Product Description

When Haitians tell a story, they say "Krik?" and the eager listeners answer "Krak!" In Krik? Krak! In her second novel, Edwidge Danticat establishes herself as the latest heir to that narrative tradition with nine stories that encompass both the cruelties and the high ideals of Haitian life. They tell of women who continue loving behind prison walls and in the face of unfathomable loss; of a people who resist the brutality of their rulers through the powers of imagination. The result is a collection that outrages, saddens, and transports the reader with its sheer beauty.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #174175 in Books
• Published on: 1996-04-02
• Released on: 1996-04-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780679766575
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Danticat's collection of stories detailing daily life under dictatorship in Haiti was a finalist for the National Book Award.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
YA?Danticat, born under Haitian dictatorship, moved to the U.S. 12 years ago. Many of the stories in this moving collection reflect the misery she has observed from afar and leave readers with a deep sadness for her native country. Survivors at sea in a too-small, leaky boat endure any indignity for the chance at escape. Selections about those remaining in Haiti have a dreamlike quality. A woman must watch her mother rot in prison for political crimes. A young father longs so much to fly that he gives his life for a few moments in the air. A prostitute plies her trade while her son sleeps. "New York Day Women" shows what life might be like in the U.S. for immigrants without resources. Through unencumbered prose, the author explores the effects of politics on people and especially the consequences of oppression on women, the themes of which figure into each of these vignettes.?Ginny Ryder, Lee High School, Springfield, VA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
This collection of previously published but interrelated short stories presents the harsh reality of daily Haitian life under a state-approved terrorist regime. Despite the harshness, Danticat beautifully balances the poverty, despair, and brutality her characters endure with magic and myth. For many characters, she also explores the inevitable clash between traditions of Haitian home life and a new American culture. Principally mothers and daughters confront each other in these cultural and intergenerational wars, wars that would be emotionally devastating were it not for the indomitable presence of love. This theme is treated best in the work's longest piece "Caroline's Wedding." krik? krak! is Danticat's second publishing venture and second triumph folowing her well-received first novel Breath, Eyes, Memory (LJ 3/15/94). Highly recommended.?Faye A. Chadwell, Univ. of Oregon, Eugene
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Emotive peek of life in Haiti and Haitians in the US!,
Krik! Krak! Edwidge Dandicat's second stroke of genius (the first being Breath, Eyes, Memory), takes readers through the terrors and triumphs of Haitian life with nine short stories. In Haitian folklore, storytellers say Krik! to alert listeners that a story is about to be told. Krak! is the response of listeners alerting the storyteller that they want a good tale told.

Dandicat not only captures the essence of Haiti, but the deeper levels of the human spirit with her trademark lyrical prose. A doomed refugee adrift on a cruel sea, a knowing prostitute and a frustrated father battling with the truth of his own dismal future are among the most memorable characters. Reading Danticat's splendid collection of stories gives you access to a world of people and places that you will grow to love. With tragic characters, subtle images of beauty and hope, and gestures that are never overdone.

Danticat's writing accomplishes the greatest task of any short story writer; she lets you empathize with her characters and walk around in their shoes. These stories are good for the heart. In a time when book stores' shelves groan beneath the weight of "girlfriend fiction," Dandicat's work is a refreshing reminder that good literature is not dead!

Successful on two levels
The stories in this collection succeed on two levels.

First, they transport you to a place you haven't been, the horror and terror of poverty-stricken Haiti.

Second, there is an arc to the collection as a whole. The stories taken together aren't as grim or horrifying as each one by itself. Together they tell of strength and perseverance in the face of difficulties and long odds.

Some of the stories are a little ragged, but the book in total is a riveting read.

Bill Chance

BRILLIANT!
This is the kind of book that is too short and is too hard to find---its precious. The writing combines real-life experience with folklore and spiritual beliefs in a way that is breathtaking and fully believeable.

I read the first book--Breath, Eyes, Memory and was a bit disappointed after it got rave reviews that it wasn't more like this. This book is brilliant and it deserves comparison with Jean Rhys, Toni Morrison, Jamaica Kincaid, Alice Walker and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Probably one of the best books by an American writer in the last 5 years.