Edwidge Danticat

 Edwidge Danticat, author of 

The Dew Breaker and After the Dance

Edwidge Danticat at her home in Miami, 2004

About Edwidge: 

    Edwidge Danticat was born on January 19th, 1969 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Her mother and father emigrated to New York when she was 12, leaving her and her brother to be raised by their aunt and uncle. Her upbringing put her square in the middle of the Duvalier regime, an autocratic dictatorship with nationalistic tendencies. This clearly had an effect on her work, with reoccurring themes of national identity and diaspora politics. Danticat took an interest in writing at the age of 9, writing for assorted youth programs. She first broke onto the novel scene with Breath, Eyes, Memory in 1994 and has been an acclaimed author since.

The Dew Breaker: 

    Danticat's 3rd novel follows a dew breaker, a name given to professional torturers employed by the Tonton Macoute, a group of Haitian secret police. The novel switches it's point of view throughout the years in order to follow the dew breaker's slow escape to America, providing a diverse but haunting array of perspectives. The novel is a poignant examination of how far people will go to survive, and whether the prosperity of  a few is worth such atrocity.

After the Dance: 

    After the dance follows Danticat's return to Haiti twenty years after emigrating to the united states. She attends carnival in the village of Jacmel, a tradition she was not allowed to partake in during her youth. She takes the opportunity to ruminate on the country's history, from French colonialism to the dictatorship that ruled her childhood. Danticat provides an insider's look at how Haiti has grown throughout the years and where it should go in the future, all the while celebrating what makes Haiti special.

Publishers Weekly Review, The Dew Breaker:

    Publishers Weekly has taken it upon themselves to review all of Danticat's work in an attempt at defining her place among Haitian authors, with the Dew Breaker taking a prominent spot among her publications. The review places great emphasis on how Danticat can "move easily back and forth in time and place, from 1967 Haiti to present-day Florida, tracking diverse threads within the larger narrative" (2). This is no small feat considering the linear nature of history, and demonstrates an aptitude for thorough research that cannot be avoided in historical fiction. The review's major criticism is that the novel "can feel more like evocative snapshots than richly textured portraits" (2). However, from what I've heard this could be as much a weakness as a strength. While the audience should always want to know more about our storyteller, we cannot lose focus on the true subject of a piece. The dew breaker is what all of history's greatest villains are, a monster just outside of anyone's true understanding.

Publishers Weekly Review, After the Dance: 

    Publishers Weekly makes an important distinction that I've seen other sources make, that being that After the Dance is more than a simple travel book. As they said, "the author illuminates the political, economic and cultural history of the island nation, introducing Columbus, French colonists and François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, the dictator of Danticat's youth" (3). Both Danticat's history and the prevalence of the subjects discussed often go overlooked in favor of the tourist aspects of carnival. This is contrary to Danticat's approach, which focuses on how the lives of individuals effect these systems. As they said in the review, "It's said that the act of writing leads to a deeper understanding of one's subject, and oneself. As the work reveals in its final pages, for no one is this more true than Danticat, who offers an enlightening look at the country and Carnival through the eyes of one of its finest writers" (3)

Personal Reflection

    To me, Haiti has always been a culture just far away enough to be beyond notice. I remember talk of the 2010 earthquake and how it dredged up old wounds and allegiances, but this was quickly discarded in favor of more American interests. As I've grown older this apathy has become twinged with guilt as I began to learn why these subjects are worthy of ignoring. Since then I have felt a sort of duty to familiarize myself with these issues with the hopes of understanding how to choose what we will be known for. Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it after all.

(1)Assorted Authors. “Edwidge Danticat.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Dec. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwidge_Danticat.

(2)Publishers Weekly. “The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat.” By Edwidge Danticat, 23 Feb. 2004, www.publishersweekly.com/9781400041145.

(3) Publishers Weekly. “After the Dance: A Walk through Carnival in Haiti by Edwidge Danticat.” By Edwidge Danticat, 13 May 2002, www.publishersweekly.com/9780609609088.