In this energetic celebration of Haiti and its capital in the early
2000s, Trouillot embodies the nation's indomitable spirit in the voice
of his narrator. This anonymous, world-weary, 20-something male student
keenly depicts a country entering a new era after years of dictatorship,
oppression, corruption, and the chaos wrought by the most recent foreign
arrivals: the international peace-keeping forces sent to restore order
after the departure of the U.S. Marines, known as "the Big Boots." In a
series of journal entries, the young protagonist introduces readers to
his world within a world--a community center in Port-au-Prince peopled
by a motley group of friends, lovers, revolutionaries, compatriots,
dreamers, schemers, and mentors, all living under the watchful eye of
Man Jeanne, the proprietress. Readers meet the "gang of five," among
whom are two beautiful young women who work at the local bar, Kannjawou,
and the men who pursue them; the wise older veterans scarred by the
torture of past regimes; the nonchalant tourists and foreign officials
who populate the bar; and the gentle mentor, rival in love, and father
figure to the group, known lovingly to all as "the little professor." In
KANNJAWOU Trouillot has penned a love song and a swan song to that era
of dispersion for Haiti's people, who, even when they are far from home
carry with them the kannjawou spiri
