Haiti Reader: 40 Seminal Works
Discover the essential Haiti reading list with *Haiti Reader: 40 Seminal Works*. Explore iconic books on Haiti and Haitian fiction from Jacques Roumain, Edwidge Danticat, and Bernard Diederich.
Book
Krik? Krak!
by Edwidge Danticat
When Haitians tell a story, they say "Krik?" and the eager listeners answer "Krak!" In Krik? Krak! In her second novel, Edwidge Danticat establishes herself as the latest heir to that narrative tradition with nine stories that encompass both the cruelties and the high ideals of Haitian life. They tell of women who continue loving behind prison walls and in the face of unfathomable loss; of a people who resist the brutality of their rulers through the powers of imagination. The result is a collection that outrages, saddens, and transports the reader with its sheer beauty.
Book
Masters of the Dew
by Jacques Roumain
This outstanding Haitian novel tells of Manuel's struggle to keep his little community from starvation during drought.
Book
Papa Doc & the Tontons Macoutes
by Bernard Diederich
Originally published in 1970, this is the story of Haiti under the rule of Dr. François Duvalier. Bernard Diederich lived in Haiti for 14 years and had personal experience of the early Duvalier days and the period of Maloire's rule. His work exposes the evil of Duvalier's rule and the tale of how Duvalier undid U.S. policy. "No one alive ... is better qualified than Bernard Diederich to tell the horrifying story of Haiti under the rule of Dr. François Duvalier," writes Graham Greene in the foreword to this edition. "What a story it is: tragic, terrifying, bizarre, even at times comic. Papa Doc sits in his bath wearing his top hat for meditating ... the head of his enemy Philogenes stands on his desk ... the hearse carrying another enemy's body is stolen by the Tonton Macoutes at the church door ... the writer Alexis is stoned to death ... This is a very full account of Duvalier's reign, which will be indispensable to future historians." -- Graham Greene (Foreword)
