I read this as a love story between two brothers. Although separated for most of their lives, they are profoundly linked through devotion. Their story is a moving backdrop for Edwidge Danticat's own complicated life -- left behind in Haiti with her brother for most of her childhood and then brought to the United States to be reunited with her parents and young siblings, who are virtual strangers to her. The tumultous events in Haiti are also central to the narrative of this interesting and moving book. ( )

Edwidge Danticat has made a name for herself chronicling the lives of Haitian immigrants in the States as well as in the home country. In this autobiographical book, she writes eloquently of her own life. In 2004, she finds out she is pregnant while at the same time she gets the news that her father Andre is dying of cancer. Danticat's parents emigrated to the US on their own initially, leaving Edwidge and her younger brother in the care of Andre's brother Joseph and his wife. Danticat thus has deep and enduring ties to two sets of parents. During the duration of her pregnancy, her uncle is fighting his own battles in Haiti, targeted by the regime for his outspokenness as a pastor.

On hearing of his brother's illness, Joseph Dantica travels to United States, only to be held at the point of entry in the States when he innocently and honestly lets the immigration officials know that he is a victim of the political situation in his country, though he also states categorically that he plans to go back to his country and continue his church work. His admission of course raises red flags amidst the attending immigration officials; in post 9/11 America, anyone and everyone with a less than stellar past is fair game. Joseph becomes a victim of the heightened security situation in the States.

The author weaves her life story beautifully with those of her father and uncle - one in which birth and death, loss and gain, the personal and the political intertwine. If immigration is one of the compelling narratives of the 20th century, this book shows us the human costs of that narrative.

An engrossing story of a young woman caught between two cultures. She focuses in on her relationships to the two men in her life - her uncle and her father. One stayed in Haiti and one left for a new life in the United States. She describes her childhood in both places and also the struggle of living through the turmoil which is life in Haiti. She gives an intimate portrayal of her relationship with the two men who were both fathers to her and their importance in her life. ( )

In Brother, I'm Dying Edwidge Danticat has written a book that is both a personal memoir and an homage to the two most significant male figures of her childhood: her father and uncle. Danticat was born in Haiti and raised primarily by her aunt and uncle after her parents left to start a new life in New York. At the age of twelve she and her brother were reuinted with their parents, and with two more brothers born in New York. Her memoir highlights the emotional impact of such an unusual childhood, but this is not a negative tell-all story. Rather, Danticat focuses more on Haiti's tumultuous political climate, its effect on her uncle and other relatives, her parents' struggle as immigrants, and the relationship between her father and uncle, which only develops when they are well into adulthood.

In 2004, just as Danticat was anticipating her first child, she also faced the responsibility of caring for aging parents. Her father had a life-threatening condition and was declining rapidly. Her uncle was still in reasonably good health, but was forced to leave Haiti during riots that same year. On arrival in the U.S., he became the victim of distressing acts of bigotry and prejudice, was held in a detention center, and died within days. Danticat matter-of-factly described the series of events that led to his death, in a way that made me feel simultaneously outraged and heart-broken.

Danticat is a talented writer; I enjoyed her novel Breath, Eyes, Memory and look forward to reading more of her work. ( )

i liked this book a lot. a good picture of haiti and haitian life in the US. to not have dnr was quite cruel i thought. but i've never had that decision about someone i couldn't bear to be without, so i don't know. ( )