Brother, I’m Dying

The Haitian storytelling tradition that inspired Edwidge Danticat's first book Krik? Krak! is in full flower in her memoir, Brother, I'm Dying. In this heartbreaking work, Danticat examines Haiti's turbulent political past as well as the Haitian immigrant experience in America through the refracting prism of her family. When her father, Mira, makes the choice to move to America and temporarily break up his family in pursuit of a better life, four-year-old Danticat finds herself left behind, in the care of her Uncle Joseph and Aunt Denise while her parents struggle to put down new roots. Never losing touch with each other--though at times feeling lost--both sides of the family form an unshakable support system, one that lasts them through their lives. While shuttling between the not-so-distant past and the unfolding drama of the present, Danticat shares the struggles of her extended family in resolute and lucid prose that keeps the reader deeply engaged. Near the book's end, Danticat's Uncle Joseph attempts to come to America to see his dying brother, and is thwarted in ways both tragic and maddening. A harrowing, painful episode, Danticat lets the details--rather than her sorrow or justifiable anger--speak for themselves as she does throughout this controlled, powerful book.