 22, 2018
مجموعة قصصية راقت لمترجمتها فقدمتها لنا بأسلوب ممتع...هذه القصص التي تعبر في مجملها عن الأقليات وتستعرض بواطن كامنة في النفس البشرية من خلال العلاقات الإجتماعية المختلفة وتؤطرها بمعاني وأفكار دافئة عبرت عنها الكاتبة بمزيج من العاطفة والحكم...جيدة
August 4, 2020
This book of stories, strung like beads on the fibers of a common source, from differing viewpoint seems to reflect the heartbreak of Haiti, most of which confounded me. This is not my usual reading fare, but I am working through a list of books that must be read before I die. . .so this one now is done. Read. Not sure what it has brought me. When I complete a book and have that thought, I'm left with a feeling of failure.
Edwidge Danicat (what a lovely name. . . .) does have a wonderful way of writing, though. . .spare and understated, yet loaded fully with multiple levels of meaning. And tossed on the salad of this sad topic, her words pop when they are understood, and hide when they are not, content to patiently wait for a powerful revelation. What that means to me, one who knows little about this topic (by choice, I fear), is that I am left with a swirl of confusion, a suspicion that I am not understanding all she is saying, all that is spread on the page. So. . . what is left is that decision to nose around more in this topic and then in future make another run at this book, The Dew Breaker.
A bigger question that looms is why this book ends out on a list that says I must read it before I die, that it has a message that will alter my living for having read it. There's the mystery to solve.
3 stars. The want is in the reader, not the writer, I am sure.
Edwidge Danicat (what a lovely name. . . .) does have a wonderful way of writing, though. . .spare and understated, yet loaded fully with multiple levels of meaning. And tossed on the salad of this sad topic, her words pop when they are understood, and hide when they are not, content to patiently wait for a powerful revelation. What that means to me, one who knows little about this topic (by choice, I fear), is that I am left with a swirl of confusion, a suspicion that I am not understanding all she is saying, all that is spread on the page. So. . . what is left is that decision to nose around more in this topic and then in future make another run at this book, The Dew Breaker.
A bigger question that looms is why this book ends out on a list that says I must read it before I die, that it has a message that will alter my living for having read it. There's the mystery to solve.
3 stars. The want is in the reader, not the writer, I am sure.
December 29, 2018
3.5 🌟🌟🌟
March 27, 2018
There are three stories in ‘The Dew Breaker’ by Edwidge Danticat, that have Anne, her daughter, and husband as the central characters. ‘The Book of the Dead’ is the first story and here we learn that the father, the subject of his daughter, Ka’s sculpting talents, is not who she has always believed him to be, a man who spent a great many years in prison. The sculpture she creates represents her idea of who her father had been as a prisoner. When they are taking the sculpture to a renowned Haitian actress who lives in Florida, the father disappears. When he resurfaces, the sculpture is gone. He tells his daughter he is not worthy of the sculpture, and for the first time in her life, she learns who her father really is. He confesses that he had been the hunter, not the prey. He has nightmares about his time in Haiti.
“I imagine my father’s nightmares. Maybe he dreams of dipping his hands in the sand on a beach in his own country and finding that what he comes up with is a fistful of blood.”
The fourth story in the book is ‘The Book of Miracles.’ In this chapter (story), Anne and her family attend Christmas Eve Mass. It’s the one time of the year that her husband goes to church with her. Anne is devout and believes in miracles. She frequently shares stories of miracles with her family. She tells them about several miracles, a girl who cries crystal tears, and “a man who’d seen an image of the Madonna in a white rose petal.” The real story that she wants to tell her daughter is about her husband’s transformation, but she does not speak of it.
“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.”
This seems like Anne’s attempt to reconcile her husband’s actions. He hadn’t been famous, so maybe it’s okay. While attending church, the family thinks they recognize Emmanuel Constant. His picture is posted on fliers stapled to lampposts along the street. The flier states his crimes - “Torture, rape, murder of 5,000 people.” The daughter is angry when she thinks it’s him and Anne is “proud of her righteous displeasure.” A little convoluted pride there, when Anne remembers her husband’s actions.
This book is like a puzzle and frequently, the stories seem disjointed, barely connected, except for the three chapters about Anne and her family. I found myself paying close attention, turning the puzzle pieces every which way, trying to jam them into my way of thinking, and sometimes becoming frustrated at my attempts to create connections. I did draw some conclusions. The main conclusion I drew was the redemptive value in ‘the dew breakers’ transformation. The last chapter titled ‘The Dew Breaker’ gives the reader his history in Haiti. It is graphic and horrific. I wondered if Danticat was trying to say that it is context more than choice that make people who they are.
This is not a book for people who like straightforward plots, and I have to admit, that sometimes, I also like straightforward books. But, I am not opposed to books that make me want to dig a little for the deeper meanings, and this is a book like that. Danticat’s names real people in her book, so I was constantly trying to figure out who this person was, and what was their significance in the historical context of Haiti. Emmanuel Constant is a real person who was also known as “Toto” or “the devil.” He was part of a military regime in the 1990’s that armed civilians and worked with the military to control Haiti. He was a paid informer to the CIA, so it seems that US hands are not clean of Haitian blood.
As background to her second chapter (story) ‘Seven,” Danticat mentions “Abner Louima, a Haitian man who was arrested, then beaten and sodomized at a nearby police station.” This is a true event that occurred in 1997.
“While Louima’s hands were handcuffed behind his back, he was sexually assaulted with a broomstick” by a police officer. (1)
The second person named in ‘Seven’ is Patrick Dorismond. The wife in this story has come to live with her husband in New York. They separated right after their wedding and he has been working two jobs in New York, saving for her to come and live with him. While he is at work, she listens to a talk show on the radio and the callers are talking about Patrick Dorismond, who was an unarmed Haitian. He was shot and killed by a police officer, also a true event that occurred on March 16, 2000. (2)
“Lying back, she raised the sheet over her head and through it listened to the callers, each one angrier than the last.”
I visited Haiti in 1979 with a church group. We helped paint a church and visited an orphanage. It was such a beautiful country. I had no idea of its history of violence, nor was any apparent while I was there. There were lots of churches and many devoted to Christianity. We rode in tap taps, colorfully painted trucks, and visited a market, where many wooden bowls and vases were crafted. Meat hung out in the open air, with flies buzzing around. Many beggars approached us while we were at the market. I had thought about being a missionary in my early twenties, but this visit convinced me that that was not the life for me. I didn’t know it then (I was rather stupid), but I had nothing to offer these beautiful dignified people. They would have been my teachers.
I enjoyed Danticat’s writing, but this book is certainly not for everyone. Some characters in Danticat’s book are haunted all their lives by their experience of torture. It’s very sad the things that humans can do to other humans, the pain, the trauma and grief that can be caused. We certainly need ‘a miracle’ to bring us redemption. I wonder if Danticat is asking ‘if we can be transformed?’ after such experiences or ‘do we just bear witness?’ If we ‘bear witness’ will it help us to remember long enough not to repeat the cruelties of the past?
(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abner_L...
(2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick...
“I imagine my father’s nightmares. Maybe he dreams of dipping his hands in the sand on a beach in his own country and finding that what he comes up with is a fistful of blood.”
The fourth story in the book is ‘The Book of Miracles.’ In this chapter (story), Anne and her family attend Christmas Eve Mass. It’s the one time of the year that her husband goes to church with her. Anne is devout and believes in miracles. She frequently shares stories of miracles with her family. She tells them about several miracles, a girl who cries crystal tears, and “a man who’d seen an image of the Madonna in a white rose petal.” The real story that she wants to tell her daughter is about her husband’s transformation, but she does not speak of it.
“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.”
This seems like Anne’s attempt to reconcile her husband’s actions. He hadn’t been famous, so maybe it’s okay. While attending church, the family thinks they recognize Emmanuel Constant. His picture is posted on fliers stapled to lampposts along the street. The flier states his crimes - “Torture, rape, murder of 5,000 people.” The daughter is angry when she thinks it’s him and Anne is “proud of her righteous displeasure.” A little convoluted pride there, when Anne remembers her husband’s actions.
This book is like a puzzle and frequently, the stories seem disjointed, barely connected, except for the three chapters about Anne and her family. I found myself paying close attention, turning the puzzle pieces every which way, trying to jam them into my way of thinking, and sometimes becoming frustrated at my attempts to create connections. I did draw some conclusions. The main conclusion I drew was the redemptive value in ‘the dew breakers’ transformation. The last chapter titled ‘The Dew Breaker’ gives the reader his history in Haiti. It is graphic and horrific. I wondered if Danticat was trying to say that it is context more than choice that make people who they are.
This is not a book for people who like straightforward plots, and I have to admit, that sometimes, I also like straightforward books. But, I am not opposed to books that make me want to dig a little for the deeper meanings, and this is a book like that. Danticat’s names real people in her book, so I was constantly trying to figure out who this person was, and what was their significance in the historical context of Haiti. Emmanuel Constant is a real person who was also known as “Toto” or “the devil.” He was part of a military regime in the 1990’s that armed civilians and worked with the military to control Haiti. He was a paid informer to the CIA, so it seems that US hands are not clean of Haitian blood.
As background to her second chapter (story) ‘Seven,” Danticat mentions “Abner Louima, a Haitian man who was arrested, then beaten and sodomized at a nearby police station.” This is a true event that occurred in 1997.
“While Louima’s hands were handcuffed behind his back, he was sexually assaulted with a broomstick” by a police officer. (1)
The second person named in ‘Seven’ is Patrick Dorismond. The wife in this story has come to live with her husband in New York. They separated right after their wedding and he has been working two jobs in New York, saving for her to come and live with him. While he is at work, she listens to a talk show on the radio and the callers are talking about Patrick Dorismond, who was an unarmed Haitian. He was shot and killed by a police officer, also a true event that occurred on March 16, 2000. (2)
“Lying back, she raised the sheet over her head and through it listened to the callers, each one angrier than the last.”
I visited Haiti in 1979 with a church group. We helped paint a church and visited an orphanage. It was such a beautiful country. I had no idea of its history of violence, nor was any apparent while I was there. There were lots of churches and many devoted to Christianity. We rode in tap taps, colorfully painted trucks, and visited a market, where many wooden bowls and vases were crafted. Meat hung out in the open air, with flies buzzing around. Many beggars approached us while we were at the market. I had thought about being a missionary in my early twenties, but this visit convinced me that that was not the life for me. I didn’t know it then (I was rather stupid), but I had nothing to offer these beautiful dignified people. They would have been my teachers.
I enjoyed Danticat’s writing, but this book is certainly not for everyone. Some characters in Danticat’s book are haunted all their lives by their experience of torture. It’s very sad the things that humans can do to other humans, the pain, the trauma and grief that can be caused. We certainly need ‘a miracle’ to bring us redemption. I wonder if Danticat is asking ‘if we can be transformed?’ after such experiences or ‘do we just bear witness?’ If we ‘bear witness’ will it help us to remember long enough not to repeat the cruelties of the past?
(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abner_L...
(2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 9, 2016
The Dew Breaker is a book organized into 9 sections (chapters), which are all perfectly able to stand alone as short stories. Each chapter features different characters and different points of view, and seem random at first, but by the end you realize they’re all interlocking and related in some way.
The novel is about an unnamed prison guard/torturer who was part of the Tonton Macoutes, the voluntary militia under Jean-Claude Duvalier’s reign in Haiti. The book is just as much about his life and redemption as it is about those whose lives he’s affected. One chapter is told from the point of view of his own daughter, while one is told from the point of view of the son of a couple he’d shot. If you try to understand everything at first, you’ll probably drive yourself crazy, so I recommend just sitting back and enjoying each chapter as its own story until you get to the point where it all starts to come together.
Out of all the chapters, my personal favorite was Water Child. Arguably, it has the least to contribute to the overall plot, but I really enjoyed the character Nadine and all her emotional intricacies. When I read the last page of the chapter, I burst out into tears. Nadine seems to be aloof and difficult to manage, but the truth is, she’s just a very hurt woman who fell in love with the wrong guy. And that’s all I’ll say about that.
The unnamed prison guard (I’ll just call him Uncle Gunnysack from now on) was a really difficult character for me. I spent a good half-hour or more once I finished the book, just lying on my bed and trying to pin him down. If you look at him in his youth (the last chapter), it’s hard to imagine he’ll become the sort of man he does (in the first chapter). I kept thinking about who he was to his daughter, and how he acted in old age, then wondering how he could even be related to the man he’d been before. Uncle Gunnysack narrates a good portion of the last chapter, and just reading that much makes me sick. He seems to have no morals, no conscience… Although the last chapter does help to explain his odd behavior in the beginning. It’s strange, to see how guilty he is, when at the time, he had no qualms about all the terrible things he was doing. And I guess a lot of it’s left up to the reader, which can be frustrating at times.
Despite my trouble with this book, I have to admit that it’s now one of my favorites. I love the short story format. I love it. As an aspiring writer, I feel a bit intimidated by it, though. I don’t think I could ever write a book like this, with so many different characters who are so well-formed and fleshed out that each and every one of them is real. Some of the symbolism is a little heavy-handed at times (there is a character who is a mother figure in the valley where she lives in Haiti, and she also happens to be a midwife), but I have literally no other complaint about this book. It was such an enjoyable read, and there was never a dull moment!
I would highly recommend this book to just about everyone. The plot(s) was engaging, the characters realistic, and when everything comes together in the end, it just sort of blows your mind. It blew mine, at least.
The novel is about an unnamed prison guard/torturer who was part of the Tonton Macoutes, the voluntary militia under Jean-Claude Duvalier’s reign in Haiti. The book is just as much about his life and redemption as it is about those whose lives he’s affected. One chapter is told from the point of view of his own daughter, while one is told from the point of view of the son of a couple he’d shot. If you try to understand everything at first, you’ll probably drive yourself crazy, so I recommend just sitting back and enjoying each chapter as its own story until you get to the point where it all starts to come together.
Out of all the chapters, my personal favorite was Water Child. Arguably, it has the least to contribute to the overall plot, but I really enjoyed the character Nadine and all her emotional intricacies. When I read the last page of the chapter, I burst out into tears. Nadine seems to be aloof and difficult to manage, but the truth is, she’s just a very hurt woman who fell in love with the wrong guy. And that’s all I’ll say about that.
The unnamed prison guard (I’ll just call him Uncle Gunnysack from now on) was a really difficult character for me. I spent a good half-hour or more once I finished the book, just lying on my bed and trying to pin him down. If you look at him in his youth (the last chapter), it’s hard to imagine he’ll become the sort of man he does (in the first chapter). I kept thinking about who he was to his daughter, and how he acted in old age, then wondering how he could even be related to the man he’d been before. Uncle Gunnysack narrates a good portion of the last chapter, and just reading that much makes me sick. He seems to have no morals, no conscience… Although the last chapter does help to explain his odd behavior in the beginning. It’s strange, to see how guilty he is, when at the time, he had no qualms about all the terrible things he was doing. And I guess a lot of it’s left up to the reader, which can be frustrating at times.
Despite my trouble with this book, I have to admit that it’s now one of my favorites. I love the short story format. I love it. As an aspiring writer, I feel a bit intimidated by it, though. I don’t think I could ever write a book like this, with so many different characters who are so well-formed and fleshed out that each and every one of them is real. Some of the symbolism is a little heavy-handed at times (there is a character who is a mother figure in the valley where she lives in Haiti, and she also happens to be a midwife), but I have literally no other complaint about this book. It was such an enjoyable read, and there was never a dull moment!
I would highly recommend this book to just about everyone. The plot(s) was engaging, the characters realistic, and when everything comes together in the end, it just sort of blows your mind. It blew mine, at least.
November 20, 2020
هائیتی، 1957-1986
کتاب راجع به زخمهای عمیقی هستش که بر پیکره مردم بازمانده هایتی از دوران دیکتاتوری دوالیهها بر جای مونده. دورانی که تخمین زده میشه طی اون بین 40 تا 60 هزار هائیتیایی کشته شدند و هزاران نفر از نخبگان و تحصیلکردگان، از کشورشون گریختند.
ژالهکش در واقع اصطلاحی هستش که به ماکوت*ها، یا همون نیروی نظامی مخصوصی که به فرمان فرانسوا دوالیِه(ملقب به پاپا داک) در سال 1959 تشکیل شدند، اطلاق میشد. نام ماکوت در اصل برگرفته از یک افسانه بومی بود که بچهها رو میدزدید و اونها رو به جای نامعلومی میبرد و برای صبحوونه میخوردشون!ا
* Macoute
حملههای ناگهانی نزدیک صبحدم به خانه مخالفین و کشتن، سوزاندن یا دار زدن اونها در روز روشن، یا ربودن و بردن اونها به نقاط نامعلوم و تحمیل شکنجههای جانفرسای فیزیکی و روانی تنها بخش کوچکی از جنایاتی بود که ماکوت ها طی دیکتاتوری دوالیره پدر و پسر مرتکب شدن. طی یک جریان یکطرفه و انحصاری اعمال خشونت از سمت حکومت بر مردم بیدفاع، ماکوتها هر کدوم به دیکتاتوری تبدیل شده بودن که مردم موظف بودن تمام خواستههای اونها رو اجابت کنن. این خواستهها که البته عمدتا جنبههای جنسی داشتن، در صورت برآورده نشدن به ناپدید شدن و نهایتا تالارهای شکنجه ماکوتها منتهی میشدن. به این ترتیب بود که جنایاتی که با انگیزههای شخصی صورت میگرفتند به نوبه خودشون به برقراری نظام ترس و وحشت و فرمانبرداری هرچه بیشتر، و ثبات نظام دیکتاتوری کمک میکردند.
نظام دیکتاتوری دوالیرها نهایتا به خاطر وضعیت وخیم اقتصادی با فرار ژان کلود دوالیه(ملقب به بِیبی داک) در سال 1986 به فرانسه به پایان رسید.
نحوه روایت این کتاب برای من جدید و تا حدی متفاوت بود. کتاب متشکل از 9 فصل هستش که هر فصل میتونه مستقلا خونده بشه. اما فصلها با هم ارتباط خفیفی دارن و نهایتا در فصل آخر متوجه میشیم که هر فصلی که خوندیم تکهای از یک پازل بوده که حالا با کنار هم قرار دادن اونها، داستانها معنای بیشتری پیدا میکنن و ارتباط بینشون مشخصتر میشه. بنظرم دونستن این موضوع از ابتدا میتونه باعث بشه با علاقه بیشتری به خوندن داستانهای به ظاهر بیربط به هم ادامه بدید و بتونید از کتاب لذت بیشتری ببرید.
کتاب راجع به زخمهای عمیقی هستش که بر پیکره مردم بازمانده هایتی از دوران دیکتاتوری دوالیهها بر جای مونده. دورانی که تخمین زده میشه طی اون بین 40 تا 60 هزار هائیتیایی کشته شدند و هزاران نفر از نخبگان و تحصیلکردگان، از کشورشون گریختند.
ژالهکش در واقع اصطلاحی هستش که به ماکوت*ها، یا همون نیروی نظامی مخصوصی که به فرمان فرانسوا دوالیِه(ملقب به پاپا داک) در سال 1959 تشکیل شدند، اطلاق میشد. نام ماکوت در اصل برگرفته از یک افسانه بومی بود که بچهها رو میدزدید و اونها رو به جای نامعلومی میبرد و برای صبحوونه میخوردشون!ا
* Macoute
حملههای ناگهانی نزدیک صبحدم به خانه مخالفین و کشتن، سوزاندن یا دار زدن اونها در روز روشن، یا ربودن و بردن اونها به نقاط نامعلوم و تحمیل شکنجههای جانفرسای فیزیکی و روانی تنها بخش کوچکی از جنایاتی بود که ماکوت ها طی دیکتاتوری دوالیره پدر و پسر مرتکب شدن. طی یک جریان یکطرفه و انحصاری اعمال خشونت از سمت حکومت بر مردم بیدفاع، ماکوتها هر کدوم به دیکتاتوری تبدیل شده بودن که مردم موظف بودن تمام خواستههای اونها رو اجابت کنن. این خواستهها که البته عمدتا جنبههای جنسی داشتن، در صورت برآورده نشدن به ناپدید شدن و نهایتا تالارهای شکنجه ماکوتها منتهی میشدن. به این ترتیب بود که جنایاتی که با انگیزههای شخصی صورت میگرفتند به نوبه خودشون به برقراری نظام ترس و وحشت و فرمانبرداری هرچه بیشتر، و ثبات نظام دیکتاتوری کمک میکردند.
نظام دیکتاتوری دوالیرها نهایتا به خاطر وضعیت وخیم اقتصادی با فرار ژان کلود دوالیه(ملقب به بِیبی داک) در سال 1986 به فرانسه به پایان رسید.
نحوه روایت این کتاب برای من جدید و تا حدی متفاوت بود. کتاب متشکل از 9 فصل هستش که هر فصل میتونه مستقلا خونده بشه. اما فصلها با هم ارتباط خفیفی دارن و نهایتا در فصل آخر متوجه میشیم که هر فصلی که خوندیم تکهای از یک پازل بوده که حالا با کنار هم قرار دادن اونها، داستانها معنای بیشتری پیدا میکنن و ارتباط بینشون مشخصتر میشه. بنظرم دونستن این موضوع از ابتدا میتونه باعث بشه با علاقه بیشتری به خوندن داستانهای به ظاهر بیربط به هم ادامه بدید و بتونید از کتاب لذت بیشتری ببرید.
November 2, 2018
مجموعة ذكية وشيقة من هايتي .. القصص ما إن تنتهي منها حتى تكتمل الصورة وتتوضح
"فكل قصة لها علاقة بشكل أو بآخر بقصة الكتاب الأساسية " كاسر الندى
والتي اختارتها الكاتبة لتكون في نهاية الكتاب.. عن السجان المتوحش وما ارتكبه من جرائم
حتى تلك اللحظة التي تتغير فيها حياته وينقلب لشخص آخر .. والجدير بالذكر أن القصة حقيقية
"في تابع الموتى" نكتشف حقيقة والد النحاتة ليعود ويظهر في قصة " كتاب المعجزات "
ولكن منحى القصة هنا مختلف ومن زاوية جديدة أما في " خطل النوم " وفي " حائكة
"فساتين العرس " يتم الإشارة لقصة الأب السجان أما في القصة الأخيرة " كاسر الندى
..نعرف القصة من أولها وحتى اللحظة التي يتغير فيها وتتغير حياته
"فكل قصة لها علاقة بشكل أو بآخر بقصة الكتاب الأساسية " كاسر الندى
والتي اختارتها الكاتبة لتكون في نهاية الكتاب.. عن السجان المتوحش وما ارتكبه من جرائم
حتى تلك اللحظة التي تتغير فيها حياته وينقلب لشخص آخر .. والجدير بالذكر أن القصة حقيقية
"في تابع الموتى" نكتشف حقيقة والد النحاتة ليعود ويظهر في قصة " كتاب المعجزات "
ولكن منحى القصة هنا مختلف ومن زاوية جديدة أما في " خطل النوم " وفي " حائكة
"فساتين العرس " يتم الإشارة لقصة الأب السجان أما في القصة الأخيرة " كاسر الندى
..نعرف القصة من أولها وحتى اللحظة التي يتغير فيها وتتغير حياته
April 5, 2018
كاسر الندى
مجموعة قصصية هاييتية فاتنة، قصصها مترابطة بشكل بارع، حيث تقدم لنا بعض القصص زوايا جديدة لشخصيات ظهرت في قصص أخرى، من النحاتة التي تكتشف الماضي الحقيقي لوالدها، إلى الطفل الهاييتي الذي يكتشف حقيقة والده في خضم ثورة، فكاسر الندى الجلاد الذي لا يرحم والذي يمر بتجربة تغيره تماماً.
مجموعة قصصية هاييتية فاتنة، قصصها مترابطة بشكل بارع، حيث تقدم لنا بعض القصص زوايا جديدة لشخصيات ظهرت في قصص أخرى، من النحاتة التي تكتشف الماضي الحقيقي لوالدها، إلى الطفل الهاييتي الذي يكتشف حقيقة والده في خضم ثورة، فكاسر الندى الجلاد الذي لا يرحم والذي يمر بتجربة تغيره تماماً.
September 23, 2013
Much like Tim O'Brien's THE THINGS THEY CARRIED, this book lingers in that nebulous hinterland between short story and novel where few writers have the gumption or the ability to tread. Each chapter is a self-contained story, with divergent and seemingly random settings--Haiti in the dictatorial 1960s, Manhattan in the 1970s, Brooklyn and Queens in the 21st century. And yet slowly, irrevocably, the reader is drawn into the shared love, the shared remorse, the shared history, the shared hope, the shared rebellions--both personal and political--that circle round this unassuming man...this husband...this father...this friend...this torturer...this dew breaker.
I have a confession to make. Three-quarters of the way into the book I thought I was going to write about a 3-star review. But THE DEW BREAKER is a book that rewards patience, one whose ultimate purity is not realized until the very last sentence, when that "pendulum between regret and forgiveness" swings one last time. Given what's going on even as we speak in the island nation of Haiti, THE DEW BREAKER's timeliness is nearly as haunting as Ms. Danticat's prose. Maybe this isn't a book for everyone...but it should be.
For those of you who find yourself tripping over some of the Creole dialect in print, try the audio edition of THE DEW BREAKER. The narrator, Robin Miles, is an extraordinary talent.
I have a confession to make. Three-quarters of the way into the book I thought I was going to write about a 3-star review. But THE DEW BREAKER is a book that rewards patience, one whose ultimate purity is not realized until the very last sentence, when that "pendulum between regret and forgiveness" swings one last time. Given what's going on even as we speak in the island nation of Haiti, THE DEW BREAKER's timeliness is nearly as haunting as Ms. Danticat's prose. Maybe this isn't a book for everyone...but it should be.
For those of you who find yourself tripping over some of the Creole dialect in print, try the audio edition of THE DEW BREAKER. The narrator, Robin Miles, is an extraordinary talent.
August 5, 2020
Students will like this book. Very moving, thoughtful, and well-constructed.
March 17, 2024
oh I did finish this. I really enjoyed this! reshmita the caterpillar.
March 10, 2018
These are interconnected stories which revolve around a former Haitian torturer now living a quiet life in the United States, his former identity known only to his wife. The characterizations were fantastic. The experiences of Haitians living through a brutal dictatorship and its aftermath in exile was powerfully conveyed.
November 25, 2019
There is an idea here.. an idea for what could have been a very unique and interesting book and some of it was written beautifully but it could have been so much more if the author had only gone into the characters and their inner worlds more. No sooner would I, the reader, become interested in a character then she'd jump to something completely new and different. In short, the book was all shallow no depth for me.
February 12, 2024
3.5/5, 2.5/5 for the short story style, 4.5/5 for the language. truly stunning how Danticat writes, it reminds me of tapestries and woven blankets
ideas/phrases that stood out most
- faith and tradition
- rebirth and souls
- "good angel"
- remembrance
- "chasms existing between people there and not" - Ms. Abair
- oh, and time. of course time.
quotes (connect to miracles, masks, and fears/beauty from the ordinary)
“I’d used a piece of mahogany that was naturally flawed, with a few superficial cracks along what was now the back. I’d thought these cracks beautiful and had made no effort to sand or polish them away, as they seemed like the wood's own scars, like the one my father had on his face” (7).
“They know how to grieve,” he’d say, marveling at the mummification process that went on for weeks but resulted in corpses that survived thousands of years” (12).
“A ka is a double of the body…the body’s companion through life and after life. It guides the body through the kingdom of the dead…You see, ka is like soul,’ my father now says. ‘In Haiti is what we call good angel” (17).
“I don’t know, Ka…You and me, we save him. When I meet him, it made him stop hurt the people. This is how I see it. He a seed thrown in rock. You, me, we make him take root” (25).
“this meal made them feel as though they were part of a family, something they had not experienced for years” (46).
“Alter she had erected on top of the dresser in her bedroom…She had once read about a shrine to unborn children in Japan, where water was poured over altars of stone to honor them, so she had filled her favorite drinking glass with water and a pebble and had added that to her own shrine” (57)
“She held her breath the way she imagined her brother did before the weight of the sea collapsed his small lungs and he was forced to surrender to the water, sinking into a world of starfishes, sea turtles, weeds, and sharks” (71).
“A long time ago, more than thirty years ago, in Haiti, your father worked in a prison, where he hurt many people. Now look at him. Look how calm he is. Look how patient he is. Look how he just drove forty miles, to your apartment in Westchester, to pick you up for Christmas Eve Mass” (72).
“Their daughter…didn’t care about shopping, she didn’t watch the endless specials on TV. The only part of the holiday the daughter seemed to enjoy was the drive from block to block to criticize the brightest houses” (75).
“He too spoke his dreams aloud in the night, to the point of sometimes jolting himself awake with the founds of his own voice. Usually he could remember only the very last words he spoke, but remained with a lingering sensation that he had been talking, laughing, and at times crying all night long” (98).
“They still took me in, after everything I did, because my moms told them I was their blood. I look at them and I see nothing of me, man, blank, nada, but they look at me and they say he has so-and-so’s nose and his grandmother’s forehead��I’m the puzzle and these people are putting me back together, telling me things about myself and my family that I never knew…” (102).
“He never turned down the shaves, for he thought that it would give the barber a chance to have a closer look at his face, to remember him” (106).
“Here’s one she brought into the world…Here’s another…Since my mother died, she’s been like a mother to me, because she was the only other person present at my birth” (114).
“...the leaves seemingly suspended in the air, then falling ever so slowly as if cushioned by air bubbles. It was an image with closing another type of article with, Aline thought, but in many ways it was so ordinary. It was fall, after all” (133).
“I thought exposing a few details of my life would inspire them to do the same and slowly we’d parcel out our sorrows, each walking out with fewer than we’d carried in” (170).
“He’d dreamed his own death so many times that he was no longer afraid of it…he always saw himself being resurrected…the flames burned through the ropes that bound his wrists and ankles, the smoke blinded his enemies, and he strolled past them without being seen” (201).
“In the early years, there had been more silence than words between them. But when their daughter was born, they were forced to talk to and about her. And when their daughter began to talk back, it made things all that much easier. She was like an orator at a pantomime. She was their Ka, their good angel” (241).
“She was too busy concentrating on and revising who she was now, or who she wanted to become” (241).
ideas/phrases that stood out most
- faith and tradition
- rebirth and souls
- "good angel"
- remembrance
- "chasms existing between people there and not" - Ms. Abair
- oh, and time. of course time.
quotes (connect to miracles, masks, and fears/beauty from the ordinary)
“I’d used a piece of mahogany that was naturally flawed, with a few superficial cracks along what was now the back. I’d thought these cracks beautiful and had made no effort to sand or polish them away, as they seemed like the wood's own scars, like the one my father had on his face” (7).
“They know how to grieve,” he’d say, marveling at the mummification process that went on for weeks but resulted in corpses that survived thousands of years” (12).
“A ka is a double of the body…the body’s companion through life and after life. It guides the body through the kingdom of the dead…You see, ka is like soul,’ my father now says. ‘In Haiti is what we call good angel” (17).
“I don’t know, Ka…You and me, we save him. When I meet him, it made him stop hurt the people. This is how I see it. He a seed thrown in rock. You, me, we make him take root” (25).
“this meal made them feel as though they were part of a family, something they had not experienced for years” (46).
“Alter she had erected on top of the dresser in her bedroom…She had once read about a shrine to unborn children in Japan, where water was poured over altars of stone to honor them, so she had filled her favorite drinking glass with water and a pebble and had added that to her own shrine” (57)
“She held her breath the way she imagined her brother did before the weight of the sea collapsed his small lungs and he was forced to surrender to the water, sinking into a world of starfishes, sea turtles, weeds, and sharks” (71).
“A long time ago, more than thirty years ago, in Haiti, your father worked in a prison, where he hurt many people. Now look at him. Look how calm he is. Look how patient he is. Look how he just drove forty miles, to your apartment in Westchester, to pick you up for Christmas Eve Mass” (72).
“Their daughter…didn’t care about shopping, she didn’t watch the endless specials on TV. The only part of the holiday the daughter seemed to enjoy was the drive from block to block to criticize the brightest houses” (75).
“He too spoke his dreams aloud in the night, to the point of sometimes jolting himself awake with the founds of his own voice. Usually he could remember only the very last words he spoke, but remained with a lingering sensation that he had been talking, laughing, and at times crying all night long” (98).
“They still took me in, after everything I did, because my moms told them I was their blood. I look at them and I see nothing of me, man, blank, nada, but they look at me and they say he has so-and-so’s nose and his grandmother’s forehead��I’m the puzzle and these people are putting me back together, telling me things about myself and my family that I never knew…” (102).
“He never turned down the shaves, for he thought that it would give the barber a chance to have a closer look at his face, to remember him” (106).
“Here’s one she brought into the world…Here’s another…Since my mother died, she’s been like a mother to me, because she was the only other person present at my birth” (114).
“...the leaves seemingly suspended in the air, then falling ever so slowly as if cushioned by air bubbles. It was an image with closing another type of article with, Aline thought, but in many ways it was so ordinary. It was fall, after all” (133).
“I thought exposing a few details of my life would inspire them to do the same and slowly we’d parcel out our sorrows, each walking out with fewer than we’d carried in” (170).
“He’d dreamed his own death so many times that he was no longer afraid of it…he always saw himself being resurrected…the flames burned through the ropes that bound his wrists and ankles, the smoke blinded his enemies, and he strolled past them without being seen” (201).
“In the early years, there had been more silence than words between them. But when their daughter was born, they were forced to talk to and about her. And when their daughter began to talk back, it made things all that much easier. She was like an orator at a pantomime. She was their Ka, their good angel” (241).
“She was too busy concentrating on and revising who she was now, or who she wanted to become” (241).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2024
Completed!
Rtc (if I remember)
Rtc (if I remember)
September 1, 2022
I love Edwidge Danticat's literary fiction. She tells melancholy stories, but she tells human stories that must be told. The Dew Breaker is a human story about Haiti and Haitians during a dark period in Haiti's history, and how that period broke up families and caused folk to flee the country. Yet the trauma followed. This book complements Haitian history of the 1960s and 1970s during the Duvalier reign of power. This is a book that is to be read over and over again. I am pleased that throughout the years Danticat has given voice to everyday Haitians either in the country or outside. She is the barb of Haitians and Haitian Americans.
December 18, 2018
This book. This fantastic gem of a book. This little book containing an abundance of talent is one of the best books I've read this year. This book handles trauma the way it is experienced, and that is saying something. This is a collection of short stories that are not overtly complex or long, yet, Danticat is able to weave a story through each story, thus, connecting them all together.
The messages she sends to the reader are not told to you directly and this is very crucial to the story. You see, The Dew Breaker involves a set of characters who are of Haitian heritage. So the history of Haiti is intrinsically involved in this novel. A gigantic part of Haitian history is the brutal dictatorship and the effects it had on the people. This is the centre focus of the novel, and yet, due to Danticat's impressive writing style, it's not explicitly stated. One part of her writing style makes reference to how Haitian writers had to write in order to not get into trouble. In order to live as a writer during censorship, one had to write in subtext. Nothing can be put bluntly and this is what Danticat follows as a nod towards the extreme level of censorship in Haiti. What's interesting is Danticat's position. American history regarding Haiti puts Danticat in a difficult spot as she has the ability to write about her native country from a position of safety is what caused so much trauma in her home country.
In this novel, Danticat wants to show history of violence and trauma in an oblique way. She wants to show the shadow it casts rather then the direct problem. In other words, she wants to show trauma as it is experienced. Any kind of trauma. The truth is, a person cannot sit down and tell you their entire life story from start to finish. They are not a life journey book, they are human and Danticat shows this throughout her book. She also shows how history is more cyclical over linear. Past events carry over and on the individual level it carries from generation to generation.
The messages she sends to the reader are not told to you directly and this is very crucial to the story. You see, The Dew Breaker involves a set of characters who are of Haitian heritage. So the history of Haiti is intrinsically involved in this novel. A gigantic part of Haitian history is the brutal dictatorship and the effects it had on the people. This is the centre focus of the novel, and yet, due to Danticat's impressive writing style, it's not explicitly stated. One part of her writing style makes reference to how Haitian writers had to write in order to not get into trouble. In order to live as a writer during censorship, one had to write in subtext. Nothing can be put bluntly and this is what Danticat follows as a nod towards the extreme level of censorship in Haiti. What's interesting is Danticat's position. American history regarding Haiti puts Danticat in a difficult spot as she has the ability to write about her native country from a position of safety is what caused so much trauma in her home country.
In this novel, Danticat wants to show history of violence and trauma in an oblique way. She wants to show the shadow it casts rather then the direct problem. In other words, she wants to show trauma as it is experienced. Any kind of trauma. The truth is, a person cannot sit down and tell you their entire life story from start to finish. They are not a life journey book, they are human and Danticat shows this throughout her book. She also shows how history is more cyclical over linear. Past events carry over and on the individual level it carries from generation to generation.
June 12, 2008
Agony and Atonement...
The Dew Breaker is my first taste of the gift of storytelling by Edwidge Danticat......but it won't be my last!
As the novel opens, revealing shocking secrets of the past, it's clear that the reader will not be disappointed.
The Dew Breaker's title comes from a Creole phrase referring to `Tontons Macoutes' (Haitian volunteer torturers) during the regime of the Duvaliers in Haiti. They would often come in the early dawn to take their victims away...thus the broke the serenity of the grass in the morning dew. These `Macoutes' tortured and killed thousands of civilians, many for trivial incidences.
Beautifully written, the chapters overlap and wind back around each other as the novel slowly reveals the ghosts of the past within the culture's stories of miracles and spiritual beliefs.
Now, living in New York, trying to erase a past that shadows him continually, we meet a good father and husband with a horrible scar on his face and an agonizing secret embedded deeply in his soul...and now...finally it must be unmasked!
The Dew Breaker is my first taste of the gift of storytelling by Edwidge Danticat......but it won't be my last!
As the novel opens, revealing shocking secrets of the past, it's clear that the reader will not be disappointed.
The Dew Breaker's title comes from a Creole phrase referring to `Tontons Macoutes' (Haitian volunteer torturers) during the regime of the Duvaliers in Haiti. They would often come in the early dawn to take their victims away...thus the broke the serenity of the grass in the morning dew. These `Macoutes' tortured and killed thousands of civilians, many for trivial incidences.
Beautifully written, the chapters overlap and wind back around each other as the novel slowly reveals the ghosts of the past within the culture's stories of miracles and spiritual beliefs.
Now, living in New York, trying to erase a past that shadows him continually, we meet a good father and husband with a horrible scar on his face and an agonizing secret embedded deeply in his soul...and now...finally it must be unmasked!
March 19, 2019
People struggling with their Haitian- American identity will find The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat useful. This is because throughout the book several characters move from Haiti to America and have to find their place in society. Additionally, people struggling with their cultural identity, in general, can benefit from reading The Dew Breaker. The reader can apply lessons learned by the characters in the book into their own life. The Dew Breaker can be used in a scholastic setting or for a casual reader looking for insight into a culture. Some of the limitations The Dew Breaker has is the lack of depth between the short stories. Edwidge Danticat uses various distinct stories in order to attempt to give the reader insight into Haitian culture. She gives an accurate representation of Haitian culture and does so in order for the reader to better understand Ka’s father, The Dew Breaker. In using many different short stories, Danticat leaves many questions unanswered and unsolved. For example, in the chapter Night Talkers, Dany is faced with the problem of never being able to tell his Aunt Estina that he knows the person who killed his parents and blinded her. Dany was never able to tell his Aunt Estina the information he knows because his aunt died in her sleep the day before Dany planned on telling her the news. After the chapter is over, it is never made clear how Dany fully copes with the situation and whether or not he confronts his family's murderer. It is in leaving out details like these that Danticat causes the reader to have many questions, but she does this in order to focus on the main purpose of the book- understanding Ka’s father. Danticat writes from the perspective of many different characters, making the book unique in the way it is written. At first glance, the book may seem to not make sense, but all the stories are intertwined to make the greater story. Having the reader arrange the different pieces of the puzzle makes The Dew Breaker a true masterpiece.
When I first reflected on my time reading The Dew Breaker, I thought I did not enjoy the book. I felt as if the short stories simply did not make sense and were not connected. It is in reading deeper into the last chapter where I realized that all the chapters were geared towards the reader gaining a better understanding of Ka’s father. It was during the last chapter where we learn that Ka’s father is truly regretful of his actions and he comes to America to seek a fresh start after killing the minister. The most important lesson I took from this book is the power of forgiveness. Ka’s father must learn to forgive himself before he can move on and live his new life. Even more impactful is how Anne marries and heals Ka’s father when he was wounded by the minister. This is powerful because the minister Ka’s father killed is Anne’s brother, but she finds it within herself to forgive Ka’s father and ultimately marry him.
When I first reflected on my time reading The Dew Breaker, I thought I did not enjoy the book. I felt as if the short stories simply did not make sense and were not connected. It is in reading deeper into the last chapter where I realized that all the chapters were geared towards the reader gaining a better understanding of Ka’s father. It was during the last chapter where we learn that Ka’s father is truly regretful of his actions and he comes to America to seek a fresh start after killing the minister. The most important lesson I took from this book is the power of forgiveness. Ka’s father must learn to forgive himself before he can move on and live his new life. Even more impactful is how Anne marries and heals Ka’s father when he was wounded by the minister. This is powerful because the minister Ka’s father killed is Anne’s brother, but she finds it within herself to forgive Ka’s father and ultimately marry him.
May 15, 2020
إنها مجموعة من القصص المنفصلة والمترابطة حول شخصيات عرفت تاريخ هاييتي الأسود، تاريخ الديكتاتورية والتعذيب. نقرأ قصص هذه الشخصيات التي تحاول العيش فيما بعد الألم، محاولة تجاوز التاريخ المظلم، وهي شخصيات تتراوح بين كونها ضحية أو جلاد، أو شخصيات ارتبطت بها. تصنع القصص مشاهد حرجة حين تلتقي الضحية بجلادها السابق، تفر من شبحه أحيانا، أو تحاول أن تقبل شخصيته الجديدة. وهي تعطي لكل شخصية (على تناقض أدوارها) صوتها الخاص، بما في ذلك الجلاد الذي صار أبا وزوجا يحاول نشد السلام والسكينة. وترسم علاقات حميمة تصل للمحك حين تعرف الهوية الملتبسة للشخص الذي تحبه.
تبدو القصص/الفصول على شيء من الاستقلالية ببدايات ونهايات مكتملة، وتتراوح في جاذبيتها، لكنها في المجموع تشكل قصة تبدو أوضح مع اكتمال القطعة الأخيرة منها. تتنوع طرق سردها. أحببت القصة الأخيرة (كاسر الندى) وتنوع الأصوات فيها.
يعيب هذه الترجمة كثرة الأخطاء في الترجمة وفي الطباعة. أرجو أن تلتفت الدار لضرورة تنقيح الترجمة لإخراجها بشكل أفضل في الطبعة التالية.
تبدو القصص/الفصول على شيء من الاستقلالية ببدايات ونهايات مكتملة، وتتراوح في جاذبيتها، لكنها في المجموع تشكل قصة تبدو أوضح مع اكتمال القطعة الأخيرة منها. تتنوع طرق سردها. أحببت القصة الأخيرة (كاسر الندى) وتنوع الأصوات فيها.
يعيب هذه الترجمة كثرة الأخطاء في الترجمة وفي الطباعة. أرجو أن تلتفت الدار لضرورة تنقيح الترجمة لإخراجها بشكل أفضل في الطبعة التالية.
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