Rating: 
Summary: Breath, Eyes, Memory: Gasping, Blind, and Forgetable
Review: While the imagery of Haiti and its topography are very vivid and stimulating, Edwidge Danticat's Breath, Eyes, Memory was not one of the best picks for Oprah's Book Club and was certainly not a best pick for me. This book left me feeling as if Danticat lost control of the story in the middle of the book. Her exploration of the trauma that "testing" for female purity and chastity was nowhere near as powerful as I believe she meant it to be. As an African American woman raised in the 70s and 80s, I cannot imagine how traumatic a situation like that could have been, but Danticat doesn't give you anything to go on either. It is shallow in its attempt to unearth the real scarring and suffering that accompanies this type of personal violation. As far as the relationships between the women in the story go, for them to be kin, I found their lack of connection disturbing. With the exception of the severed ties between Sophie and her mother, the lack of connection between Tante Atie and the grandmother is almost too much to be believed. I understand that the lack of trust in one's word regarding chastity and virtue contributes to the chasm, but the utter disregard for their familial ties is too overdone (loyalty to one's kin out of duty). As I stated in my title, Breath, Eyes, Memory is truly "Gasping, Blind, and Forgetable".
Rating: 
Summary: captivating and informational
Review: In seach of finding a book for the Black Women's Literary Guild, my book discussion group, to discuss, I was "forced" to investigate "Breath, Eyes, Memory" because it was so highly acclaimed, and because finding a meaningful book written by a Black person was becomming difficult. I approached the book feeling that I did not really want to read it, that I was not going to enjoy it, but decided to persevere. After a few pages, and after I had become accustomed to the lyrical rhythmn of the sentences, I was magically drawn into the story--accent and all. Although I have, studied the history of, I have not visited Haiti, however,my vivid imagination allowed me to place myself in the most rural sections of those Caribbean Islands I've visited--this I imagined, to be my mind's picture of Haiti. By the end of the story, I was so taken by reading about the culture, the mores, and relationships, that I felt short-changed with what I considered an abrupt.! .and somewhat expected ending..I would have liked to have more to read. I did enjoy the book, am happy that I suggested it, look forward to our discussion of it, and regret that I am not the one who will be the facilitator.
Rating: 
Summary: Good until the last 20 pages
Review: Beautifully lyrical and full of hope even during personal tragedy but the ending takes all that building emotion and dashes it. The ending spoiled the book for me. It seemed unnecessarily tragic -- tragic just for the sake of being tragic.
Rating:
Summary: Promising start leads to disappointment.
Review: I truly enjoyed the first third of this book. Edwidge Danticat is a talented writer whose lyrical prose effectively transports the reader into the rhythms Haitian life. The imagery is powerful and can be profoundly moving. Unfortunately, I found that this promising start was irrevocably marred by the overblown ending. Issues that Danticat addresses in the last half of the book include rape, sexual abuse, bulimia, abortion and breast cancer. Any one or even two of these issues would have given the story the dramatic punch the author was looking for. Two very marginal characters - one with genital mutilation and one with a history of incest - read like they were added to the story just to cover all the bases of female degredation. There are so many ingredients in this stew of suffering that the reader is unable feel completely sympathetic to the victim of any one. My predominant response to this book was disappointment that it didn't live up to its promising beginning.
Rating:
Summary: The Haitian Experience
Review: Breath, Eyes, Memory, Edwidge Danticat's first novel, is a stirring story of Haiti and the Haitian Diaspora. Sophie, the main character, has much in common with her native country: confusion about her parentage, difficulty adjusting to different people's rights of sovereignty over her, violence in her past, duty in her present, and hope in her future. As one reviewer below has said, the characters are dysfunctional. That's kind of the whole point: in a nation such as Haiti (set just before the fall of Baby Doc), where terrorism and poverty reigned, it's impossible for the majority of people to be fully "okay" psychologically and/or physically. Leaving for what one hopes will be a better life in the United States in many cases only adds to the sense of dispossession felt by immigrating Haitians. Read this book not to find the psychological connection between rape and sexual dysfunction, but instead to find the balance of fear facing the people of Haiti, both at home and abroad. Pay attention near the end and catch a "cameo" by Aristide while he was still just a rebel priest. Note: If you have read Danticat's The Farming of Bones, you will find this novel to be much more mainstream in its narrative structure. This may be a better first book to read by Danticat, as The Farming of Bones is less straightforward.
Rating:
Summary: The curse of being woman
Review: If a Martian arrived on Earth and read this novel right away, it would deduce that women are tormented beings, while men walk around perfectly content. This may be a simplistic summary of the novel, but tell me i'm wrong! What starts with some rather beautiful depictions of life in Haiti ends up being a collection of tortured life accounts. The common thread is that all the tortured characters are women. In the eyes of the author, this suffering saga started generations before, and it is being perpetuated along with every new woman that is born. The ones that are abused keep abusing, and do not know the way to escape that vicious circle. Grandma Ifé was just the recipient of years of superstition and servitude, Aunt Tatie a spinster with a collection of unrequited love stories, Martine the abused/abuser and ghost fighter, Sophie the inadequate daughter and frigid wife... What about the men? They are too cool and composed, too perfect, too understanding (especially Joseph, Sophie's husband). This book moves fast, years go by in a matter of three pages, and the pace is never slow. However, it is depressing, there is no resolution to any conflict, no redemption of any kind. The best parts are the vivid descriptions of Haiti, in all its poverty and grace.
Rating: 
Summary: AN UNCOMMONLY FINE FIRST NOVEL
Review: Few first novels are as impressive as Breath, Eyes, Memory, the story of a young Haitian girl's passage to maturity." "I come from a place whre breath, eyes and memory are one, a place where you carry your past like the hair on your head," writes Edwidge Danticat through the voice of her protagonist, Sophie. There are many parallels between Sophie's fictional life and the author's. When Danticat was four-years-old, she and her brother were left in Haiti when their mother joined their father in New York City. Thus, the 12-year-old island girl who spoke no English was tossed into one of the world's largest, rudest and sometimes loneliest cities. And, so is Sophie. She comes of age on the streets of New York as, in many respects, so did Ms. Danticat. This is a sad, painful story, yet it is also life-affirming and triumphant.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Edwidge Danticat can write beautiful descriptive prose, and in some ways the idea for this novel was creative, but on the whole, it simply didn't work. This is the tale of Sophie, who was conceived when her mother was raped by an unidentified man. Until age 12 she is raised by her aunt, Tante Atie. At 12, her mother sends for her and she moves to New York. There, her mother administers weekly "tests" to ensure she is still virginal, which scars Sophie for life. As a result of these tests, Sophie is afflicted by sexual dysfunction, bullemia, marital difficulties and a battery of other problems alluded to but not fully addressed. She ultimately she mutilates her genitals to escape these tests--which causes a serious rift between herself and her mother. Her mother continues to be haunted by the images of her rapist and suffers from many of the same problems as her daughter (her mother administered the same tests to her when she was a girl). This tale tells of their reunion, their rift, and their second reunion in Haiti. There are simply too many themes, many of which are only superficially addressed. Additionally, the dialogue in some cases is appallingly poorly written. This was all very disappointing, because the book began on a promising note with the vivid descriptions of Haiti. However, it jumps around in time too much and deals with too many large issues. The result is a disjointed, lackluster collection that would have perhaps been better as a series of separate short stories.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: THIS IS WHAT WRITING IS ALL ABOUT! A GREAT STORY THAT TOUCHES THE READER DEEP DOWN INSIDE, LIKE IT DID WITH ME. ALTHOUGH IT WAS VERY DISTURBING, IT WAS NONETHELESS BRILLIANT! FOR ALL THOSE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO SAY THAT THE BOOK IS DUMB OR W/E, YOU OBVIOUSLY DON'T KNOW A THING ABOUT WRITING. THANKS TO MS. DANTICAT FOR A GREAT READ!
Rating:
Summary: Engaged and Guessing
Review: Edwidge Danticat really captures the traditions and her memories in Haiti when she wrote Breath, Eyes, Memory. This book is written about a young girl named Sophie Caco who had lived with her aunt in Haiti for as long as she could remember. At twelve she was reunited with her mother in New York, where she was sent to live. She went through several changes and uncovered many secrets about her past and her families past. Sophie and her mother fought hundreds of inside and outside battles that they cannot explain and no doctors could help. It seemed like the only resolution to their problem was to die; but would that end their problems, or would their demons follow them into their past lives? This book was an easy read; it kept me engaged and kept me guessing what was going to happen next. I don't think I would read this book again but I would read some of Danticat's other books.
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