It is 1937, and Amabelle Desir is a young Haitian woman working as a maid for a wealthy family in the Dominican Republic, across the border from her homeland. The Republic, under the iron rule of the Generalissimo, treats the Haitians as second-class citizens, and although Amabelle feels a strong sense of loyalty to her employers, especially since her own parents drowned crossing the river from Haiti, racial tensions are heightened when Amabelle's boss accidentally kills a Haitian in a car accident. The accident is a catalyst for a systematic round-up of Haitians, ostensibly for repatriation but in fact a prelude to slaughter. Amabelle, caught up in the chaos and confusion, returns to Haiti after much hardship to make a new life, but is for years uncertain of the fate of her lover, Sebastian, and haunted by a nagging sense of guilt.
A powerful, fiercely economical and deceptively moving work, blending historical accuracy with lyrical brilliance.
- 'What Dandicat describes is unbearable, but her prose glows with the courage of remembering.' FINANCIAL TIMES
- 'A writer of great force…Dandicat ensure that at least some of those whose names aren't in the history books don't "vanish like smoke in the early morning air."' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
- 'A powerful, haunting novel.' TIME
- 'There is an immediacy to the prose that shocks and moves in equal measure.' SUNDAY TIMES
Paperback:
£6.99
Published 06/04/2000
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