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Title: Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat, Edwidge Danticat ISBN: 0-375-70504-X Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 18 May, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.81 (177 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Breath, Eyes, Memory: Gasping, Blind, and Forgetable
Comment: While the imagery of Haiti and its topography are very vivid and stimulating, Edwidge Danticat's Breath, Eyes, Memory was not one of the best picks for Oprah's Book Club and was certainly not a best pick for me. This book left me feeling as if Danticat lost control of the story in the middle of the book. Her exploration of the trauma that "testing" for female purity and chastity was nowhere near as powerful as I believe she meant it to be. As an African American woman raised in the 70s and 80s, I cannot imagine how traumatic a situation like that could have been, but Danticat doesn't give you anything to go on either. It is shallow in its attempt to unearth the real scarring and suffering that accompanies this type of personal violation. As far as the relationships between the women in the story go, for them to be kin, I found their lack of connection disturbing. With the exception of the severed ties between Sophie and her mother, the lack of connection between Tante Atie and the grandmother is almost too much to be believed. I understand that the lack of trust in one's word regarding chastity and virtue contributes to the chasm, but the utter disregard for their familial ties is too overdone (loyalty to one's kin out of duty). As I stated in my title, Breath, Eyes, Memory is truly "Gasping, Blind, and Forgetable".
Rating: 4
Summary: captivating and informational
Comment: In seach of finding a book for the Black Women's Literary Guild, my book discussion group, to discuss, I was "forced" to investigate "Breath, Eyes, Memory" because it was so highly acclaimed, and because finding a meaningful book written by a Black person was becomming difficult. I approached the book feeling that I did not really want to read it, that I was not going to enjoy it, but decided to persevere. After a few pages, and after I had become accustomed to the lyrical rhythmn of the sentences, I was magically drawn into the story--accent and all. Although I have, studied the history of, I have not visited Haiti, however,my vivid imagination allowed me to place myself in the most rural sections of those Caribbean Islands I've visited--this I imagined, to be my mind's picture of Haiti. By the end of the story, I was so taken by reading about the culture, the mores, and relationships, that I felt short-changed with what I considered an abrupt.! .and somewhat expected ending..I would have liked to have more to read.
I did enjoy the book, am happy that I suggested it, look forward to our discussion of it, and regret that I am not the one who will be the facilitator.
Rating: 3
Summary: Good until the last 20 pages
Comment: Beautifully lyrical and full of hope even during personal tragedy but the ending takes all that building emotion and dashes it. The ending spoiled the book for me. It seemed unnecessarily tragic -- tragic just for the sake of being tragic.
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Title: Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat ISBN: 067976657X Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 02 April, 1996 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: The Farming of Bones: A Novel by Edwidge Danticat ISBN: 0140280499 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: September, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: After the Dance : A Walk Through Carnival in Jacmel, Haiti by Edwidge Danticat ISBN: 0609609084 Publisher: Crown Pub. Date: 06 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: The Butterfly's Way: Voices from the Haitian Dyaspora in the United States by Edwidge Danticat ISBN: 1569472181 Publisher: Soho Press, Inc. Pub. Date: February, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: A Virtuous Woman by Kaye Gibbons ISBN: 0375703063 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 05 November, 1997 List Price(USD): $11.00 |
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