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chrrygal's review
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
gabbylikestoread's review against another edition
3.0
Drifting follows the four Haitian families as they work through friendships, work, school and success in Haiti and the US. It is told through various perspectives and timelines. The author, Katia Ulysse, is a very talented writer who does my favorite thing: she creates characters that are tangible and relatable. From Flora to Marianne, Sageese to Enide, there were many women in this novel who reminded me of someone I knew. The format was reminiscent of Black Cake: collections of stories that are tied to a larger narrative. It wasn’t always straightforward how each family was connected to the other, which I was mostly okay with.
I liked this novel but I’m not sure if it was for me. There were some loose ends that I wish were tied up towards the close, particularly how the young women like Flora, Sagesse and Yseult ended up. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of intergenerational family dramas, especially those that are set in the Caribbean.
I liked this novel but I’m not sure if it was for me. There were some loose ends that I wish were tied up towards the close, particularly how the young women like Flora, Sagesse and Yseult ended up. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of intergenerational family dramas, especially those that are set in the Caribbean.
scorpstar77's review against another edition
4.0
Drifting is a collection of interconnected tales about fictional Haitians and Haitian-Americans spanning several decades and all walks of life. There is hardship and laughter and love and sorrow and superstition and abuse and hard work on nearly every page - it runs the gamut of human experience, but from a uniquely Haitian point of view. I don't know much about Haiti or about the Haitian culture, but considering the author is a Haitian-American who lived in Haiti until her teen years, I trust the source. She exposes a rich and interesting culture in her stories, and I was fascinated from the first page. Several of my favorite characters didn't have happy endings in the book, and my brain has continued to try to think of what may have happened to these characters after the curtains closed on their story in the book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this!
kl473's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting short stories of characters that often intersect. Some felt like they would have benefited from longer stories but over a fast and interesting read.
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