In a 1930s Dominican Republic village, the scream of a woman in labor rings out like the shot heard around Hispaniola. Every detail of the birth scene--the balance of power between the middle-aged Señora and her Haitian maid, the babies' skin color, not to mention which child is to survive--reverberates throughout Edwidge Danticat's Farming of Bones. In fact, rather than a celebration of fecundity, the unexpected double delivery gels into a metaphor for the military-sponsored mass murder of Haitian emigrants. As the Señora's doctor explains: "Many of us start out as twins in the belly and do away with the other."
But Danticat's powerful second novel is far from a currently modish victimization saga, and can hold its own with such modern classics as One Hundred Years of Solitude and The Color Purple. Its watchful narrator, the Señora's shy Haitian housemaid, describes herself as "one of those sea stones that sucks its colors inside and loses its translucence once it's taken out into the sun." An astute observer of human character, Amabelle Désir is also a conduit for the author's tart, poetic prose. Her lover, Sebastian, has "arms as wide as one of my bare thighs," while the Señora's complicit officer husband is "still shorter than the average man, even in his military boots."
The orphaned Amabelle comes to assume almost messianic proportions, but she is entirely fictional, as is the town of Alegría where the tale begins. The genocide and exodus, however, are factual. Indeed, the atrocities committed by Dominican president Rafael Trujillo's army back in 1937 rival those of Duvalier's Touton Macoutes. History has rendered Trujillo's carnage much less visible than Duvalier's, but no less painful. As Amabelle's father once told her, "Misery won't touch you gentle. It always leaves its thumbprints on you; sometimes it leaves them for others to see, sometimes for nobody but you to know of." Thanks to Danticat's stellar novel, the world will now know.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
6 1.5-hour cassettes
Edwidge Danticat was nominated for the National Book Award in 1995 for her story collection, Krik? Krak! Her first novel, Breath, Eyes, Memory, was published to acclaim when she was twenty-five.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Shipping:
US$ 3.00
Within U.S.A.
Seller: Your Online Bookstore, Houston, TX, U.S.A.
hardcover. Condition: Fair. Seller Inventory # 1569471266-4-29687475
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Condition: Acceptable. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00058917501
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ZBK Books, Carlstadt, NJ, U.S.A.
Condition: good. Missing Dust Cover - Pages and hard cover are intact. Used book in good conditions. Limited notes and highlighting may be present. May show signs of normal shelf wear and bends on corners and edges. Item may be missing CDs or access codes. Ships directly from Amazon. Seller Inventory # ZBM.1J3YF
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region, Tacoma, WA, U.S.A.
hardcover. Condition: Acceptable. An acceptable and readable copy. All pages are intact, and the spine and cover are also intact. This item may have light highlighting, writing or underlining through out the book, curled corners, missing dust jacket and or stickers. Seller Inventory # 467IJT006278
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ICTBooks, Wichita, KS, U.S.A.
Condition: good. Book shows wear from use but remains a usable copy. May include writing highlighting underlining library markings. LISTING USES STOCK PHOTOS AND COVER MAY VARY.Ships via USPS and typically arrives within 10-12 business days. Seller Inventory # ICM.3W5P
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ICTBooks, Wichita, KS, U.S.A.
Condition: good. Book shows wear from use but remains a usable copy. May include writing highlighting underlining library markings. LISTING USES STOCK PHOTOS AND COVER MAY VARY.Ships via USPS and typically arrives within 10-12 business days. Seller Inventory # ICM.49E0
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Missing dust jacket; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 2.25. Seller Inventory # G1569471266I3N01
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 2.25. Seller Inventory # G1569471266I3N00
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Missing dust jacket; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 2.25. Seller Inventory # G1569471266I3N01
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 2.25. Seller Inventory # G1569471266I4N00
Quantity: 1 available