Behind the Mountains

Behind the Mountains by Edwidge Danticat 2002

Rating: 3/5

IQ "At Saint Jerome's, Haiti did not seem so far away. I felt that if I reached out and touched anyone at the mass, I could be back in Haiti again, as though every person there was carrying a piece of Haiti with them in the warmth of their skin, beneath their winter coats." Celine pg. 95


Behind the Mountains starts off in 2000, during the time of Hati's elections. There is unrest sweeping across Haiti and bombs are going off in Port-au-Prince, which is where Celine's aunt lives. Celine and her family (her maman and older brother Moy) live in Bea Jour, Haiti, a rural area out far from all the violence. But they often to go to visit Celine's aunt and on the way back from their trip, a bomb explodes in their tap tap (a painted bus, called so because to get off, people tap on the side two times). Celine's mother decides that it is even more urgent that they leave Haiti and join Celine's father, who moved to New York a few years ago to make a better life for his family. Some things are better in New York, some things only get worse.

Celine is quite a mature thirteen year old with an active voice. This story added a new layer to the classic immigrant story. Celine observes from her father's actions, that perhaps having his family with him in New York is more of a burden than a blessing. The father seems to be frustrated with his family's inability to cope and understand all the new ways of America, but who can blame them? They aren't used to all that America has, ranging from electricity to snow. But they are trying. As usual, every family is different and the story of Celine and her family is interesting. The most intriguing aspect of the story was the strong Haitian population in NYC. Celine is in a class of children who are all Haitian, which allows her to skip the awkward new immigrant fresh off the plane stage.

I didn't love this book and it's not one that I will be rereading but it tells a good story and its a quick read. Celine is the only character we really hear about and I didn't see much growth in her. I was also disappointed because Celine is young and she doesn't care much about politics, so we never really get the gist of why all the violence is going on. Her voice is very limited. The other characters fell flat for me. We don't hear too much about Celine's brother, Moy or her maman or her father. While we do see the father develop a little bit, it's not until the very end and we didn't know how he acted in the past, while in Haiti with his family. I kept wondering if living in America had changed him.

Behind the Mountains gives a small look at the violent times of the 2000 Haiti elections and explores Haiti in the present day. Haiti and its rich culture and traditions are presented (they celebrate Day of the Dead, I had thought that was only a Mexican holiday). Celine and her family have a unique story and it's nice to not only read about Haiti, but about Haitian people in New York and their strong sense of community. This story didn't hold my interest, but it may be because there's too little action/adventure for my taste. 6th grade and up

To Learn: A 10 minute video on the history of Haiti

To Help: Donate money to help the children of Haiti at unicef

Disclosure: From the library

This is my last Haiti review of the week.

Anacaona

Anacaona: Golden Flower, Haiti 1490 by Edwidge Danticat 2005
Royal Diaries Series (MG), Scholastic

Rating: 3.5/5

IQ "Why must we wait until people are dead/to realize how much we valued them? Because whether we are nitainos or naborias, whether we are born of high or low stature, he [Behechio] said, we still lack the wisdom of our ancestors, who have been through life and death." Anacaona pg. 47

Naturally, Anacaona tells the story of Anacaona who is a Haitian princess. The diary starts off in 1490. During this time Haiti and the Dominican Republic were essentially one country, divided into different areas. Anacaona was princess of Xaragua, (which was in Haiti) and is the possible successor to the current ruler of Xaragua, her uncle. However, the throne could also go to her brother, Bechechio or they could have joint rule.

The most annoying thing about Anacaona was the premonitions. Throughout the book, Anacaona describes all these visions she has about events in the future, ranging from the white men's arrival to her death. It was quite irritating, mainly because I don't believe in visions but also in the historical note at the end, no mention is made of the real Anacaona having actual visions. Obviously, historical fiction can take some liberties with history, but I didn't like that it threw in a supernatural element. It was almost like a spoiler. Also, I wanted it to be longer. The Epilogue made me want to learn even more about Anacaona in "her own voice" (so to speak).

Ancient Haiti was fascinating to read about, especially the superstitions and cultural beliefs. For example, during Anacaona's time, the healers had to take the same medicines that they gave to their patients. (Imagine taking NyQuill when you don't even have a cold, just because your patient has one, yuck!). A scarier tradition was that when a husband died, the wife chose to be buried with him after he died. Meaning, after the husband died, the wife would take poison or kill herself in some way. They did this because wives believed their husbands would be lonely and lost without them in the afterlife. I suppose that is the highest form of true love, sacrificing yourself for your true love. Most of the names of people, places and things aren't that confusing. There's a glossary and enough context to help the reader figure things out. The only truly confusing part is knowing the difference between the enemies of Anacaona and her people; the Kalinas (Island Caribs?) and the Spanish. I still don't know what an Island Carib is, because wouldn't Anacaona and her people be Island Caribs? The characters were surprisingly well developed for a diary about a royal person (I never expect them to get into much detail about people 'beneath' them, but then again it is fiction) and it shows the wide spectrum of classes and roles in Haiti during this time. Another surprising element was the lack of sibling rivalry between Anacaona and Behechio. I would have thought they would argue over who gets the throne, but they didn't. They wholeheartedly support each other and would be happy if Xaragua was ruled by either of them.

Anacaona is well researched and a compelling read. Not much is written about Haiti in its precolonial period (before the Spanish arrived), so I enjoyed reading about the Tainos and the lush landscapes of Haiti (the countryside sounds truly breathtaking). Anacaona is a strong, independent and modest ruler. She puts Xaragua first, always. I could have done without her visions, but if you like that sort of thing then you will enjoy this book even more. It's an easy read and may grow tedious to some older readers, but if you know little about Haiti, I doubt you will be bored. 5th grade and up.

This is the 2nd review in Haiti review week.

Learn: Author Debbie Rigaud is Haitian American and she did a great interview (there are two parts) in which she spoke about herself, her book Perfect Shot, double dutch and Haiti. She's so nice and Perfect Shot is such a fun read! Read my review here

Help: Donate to Haiti Village Health

FYI not all the ways to help will feature giving money so don't worry if you can't afford to right now!