Haiti Noir

by Edwidge Danticat (Editor), Madison Smartt Bell (Contribution by), Marie Lily Cerat (Contribution by), Louis-Philippe Dalembert (Contribution by), Rodney Saint-Éloi (Contribution by)

Overview

Akashic recruits Danticat, one of the truly great contemporary writers, to edit this timely volume featuring stories set both before and after the devastating 2010 earthquake.

“A wide-ranging collection from the beloved but besieged Caribbean island . . . The 36th entry in Akashic’s Noir series (which ranges from Bronx to Delhi to Twin Cities) is beautifully edited, with a spectrum of voices.” —Kirkus Reviews

“This anthology will give American readers a complex and nuanced portrait of the real Haiti not seen on the evening news and introduce them to some original and wonderful writers.” —Library Journal

Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each story is set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book.

Brand-new stories by: Edwidge Danticat, Rodney Saint-Éloi, Madison Smartt Bell, Gary Victor, M.J. Fievre, Mark Kurlansky, Marvin Victor, Josaphat-Robert Large, Marie Lily Cerat, Yanick Lahens, Louis-Philippe Dalembert, Kettly Mars, Marie Ketsia Theodore-Pharel, Evelyne Trouillot, Katia D. Ulysse, Ibi Aanu Zoboi, Nadine Pinede, and Patrick Sylvain.

From the introduction by Edwidge Danticat:

“I began working on this anthology about a year before January 12, 2010, when Haiti was struck by its worst natural disaster in over two hundred years. The world knows now that more than two hundred thousand people died and over a million lost their homes in Haiti’s capital and the surrounding cities of Léogâne, Petit–Goâve, and Jacmel. As I am writing these words, survivors remain huddled by the thousands in displacement camps, most shielding themselves from intermittent rain with nothing but wooden posts and bedsheets.

"Even before the earthquake, life was not easy in Haiti. There was always the risk of dying from hunger, an infectious disease, a natural disaster, or a crime. But there was also hope, laughter, and boundless creativity. Haitian creativity has always been one of the country’s most identifiable survival traits. Whether expressed in vibrant and colorful paintings, double entendre–filled spiritual or party music, or the poignant, humorous, erotic, lyrical (and yes, also dark) short stories and novels of its writers, Haiti’s more nuanced and complex face often comes across in its arts . . .

"I can honestly say that, in spite of the difficult circumstances in Haiti right now, I have never felt a greater sense of joy working on any collective project than I have on this book.“

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781936070657
Publisher:	Akashic Books, Ltd.
Publication date:	12/07/2010
Series:	Akashic Noir Series
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	7.38(w) x 11.70(h) x 0.76(d)

About the Author

EDWIDGE DANTICAT was born in Haiti and moved to the United States when she was twelve. She is the editor of Haiti Noir, Haiti Noir 2: The Classics, and the author of several books, including Breath, Eyes, Memory (an Oprah’s Book Club selection), Krik? Krak! (a National Book Award finalist), The Farming of Bones (an American Book Award winner), and the novel-in-stories The Dew Breaker. She has also written several young adult novels and a travel narrative, After the Dance: A Walk Through Carnival in Jacmel. Her memoir, Brother, I’m Dying, was a 2007 finalist for the National Book Award and a 2007 winner of a National Book Critics Circle Award for autobiography. She is a 2009 recipient of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation grant.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part I: Which Noir?
“Odette” by Patrick Sylvain (Christ-Roi)
“The Rainbow’s End” by M.J. Fievre (Kenscoff)
“The Finger” by Gary Victor (Port-au-Prince)
“Paradise Inn” by Kettly Mars (Gokal)
“Which One?” by Evelyne Trouillot (Lalue)
“Twenty Dollars” by Madison Smartt Bell (Morne du Cap)

Part II: Noir Crossroads
“Claire of the Sea Light” by Edwidge Danticat (Ville Rose)
“The Harem” by Ibi Aanu Zoboi (Delmas)
“Rosanna” by Josaphat-Robert Large (Pacot)
“Maloulou” by Marie Lily Cerat (Martissant)
“Dangerous Crossroads” by Louis-Philippe Dalembert (Pétionville)
“Blues for Irène” by Marvin Victor (Carrefour-Feuilles)

Part III: Who is That Noir?
“The Last Department” by Katia D. Ulysse (Putis Blain)
“Departure Lounge” by Nadine Pinede (Cap Haitien)
“Who Is that Man?” by Yanick Lahens (Saint-Marc)
“Mercy at the Gate” by Marie Ketsia Theodore-Pharel (Croix-des-Bouquets)
“The Leopard of Ti Morne” by Mark Kurlansky (Gonaïves)
“The Blue Hill” by Rodney Saint-Éloi (Ozanana)

Editorial Reviews

"Danticat has put together a collection possessing classic noir elements—crimes and criminals and evil deeds only sometimes punished—but also something else, perhaps uniquely Haitian too."

|Los Angeles Times

"Who can ever judge how important Danticat has been to Americans’ understanding and re-evaluating Haiti’s position and role in the hemisphere? Not just as a novelist and essayist in her own right, but as editor and guiding force behind this collection of short stories and the re-publication and English translation of the Chauvet triptych, the Haitian-born Danticat has brought her country’s literature back into the world of English-speakers. Filled with delights and surprises, Haiti Noir, taken as a whole, provides a profound portrait of the country, from its crises to its triumphs, from the tiny bouks of the countryside to the shanties of the sprawling bidonvilles. Danticat herself has a lovely story in the collection, and permits two distinguished foreign writers on Haiti, Madison Smartt Bell and Mark Kurlansky, to slide in there among all the brilliant Haitians.
"

Daily Beast

"The characters that emerge in the anthology are divergent figures, alienated by exile, thriving in the diaspora and devastated by limited choices. Their stories are multi-layered, thrilling and necessary."

Ms. Magazine

"A solid contribution to the [Noir] series, especially for its showcasing of a setting not commonly portrayed in crime fiction."

Booklist

Haitians may be among the poorest people in the world, but they are rich in an imaginative spirit that has helped them endure centuries of poverty, political corruption, and natural disasters. "Haitian creativity has always been one of the country's most identifiable survival traits," writes novelist Danticat (The Dew Breaker) in her introduction to the latest entry (with Copenhagen Noir, see above) in Akashic's acclaimed noir series. Reflected in the country's vibrant visual arts and music, this creative genius also finds full expression in the 18 stories contributed by writers in Haiti and in the Haitian diaspora as well as two "blan" (white) Haitiphile authors (Madison Smartt Bell; Mark Kurlansky). A few of the tales are noir in the traditional crime fiction sense—Josaphat-Robert Large's "Rosanna" is a chilling tale of a kidnapping gone very, very wrong: tensions between an émigré sister and her stay-at-home sibling come to a deadly head after their mother's funeral in Katia D. Ulysse's sardonic "The Last Department." Others experiment with stretching the genre's boundaries. Gary Victor's "The Finger" branches into hallucinatory horror, while Kettly Mars's "Paradise Inn" is a study in existential surrealism (shades of Sartre's No Exit). VERDICT This anthology will give American readers a complex and nuanced portrait of the real Haiti not seen on the evening news and introduce them to some original and wonderful writers. [A portion of the profits will be donated to the Lambi Fund of Haiti; see Q&A with Danticat on p. 92.—Ed.]—Wilda Williams, Library Journal

Library Journal

This anthology of important voices from Haiti is capably and uniquely rendered by three narrators who each have a distinct delivery style. As one reaches the end of each story, the volume's overall narrator reminds one that the current story has ended and next one is beginning. It’s a pleasure to transition to each new voice. Robin Miles, Peter Fernandez, and Rachel Leslie invoke the mystery and danger that are inherent to varying degrees in each story. Presenting characters ranging from a teenage girl who is fending off an ex-convict to an earthquake survivor who is attacked for being a witch—these voices and stories demonstrate the variety that is Haiti. M.R. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2011 - AudioFile

A wide-ranging collection from the beloved but besieged Caribbean island.

The 18 new stories, most by native Haitians, are introduced by Haitian-born National Book Award finalist Danticat. The editor/introducer does triple duty with "Claire of the Sea Light," which focuses on the sensuality of the island seen through a young girl's eyes. Each remaining tale has a different geographical setting. The opening and closing stories, Patrick Sylvain's "Odette" and Rodney Saint-Éloi's "The Blue Hill," deal with the recent earthquake. The former follows a grandmother's movements shortly after the disaster; the latter gives the quake a more metaphoric dimension. Other highlights: "Paradise Inn," by Kettly Mars, begins with the hero, Gokal's new police chief, arriving at his new post on a dark, humid night. In Josaphat-Robert Large's "Rosanna," the heroine's excitement over an outing with her beloved aunt soon turns to fear. Izzy Goldstein, the hero of Mark Kurlansky's wry "The Leopard of Ti Morne," knows that inside his Jewish exterior is a Haitian soul and decides to live accordingly. "The Harem," by Ibi Aanu Zoboi, probes the MO of Jean-Robert, an incorrigible seducer known to his conquests as Robby.

The 36th entry in Akashic's Noir series (which ranges from Bronx to Delhi to Twin Cities) is beautifully edited, with a spectrum of voices, stories grouped under three headings, maps that pinpoint story settings and pictures accopmanying the thumbnail author bios.

Kirkus Reviews