General Sun, My Brother
Jacques Stephen Alexis’s 1955 novel follows Hilarion Hilarius, a Haitian peasant who leaves prison and crosses into the Dominican Republic to cut cane, arriving in time for the 1937 massacre of Haitian workers under Trujillo. Alexis sets the personal story inside the larger history, including the American occupation of Haiti, and writes it in a lyrical register he called marvellous realism.
Recommended by 1 Person
Edwidge Danticat
It tells the story of this man who has just got out of prison and leaves to go to the Dominican Republic at the time when this massacre is happening. It is a beautifully written book with also a sense of the larger historical narrative. Part of it is set during the US occupation of Haiti so you have some of that history weaved in as well as what was happening in the Dominican Republic at the time.
Interview · October 2010
As an Amazon Associate, bookstoread.org earns from qualifying purchases. Links to Amazon on this page may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Spotted an error on this page? Tell us and we will fix it.