The Pencil of God

While the third novel of the Marcelin brothers is consistent thematically with the previous two this novel is the weaker of the three. Retaining the rich proverbs, humor, and small community focus of the former novels, The Pencil of God tells the tale of Diogene Cyprien, a Haitian mulatto businessman of Saint Marc, who refuses to cease his amorous affairs and because of his irascible temperament and appetite, loses his family in the process. 

Full of inter-class relations, social commentary (the president of Haiti in this story, clearly Lescot, seized German-owned businesses and has hurt economically many employees and partners of the German Hartmann and Company, and faces additional criticism of corruption and his ego), and the community of Saint Marc's (about 10,000 souls) fears of demons and the contrast between Catholicism and Vodou are the major aspects of the novel's relatively simple plot. 

In spite of the novel's provincial and specific cultural setting, it explores the universal themes of fate and morality, the congruence of Catholic and Vodou beliefs on the rise and fall of the Cyprien family, and the shared concern of Catholics and devotees of the lwa regarding sorcery and proper social behavior. Again, like earlier novels by the Marcelin brothers, Vodou, sorcery, baka, possession, and the dynamics of Vodou/Catholicism co-existence are exploited here for a readily identifiable Haitian community, one in which life and death are seen as ordained by the spirits and what is written by God's pencil cannot be changed. In this case, Diogene Cyprien never escapes his fate, even when his dying mother requests a change in his moral behavior. Like the woodcutter of a story alluded to in the novel's conclusion, Diogene's vices haunt him and lead to irrevocable negotiations and moral compromises, causing a tragic outcome. 

While the community of Saint Marc (both Catholic, Vodou, and the melange) attributes Diogene's problems to an alleged pact with the devil (a series of rumors arise about his sorcery, which can all be traced to Ti-Joseph, a former employee of Diogene who holds a grudge because of Diogene's attempt to blame the pregnancy of Lourdes on him), these accusations of sorcery and pacts with Satan are, as in the previous novels, linked to a disturbance of social harmony by Diogene Cyprien, who goes too far in his amorous adventures, is willing to exploit and sacrifice others, such as Ti-Joseph, and lacks any prudence, which is wife's uncle, Tonton Georges, tries to impart. Perhaps there is too much Ogou in Diogene, and he ultimately fulfills the 'fate' established for him. 

As for why I consider this novel one of the weaker works by the Marcelins, the novel appears too reminiscent of The Beast of the Haitian Hills, and the authors introduce members of the Cyprien family far too late into the narrative for it to be so believable that Diogene cares for his legitimate children. His son, Marc-Antoine, his mother-in-law, and his wife who he causes so much grief are never presented as fully-fleshed characters, and seem too marginal to support the novel's depressing end. Other characters in this provincial town community are also given the short end of the stick, such as Lourdes, Ti-Joseph, and even the French priest, Laennec, who is quite relevant to the story given his support for anti-superstition campaigns designed to uproot Vodou. Instead of the better portrait of the community seen in their first two novels, this story loses that all-encompassing cast and narration.