The publisher describes this book as having "beauty, vivacity, humor, and power," but I don't think any of those words are really applicable; I would use words like passive, remote, dry, and unoriginal. It really isn't a bad book and I do kind of like it, but I can't help but think my time would have been better spent re-watching Life of Brian.

Received via NetGalley. ( )

This is meant to be Condé's capstone work, but I liked her previous book Waiting for the Waters to Rise much more. This book is meant to be a retelling of the story of Jesus is the form of Pascal, a man from a fictional place that is a stand-in for Guadaloupe. I found the story to be all over the place, with little context or follow-through by Pascal. He goes here, goes there, chasing after his father and always being unsatisfied. Perhaps I just do not know bible stories well enough to follow the supposed parallels between Pascal's life and Jesus's life between their births and deaths.

Condé also drops names of various Caribbean historical figures, naming sites in her fictitious places after real people. I googled these and recognized one or two--maybe the use of those names in the book adds a layer that I can not understand from simple googling and reading. ( )