The Dew Breaker

I enjoy reading Edwidge Danticat's novels and stories, and The Dew Breaker (2004), was no disappointment. Danticat thoughtfully tells a difficult story of a person who traveled down a violent path and managed to veer away (but our past always helps shape our future, no?).

We meet The Dew Breaker - father, husband, landlord & neighbor; former torturer. This man hides his past from his wife for many years, from his daughter until she is an adult, and from everyone else in the world indefinitely.

One of the most compelling aspects of this book is the way it deals with the greyness of life decisions - even the process of/ability to make decisions - through a very plausible set of stories. The novel, a set of interwoven stories, leaves you with a sense of the ugliness, the difficulty, the love, the creativity, and the reflection that is necessary to survive and grow in an imperfect world.

This book gets a thumbs up from me.

Labels: danticat, haiti, morality, tonton macoutes

posted by reader kay at 11:42 AM | 1 comment(s)

A Walk in Chicago

This book, Never a City so Real: A Walk in Chicago by Alex Kotlowitz (2004)is a love letter from a man to the city he loves and the people who give his Chicago it's unique spirit.

We walk along with Eddie, Millie & Brenda, Milton, Andrea, Robert, Dave, Ramazan, and Gary & Richard. We see the city through diverse neighborhoods in the south, east, and north parts of the metropolis. Street artists, internationally recognized artists, machinists, lawyers, and social workers show us their Chicago.

This book makes me want to go to Chicago to experience the large personalities the city gives birth to. Included is a story about a man who stands up for what he believes in the face of mob opposition, while managing to look like just an ordinary Chicagoan. Another though trial lawyer braves the Chicago courts, fighting both for her clients and for herself. There is a pair of social workers, friends since childhood who work and live in a difficult Chicago, but continually see the sunny part of the city's face.

There are many funny stories here that made me laugh aloud.

This book gets a thumbs up.

posted by reader kay at 3:24 PM | 0 comment(s)