Edwidge Danticat: Claire of the Sea Light /   9780307472274, 15, 00 $, Vintage Contemporaries, Penguin Random House US, paperback 

I have been a fan of Edwidge Danticat’s from the very beginning when “Breath, Eyes, Memory” was first published. Danticat is an award winning author and a masterful storyteller, her voice is like no other, her sentences clipped and short but poetic at the same time.  She paints pictures with her sentences.  Capturing the magic and sorrow of her native country Haiti, Danticats calm voice describes human misery and happiness.  As one reviewer said “she has a way of making small lives tell big stories” (Public books).  I couldn’t agree more and would put her writing on the same level as that of Toni Morrison.

“Claire of the Sea Light” is a true masterpiece and resonates with you long after you finished the book.  This heartbreakingly tender story begins on the eve of Claire Limye Lanme Faustin’s seventh birthday  when her fishermen father Nozias reaches a fateful decision, whether to raise her in poverty but with his love or to  give her away to the wealthy, widowed  fabric owner Gaelle who would  offer her a better life.  Soon the whole community of Ville Rose is searching for this beloved little girl whose mother died during her birth.  By giving separate voices to the characters that play a key part in the novel and with Claire’s own voice in the final chapter, Danticat paints a colorful, emotional picture of life in Ville Rose. Unfolding  the bonds that tie everyone together gradually , be it parents and children, lovers and friends, teachers and students,  she tells of their hopes and disappointments, their  sorrows and loves .  

Definitely on my shelf of favorite books and one of the best books I have read this year!