An NPR Book of the Day
In this modern fable full of poetry, desire, and blood, a creative young
Haitian girl struggles against seemingly impossible odds to escape the
cruel reality of her Port-au-Prince slum.
"You'll be alone in the great night." That's what Papa has always
prophesied to her. Papa, who isn't her real father--he disappeared when
she was born. Since then, her mother has been forced to walk the streets
to provide for herself and her daughter, while Papa robs and murders for
the local gang leader, to ensure his access to ganja and alcohol, but
also for the sheer pleasure of it.
Often finding herself alone within the four walls of a hovel in a
Haitian shantytown with corrugated iron for a roof, the young girl
tirelessly tries to compose a letter that will capture what is in her
heart and soul. She is consumed with love for a classmate, the daughter
of her teacher, and searches for words to faithfully express her
feelings and her dreams.
In a poetic language that encompasses poverty and idealism, she observes
the violence, the shortcomings, and the addictions of the adults around
her. Her passion makes her resilient, nurturing her character and
helping her to invent a better fate than the one to which she seemed
doomed.
