Goodbye, Vitamin – Rachel Khong The story of this novel is a 30 year old woman returns home to care for his father’s debilitation into Alzheimer’s immediately after her engagement falls through. It is written as a series of diary entries and this format often creates a lot of the problems the novel has. For the most part the novel is well-written and interesting, and it’s generally heartfelt, but it’s also pretty flawed in a couple of ways that I think relate to its connection […]
Another Little Girl had come into the World
There’s probably a reason this book shows up in a lot of early college class, high school reading lists, and the AP exam. It’s a good book to be sure, but it’s kind of a book’s book. The story of a family, the story of a set of experiences, and the story of a voice, but it could so easily be mashed into a mold of “Haitian-American Immigrant Novel” and feel like it covers a lot of ground. The story itself is about a young […]
Worth the Read
Claire of the Sea Light is altogether a successful and enchanting story, well worth the read, not only because of the beauty and richness of Danticat’s use of language but also because her story gives insight into a people and culture not so well-known or represented in western literature. Compared to its predecessors from the author, however, Claire of the Sea Light falls slightly short of expectations. Read the full review.
Mothers and Daughters
I’m back! I had an accidental reviewing hiatus (by which, I mean that I have been reading my books but letting the reviews pile up), which should be over now. I have a whole bunch of reviews written and am ready to pretend that I will never procrastinate my reviewing ever again. First up is Edwidge Danticat’s Breath, Eyes, Memory, which I liked quite a bit, though not as well as her short story collection, Krik? Krak! (reviewed for CBR7). I did find the mother-daughter […]
The light surrounding Claire
Because I decided that All the Danticat needed to be read, I went with Claire of the Sea Light next. I also have checked it out from the library twice, and have no more renewals left. It feels like defeat to check a book back in from the library without having read it–silly, I know. None of you feel this way, I’m sure. But I had to make some choices before going on vacation. Consequently, I packed more books than clothes or shoes. My parents […]
When I ask “Krik?” you answer “Krak!”
I’ve been in the process of reading short story collections to piece together some units for my fall course. I’ve got another collection in the wings, because diversity of texts and ideas is always a great thing. I did not expect to fall so deeply in love with Edwidge Danticat’s Krik? Krak! that I would consider bumping one of my texts to make room for this. And yet here we are. In Haitian tradition, when someone asks “Krik?” you respond, “Krak!” It’s an invocation to […]