Edwidge Danticat spent the first twelve years of her life in Haiti before moving to a Haitian-American community in Brooklyn. Educated at Barnard College and Brown University, she came to prominence at a very young age with the publication of her first book, Breath, Eyes, Memory in 1994. Attaining widespread critical praise upon its publication, this book made Danticat one of the first Haitian-identified author to achieve renown in the United States. The acceptance of her work is seen to mark the beginning of a belated opening of American literary culture to the stories of women and people of color.
Danticat's writing focuses on a number of themes we'll discuss in class--from the power of the past to the importance of telling stories in order to construct an identity. Her work also often represents another theme fundamental to our work in class, her sense of feeling pulled between a number of cultures: Haitian and American; black and white; English- and French Creole- speaking; the political and the literary. The Dew-Breaker is a particularly interesting book to read alongside The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao because it shares many of the central preoccupations of Diaz's novel (not to mention the fact that Danticat and Diaz are good friends). However, Danticat's book more directly addresses the questions about torture and human rights that Diaz's novel introduces. Also, unlike Oscar Wao, The Dew-Breaker is not a conventional novel, but a series of linked stories that function much as a novel does. As you read, think about how Danticat's choice to render the narrative in this way affects your experience of The Dew-Breaker. What are your first impressions of the book?
At first, I was annoyed that each chapter was a new beginning...at the start of each chapter, I felt I had to situate myself all over again: who is this person? what is this person's relation to the initial father and daughter?
ReplyDeleteBut about midway through, I stopped "picking apart" aspect...and simply enjoyed.
This was a beautiful book; almost a poem, so lyric!
Duality of identity has always been a big theme in literature, but it seems to me that it's only now becoming a recognized theme in American literature. I think particularly of Thomas Mann and his short stories now ('Tonio Kroeger' specifically)- in Europe when the countries are so comparatively close together, crossing borders has always been common. Common, and more openly accepted because of travel, if nothing else. Though the stereotype in European literature was that the individual of mixed race often had a touch of the wild and untamed in them...
ReplyDeleteAnd I wonder if Danticat's acceptance as a Haitian-recognized author had much to do with the fact that she primarily grew up in the US- would the same have happened had she grown up in Haiti instead, and only come here in adulthood? In a course where we've been discussing that measure of acceptance in mainstream culture, it seems a relevant thought.