Lyonel Trouillot

Kannjawou is the name of a bar that is a meeting place for the well-todo of Port-au-Prince Haiti. It is situated at a crossing point between the rich upper town of the city and poorer quarters below. It is a focal point for five young people who live in the poor quarter; one of whom: Sophonie works in the bar as a waiter. Two brothers the narrator and Popol regularly make the long walk to the bar to escort Sophonie home through the more dangerous streets of the town. The two brothers and Sopnonie live in the "rue de L'enterrement which ends at a huge cemetery and frequently watch the processions of mourners who make the long walk to the cemetery gates. They live in a house of 2 and a half rooms.

The narrator tells a fragmented story of the lives of five individuals and their connection with a college that receives grants from the government and their interaction with other people in the area. There is man Jeanne an elderly lady who is friendly with the petit professuer who runs a bookshop and encourages the narrator to widen his reading. It is at the time of the second occupation which began June 2004 and was established under the pretext of “stabilizing” Haiti after the U.S.-sponsored ouster of the country’s democratically elected president, Jean Bertrand Aristide. Some of the patrons of the Kannjawou are English speakers and many have been drafted in from other hot-spots around the world for a tour of duty in Haiti. This is the background to the lives of the five individuals, who can read all they want about liberty and freedom and perhaps get involved in some subversive activities, but at the end of the day there is little they can do. They all have to adapt to the situation, especially if they want to drag themselves out of the poverty trap.

The occupation of the country is juxtaposed with the funeral processions which prove both an interruption and a fascination for the five friends. There is just enough of a story and time line to make for an interesting read, however it is the brooding atmosphere and a sense of the lives of the young people, who cannot stretch their wings that is the fascination of this book 3.5 stars.… (mais)

In una bidonville della capitale haitiana, una famiglia sopravvive grazie ai soldi che la madre di Corazón invia al figlio dagli Stati Uniti. Joséphine, l'umile moglie di Corazón, votata al martirio e alla preghiera, è regolarmente picchiata dal compagno. I loro figli sono Mariéla, la maggiore, e Colin; i due ragazzi tentano di sfuggire alla claustrofobia e alla promiscuità dell'angusto tugurio in cui vivono con i genitori. Corazón non manca mai di appropriarsi dei soldi destinati alla famiglia sperperandoli nell'alcool, e impedendo così ai figli di frequentare la scuola. Passa il suo tempo a raccontare di immaginari incontri di boxe, che in realtà non ha mai visto né vissuto. Si inventa di lavorare come meccanico in un'officina, ma un giorno i due ragazzini scoprono che il padre non è altro che l'uomo di fatica del padrone dell'officina, che lo tiranneggia e lo umilia. Al culmine di una crisi domestica, lo uccidono, ma l'atto non è intenzionale. Poi si danno alla fuga. Vagabondano per la città, appropriandosi di spazi fino allora sconosciuti. Riescono persino a godere di una giornata di libertà sulla collina che domina la capitale. Ma la notizia del delitto si diffonde rapidamente, ben presto vengono riconosciuti, bloccati dalla folla, e separati.… (mais)

The action in this novella takes place during one unspeakable night of violence in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, as the Troops of the Prophet engage in a bloodbath with the forces of the dictator Deceased Forever-Immortal. The three main characters, an aging madam, a post office worker and a taxi driver, all unreliable narrators, relay their tales of the night's events in alternating chapters to an unknown interviewer. They also paint portraits of life in the poverty- and war-stricken country, where even young boys seethe with hatred toward their neighbors. Trouillot includes frequent references to past revolutionary events and violent episodes in the country's history, including the massacre of tens of thousands of innocent Haitians by the Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo in 1937.

Unfortunately, I did not find this to be a particularly captivating or enlightening story. The taxi driver was the only character who was caught in the midst of the violence of that night, but even his account was not an engaging one. I did enjoy the only other book I've read by this author, Children of Heroes, but this one wasn't nearly as good.… (mais)