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hanntastic's review against another edition
4.0
Global Read Challenge 86: Haiti
This is an incredible book. I can't believe I hadn't heard of it. The stories are powerful and haunting and the author & book's life are also impressive. I had to read it a little bit at a time because it is dark and violent. Like many reviewers I had some trouble with the Madness section (the only thing keeping this book from a 5) but it might have been that I was feeling so battered by the Anger section.
This is an incredible book. I can't believe I hadn't heard of it. The stories are powerful and haunting and the author & book's life are also impressive. I had to read it a little bit at a time because it is dark and violent. Like many reviewers I had some trouble with the Madness section (the only thing keeping this book from a 5) but it might have been that I was feeling so battered by the Anger section.
jennaw's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.0
toomuchbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt and Sexual violence
librosamoralibros's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
amjl's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
friendlypoet's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Classism, Racism, and Torture
alondonreader's review against another edition
3.0
Love, Anger, Madness is neither an easy nor a happy book to read, but it is an important one (full confession: I read it for a book club). For one, it is densely packed with observations about Haiti's politics, its history of being colonized (by the French) and occupied (by the U.S.), and its race and class dynamics. For another, the picture of oppression it paints is unremittingly bleak and often brutal.
Vieux-Chauvet writes with great passion about the suffering of Haitians, buffeted by hurricanes and the turbulent, violent post-colonial politics. After its publication, she had to exile herself in New York because it was seen as an attack on the dictator Francois Duvalier.
The three novellas have no common link, except the backdrop. But reading them together gives you a sense of the lives of people who lived in different strata of class and race privilege (or lack thereof).
Of the three, the most compelling was Anger, which narrates the tale of one well-to-do family and the moral compromises the members are each forced to make when the powers-that-be come for their land. Love, about a family of three upper-class sisters, is the longest and offers the most local context. Madness lives up to its name. It's claustrophobic and delirious. I'm not sure I cared for it too much.
Individual ratings:
Love 3.5/5
Anger 4/5
Madness: 2/5
Vieux-Chauvet writes with great passion about the suffering of Haitians, buffeted by hurricanes and the turbulent, violent post-colonial politics. After its publication, she had to exile herself in New York because it was seen as an attack on the dictator Francois Duvalier.
The three novellas have no common link, except the backdrop. But reading them together gives you a sense of the lives of people who lived in different strata of class and race privilege (or lack thereof).
Of the three, the most compelling was Anger, which narrates the tale of one well-to-do family and the moral compromises the members are each forced to make when the powers-that-be come for their land. Love, about a family of three upper-class sisters, is the longest and offers the most local context. Madness lives up to its name. It's claustrophobic and delirious. I'm not sure I cared for it too much.
Individual ratings:
Love 3.5/5
Anger 4/5
Madness: 2/5