Marilène Phipps-Kettlewell's collection of short stories features numerous short stories drawing on the author's own experiences coming from the upper class, with commentary on social relations, religion, poverty, animal rights, sexuality, and identity. Phipps-Kettlewell's short stories illustrate numerous examples of enduring problems in Haitian society while also embracing the land, people, and animals who populate the island. Vodou figures prominently in numerous stories, particularly in a beautiful way for "Marie-Ange's Ginen," reminiscent of Danticat's similarly astounding story on Haitian boatpeople. Strong women also populate the novel, particularly in the manbo, Grande Jesula. Invoking the Romanticist and indigenist phases of Haitian literature, the flora and fauna of Haiti are poetically described and included as characters in the story.
Although some stories in the collection were not exactly my cup of tea, "Marie Ange's Ginen," "Dogs," "Land," "River Valley Rooms," and "At the Gate" are more than worthwhile reads. Phipps-Kettlewell is best when examining memory, family, and the tenants in the apartments owned by the narrator's father, in "River Valley Rooms." The world it recalls is one lost in several ways, as the death of the narrator's father and declining state of her mother perhaps symbolize a lost Haiti.
No comments:
Post a Comment