A review by oxtailandcabbage
General Sun, My Brother by Jacques Stephen Alexis

5.0

I am grateful for this Author, for his wit, his passion, his imagination, his sorrows, his humor. I am grateful to have read the book. The last 40 pages explore the Genocide mandated by Trujillo in 1946 where over 30,000 Haitians were slaughtered. I grieve the characters, specifically the protagonist Hilarion, his dreams, his failures, his joys, his vices. The language in this book is beautiful , the author did a great job when came to describing the motherland , complex emotions. I admire the common themes in this book, communism, colorism, classism and how class can often establish feelings of loneliness even when fighting with people who believe in the same cause. I read the French edition of this book because I wanted to be as close to the author's words and thoughts as possible. I also grieve Jacques Stephen Alexis who himself perished at the hand of fascism. And I to conclude this review I'd like share one of my favorite quotes from the last chapter :" Auparavant la seule chose que je savais , c'était qu'il fallait se résigner pour vivre, mais jamais je n'avais pensé que l'homme pouvait être méchant pour rien, sadique, vicieux, qu'il pouvait se vendre, corrompre ce qu'il touche,trahir sans vergogne et tout ça avec une vanité sans bornes!"