Massacre River
Contributors: Lyonel Trouillot (Introduction); Edwidge Danticat (Preface); Linda Coverdale (Translator)
Publisher: New Directions
Published: May 26, 2008
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 240
ISBN-13: 9780811217255
Subjects: Literary; Fiction / Literary; Fiction; Fiction - General
Description: Haitian poet Philoctete's novel paints a graphic picture of the 1937 slaughter of thousands of Haitians during the reign of the Dominican dictator Generalissimo Trujillo. In chapters that alternate among the voices of Trujillo; Pedro, a young Dominican; and Adele, his Haitian wife, the author slowly builds toward his brutal though foregone conclusion. Even as a young child, Trujillo is focused on reclaiming territory lost to Haiti along the Dominican border. Pedro and Adele are apolitical and so devoted to one another that if one disappeared, "the other would languish and die." As Haitians begin to perceive the "menace of Trujillo," Pedro fears for his wife's safety and despises his inability to help her.
Notes: New Directions Paperbook