Kettly Mars

The Bernier family is having to deal with the return of Alexandre, matriarch Éliane’s son and sibling to her other three children who live in the Bernier family complex, after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and subsequent cholera epidemic closes the mental institution where Alexandre has lived for the past forty-some years.

The story is told through the inner monologues of all the members of the family as well as the servants and one particular recurring visitor. The particular narrator is show more not always immediately apparent, so the reader has to be attentive; even so, it can be (and, I think, is intended to be) somewhat disorienting at times when the speaker can’t be placed immediately.

Though the novel is primarily about the family and relationships among the household, particularly strained at first with Alexandre’s return, events in the political and social backdrop subtly intrude and color personal events. For example, the onset of Alexandre’s schizophrenia occurred during the reign of “Papa Doc” Duvalier (who is never even mentioned by name in the novel), but in remembering the decision to have Alexandre institutionalized, Éliane thinks, “Better that Alexandre live between the four walls of a psychiatric institution where they would take care of him than in the prisons of the sadistic government that reigned by terror.”

Similarly, contemplating the value of real estate and an offer by an NGO to rent one of the family’s properties, son-in-law Jules thinks, “This massive aid mission will ebb just as it flowed. The international press has already turned its attention toward other humanitarian hotspots around the globe, and God only knows if there are others. Haiti and its misery are already ancient history. The fatal blow will come when the tubes that keep the country on a continuous drip are disconnected . . .” Maybe even more subtly, it is a cholera outbreak that sends Alexandre back to the family home, but it remains unmentioned that cholera was reintroduced to Haiti by U.N. aid workers.

Though the Berniers are a well-to-do family, class issues are raised in the perspectives of the family’s household servants and Norah, a young woman who comes to model for daughter Marylène. By offering such a diversity of characters’ perspectives, Mars can also address issues of sex, gender, skin color, and traditional versus modern values.

There’s plenty of food for thought in this novel, but it’s a book that I appreciated with my head and not my heart. The characters’ inner thoughts are quite dispassionate, so it was far more intellectually than emotionally engaging. Nevertheless, I’m glad to have gained some perspective on a situation and culture that we Americans haven’t paid much attention to since 2010, despite being almost next-door neighbors. show less

Beautiful writing. Very poetic in places. Mais je voulais un peu plus au niveau de l'intrigue. Les chapitres narrés du point de vue de Myriam et de Saika n'ont pas ajouté grand chose. J'ai aimé le parallèle entre l'histoire d'amour et les evenements politiques.

Kettly Mars is one of my favorite authors, so I was really looking forward to this book. The writing is beautiful as always and the story is compelling. But as it progressed, the story became less and less believable. And I liked the characters less and less. I read one review that described the main character as strong. Um, I saw no sign of that. She just seemed to let the situation sweep her along and the same was true of the other major characters. I also found the scenes narrated from show more the daughter's point of view unnecessary and distracting. And I didn't appreciate the signature open-ended Mars ending this time. I would still recommend this book because of the writing and the setting. The references to the Duvalier dictatorship were detailed and chilling. show less

I enjoyed this, although the writing was bumpy at times, especially in the beginning. Maybe I flt that way because I knew K Mars wasn't writing alone. I enjoyed the historical/political intrigue story a lot more than the love story.