Heading South

"People are rich because their parents are rich, it's as simple as that. And their parents are rich because their grandparents were rich. And so on. And when you get down to the source of all that richness, you'll always find someone who made their fortune by robbing from the public purse. That's Haiti for you, and its not my job to change the way this country is run."

Heading South resembles Dining With the Dictator in so far that both novels are full of sensual detail, compas bands, and the shadow of Duvalier. What distinguishes Heading South, however, is its exploration of sex tourism in Haiti, focusing on northern women coming to Haiti for sex with younger men (although there is one case of an American male who comes to Haiti for women). Dany Laferrière's novel uses Haitian art, the notion of the romanticized primitive, Vodou, Haitian pride, racial stereotypes, gender dynamics, and the harsh realities of Haitian social structure for satirical humor. Instead of solely condemning sexual tourism, the nuances of the novel illustrate cases of agency in the case of some young men and women, such as Tanya, Fanfan, Charlie and Legba. 

While sex tourism is juxtaposed with foreign penetration and exploitation of Haiti, clearly there are cases of collaboration and examples of social climbing or weakening of the social pyramid as some take advantage of European or North American women for money and access to privilege. The novel's structure better illustrates the varying reasons for why people engage in sex tourism by moving freely between several characters whose lives intersect in Haiti, as well as criticizing the exclusive Bellevue Circle and the local elite who mix with foreigners within it. Overall, a humorous and intriguing novel from an established writer whose novel will make you laugh and cry.