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Summary: Praise for The Farming of Bones:
Review: NEWSWEEK:
"Joyful reunions turn hollow, damnation masquerades as salvation, big questions are met with a silence more profound than any answer. Danticat is stalking some big literary game in 'The Farming of Bones,' and she shoots to kill... It's a testament to her talent that the novel, while almost unbearably sad, is still a joy to read... In the end, it is the notion of excavating long-buried stories that drives 'The Farming of Bones'... Danticat has built a beautiful nest for the stories of those who died in 1937 when Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo ordered the genocide."TIME:
"...every chapter cuts deep, and you feel it... There is magic and loss on nearly every page... 'The Farming of Bones' recounts tales of horror, but it never turns purple, never spins wildly into the fantastic, always remains focused, with precise, disciplined language, and in doing so, it uncovers moments of raw humanness. This is a book that, confronted with corpses, has the cold-eyed courage to find a smile."
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent!
Review: In the spirit of nearly every novel that I love, I had the most difficult time getting past the first 30 pages. I, like many lead a life full of work and activities, usually the only things I read are very short articles in magazines. This book is not intended for light reading. Danticat is almost in the category of Toni Morrison. If you do not wish to think, do not pick this one up. However, if you enjoying thought-provoking literature that will forever remain in your memory, buy this one now.
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Summary: Farming of the Bones
Review: Ms. Danticat has written one of the most fascinating pieces of seriously imaginative literature. The prose in The Farming of Bones is its own league--beautifully written and taut--rich with details of Haitian culture. Ms. Danticat intimately brings Haiti and the Masacre of 1937 to our mind's eye. The novel explores love--what it might have been like between two people in the midst of havoc. Told in first person, young Amabelle Desir, a servant, unfolds her story and that of her man, Sebastien, a cane cutter. Given their circumstances, they make the most of what they have found together. They love, they talk, they touch, they even talk about their dreams together. The manner in which Danticat shows their affection for each other is impressive--the details seem so simple ("he caught glimpses of me between sips of his coffee, he returned the smile, looking the same way I did..."), yet they convey passion in a fresh, uncommon, grand way. Amabelle tells us just how much Sebastien is capable of loving, "I rose and walked to the door. Sebastien was standing there. He handed me two yams with the roots and dirt still clinging to them. The yams were from the small garden behind his room at the compound. Sometimes I cooked for him. Whenever we could we ate together." She later asks, "With all this, you had time to bring these yams?" This scene is pure---a most incredible endearment. The fatal backdrop that serves as an interruption to the lovers is the masacre. Danticat has done an excellent job not only in moving the characters through the chaos, but also in portraying a part of Caribbean history that to many Americans is unknown. The Farming of Bones is a remarkable project. Bravo!! from a 07/04/2003 reader. Highly Highly Recommended!!
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Summary: Great Book!
Review: Fans of well-written, mentally stimulating fiction will love this novel! Danticat has fashioned a tale of a beautiful love story interrupted by the cruel genocide of Haitians in the Dominican Republic. Her lush descriptions left me mesmerized!
This was a book I couldn't put down. It extends the mastery she demonstrated in "Breath, Eyes, Memeory" and "Krik? Krak!".
Rating: 
Summary: Refreshing
Review: I looked forward to reading this book each evening, and finished it in only a few nights. I enjoyed Danticat's simple prose. She tells the story of the Haitian slaughter through the eyes of a servant working in the DR. For a new author I found her technique of different voices -- the telling of the present story and the reflections on the main character's inner voice -- daring. And it worked. I look forward to more from Danticat.
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