Rating: 
Summary: DELIGHTFUL READ AND THOUGHTFUL
Review: This is a very interesting book. A novel, yes, sort of, but I get the impression that is somewhat autobiographical. The prose is concise. While not a novel per se, as it is almost a collection of short stories or sketches of various people as the weave in and out of the life of the book, I don't know what else to call it. The author certainly has a good command of her subject, the writing is easy on the eye and mind. I highly recommend this one and hope we get more like it.
Rating:
Summary: Gave me new understanding of Haiti over the last 20 years
Review: This young Haitian-American writer is making quite a name for herself. In this, her fourth novel, she again displays her depth of understanding of her people. She writes clear, sharp, poignant sentences that go straight to the heart. And the story, itself, is chilling. The book is episodic and can be looked at a series of short stories. But they're all interrelated, and tell the story of Haiti over the past twenty years. A "dew breaker" is a prison guard who tortures the captives in his charge. And he is the central character in the book. He now lives in Brooklyn and has a loving wife and a grown up daughter. He now works as a barber and his past seems a long time ago. We see him through his daughter's eyes as he reveals his true past to her. The daughter loves her father but this new fact about his life is hard to accept. We also meet other Haitian people, living in America. There's the nurse who sends most of her paycheck home to her mother. There's the young man who brings his wife to this country. There's another man who travels back to Haiti to visit his dying aunt. There are three Haitian women learning English and sharing their stories with each other. Eventually, we flash back to the story of the "dew breaker" in Haiti. It's not a pleasant story but yet a very human one. Even though we don't forgive, we do understand. I was a little reluctant to read this book. I thought it would have detailed horrors and be excessively brutal. I was glad that Ms. Danticant, in her wisdom, spent most of her time on character development and story. She only put in a few of the horrible details, mostly focusing on the people, rather than on the gore. The book is only 242 pages long, a fast read. It left me with a deep understanding of Haiti, its people, and what is going on in the news today.
Rating: 
Summary: A legacy of horror
Review: Throughout The Dew Breaker, evil prevails in all its manifestations, particularly in the guise of authority, demanding homage from the persecuted. This novel is beautifully constructed; characters fall into place within the chapters, the infinite connections that bind one life to another clearly drawn. In each facet of her story, the author builds the momentum in this cautionary tale of horror, love, rebelliousness and hope, touched with myth and memory. As the novel begins, a young woman gazes upon her father with eyes of love, unaware of his past. Finally confessing his carefully hidden secret, he is revealed as deeply flawed, his actions virtually unforgivable. The scar he wears on his face carries a terrible history, his life in America built on deception. In his mouth the truth is a lie. Although the father pardons himself, there are many who damn him for the monster of their nightmares. Weaving through the chapters, we learn of those who have been touched by brutal dictatorship and oppression, where unmarried women bear fatherless children, eking out the most basic existence. Haiti, an island paradise, turns into hell under a despot's reign of terror, freedom a vague dream, while the hungry scratch for garbage, all under a starlit sky of infinite beauty. Even when these characters find a different life in America, they carry the indelible scars of Haiti in their hearts. This passionate novel is an assemblage of powerful interrelated stories; here a chorus of voices hums, the heard and the unheard, the "disappeared", the unborn, the women whose voice boxes have been surgically removed, the desperate murmur of prayers, the eternal silence of the dead and the staccato of random gunfire. There is a staggering contrast between good and evil in The Dew Breaker, as well as the grinding reality of a world made suddenly transcendent in the bright rays of the morning sun. Horrifying, how evil walks so freely through the world, casually touching its victims, then casually strolling into the quiet evening and a peaceful existence, unexposed and unrelenting. Luan Gaines/2004.
Rating: 
Summary: Sins of the father
Review: Throughout these nine interconnected short stories resides the life of one man attempting to hide from his violent past in Haiti as a torturer. Now older, thinner and living in Brooklyn, New York, he tries to blend in with society. Himself and his wife even keep the truth hidden from their unsuspecting American-born daughter. But despite decades since his crimes their life is less than stress free. They worry that his true identity will be discovered in spite of his altered appearance. While these stories are not told in chronological order, each deals roughly with the protagonist. My favorite story is 'Night Talkers', the tale of one man who travels back to the Haitian mountains to tell his grandmother that he believes he knows the whereabouts of the man who killed his parents when he was a young child. I found the descriptions of rural life fascinating and wanted to learn more about the local customs. But other than a few select stories, I didn't find this collection to be particularly noteworthy. I tend to read many short story compilations and I would rate THE DEW BREAKER as standard. The premise of these stories is certainly appealing as there is an abundance of individuals in the world today who attempt to hide from their violent past and remain undiscovered. As a result I wanted to dig deeper into his mind and his thought processes than what was accomplish here.
Rating:
Summary: Complex and Horrific, but Very Controlled
Review: When I read THE FARMING OF BONES, Edwidge Danticat's second novel, I could see immediately what a truly superlative writer she is. Her latest book, THE DEW BREAKER, has only strengthened my high regard for her talent. THE DEW BREAKER concerns events that took place during the 1960s in Haiti, during the reign of terror of Francois Duvalier. It's a collection of stories told in a frame, a frame that begins and ends with a "dew breaker," or torturer, working under Duvalier's regime. The opening story "The Book of the Dead," revolves around the Bienaime (ironic name) family: a former "dew breaker," his wife, Anne and their daughter, Ka. Ka, an artist, is driving to Florida with her father, a man who fled Haiti years before and has worked as a barber in Brooklyn ever since. During the trip, Ka discovers that the father she adored spent his time in prison as a dew breaker rather than as one of the tortured, as Ka had formerly thought. Confused, she telephones her mother, Anne, for an explanation and more information. As part of an inventive narrative structure, we read Anne's reply to Ka as the final story in the book. In between are loosely connected stories in which we learn more and more about the lives the dew breaker has touched. Sometimes the stories in THE DEW BREAKER are filled with horror and sometimes they're lighter, with touches of humor. Sometimes they take place in Haiti, sometimes in the US, however, they all relate to the Duvalier regime and everyone's story has some connection to the Bienaimes, whether directly or only peripherally. Danticat's writing is subtle; she rarely mentions Duvalier and this subtlety, I think, only emphasizes the horror and displacement of the stories she tells. Is THE DEW BREAKER a novel or is it a collection of short stories? For me, it is a novel with a highly complex and intricate narrative structure. The effect is similar to throwing a pebble in a pond-every ripple widens the affected area. So it is with THE DEW BREAKER. By the time we get to the final story in the book, we understand so much more. Danticat's prose in THE DEW BREAKER is, for the most part, excellent and fluid, but it's not flawless. Some of the exposition is rather clumsy and characters sometimes say something we know they wouldn't say simply for the benefit of the reader. I was surprised at this, but the mistakes aren't so great or so many as to mar the book or cause me to give it less than a five star rating. I don't care for extremely political books and THE DEW BREAKER, while focusing on the atrocities committed during the regime of Francois Duvalier, really isn't political. It's about the effect of those atrocities on the people who were present. THE DEW BREAKER is, above all else, a supremely human book, and it's one that, in my opinion, will only elevate Edwidge Danticat's all ready very elevated status as a writer of tremendous importance.
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