In Darkness by Nick Lake
Apr. 2nd, 2013 11:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
In darkness. I count my blessings like manman taught me.
One: I am alive.
Two: there is no two.
In the aftermath of an earthquake, Shorty lies in the wreckage of a hospital and tries to make sense of everything that has happened.
His experiences as a small-time gangster in Haiti have given him plenty to think about.
But when his thoughts are interrupted by someone long dead, Shorty’s battle for survival takes him to places he could never have imagined.
It’s 12th January 2010. Haiti’s just been devastated by a massive earthquake and 15 year-old Shorty lies buried under the remains of Canapé-Vert Hospital where he was recovering from a gunshot wound. He lives with his mother in the Site, a squalid shanty town that two criminal gangs – Route 9 and Boston – are fighting to control. Shorty’s a chimère (gangster) for Route 9 and wants revenge against Boston after they murdered his father in front of him and took his sister. As Shorty’s strength fades, his memories become confused with those of Toussaint l’Ouverture, the man who led Haiti’s slaves to overthrow their French colonial masters and gain independence in the beginning of the 19th century. Shorty’s struggle for survival will take him on a journey through his own life to the birth of his country …
Nick Lake’s YA novel is a thoughtful, fascinating tale that draws parallels between the struggles of modern Haiti and the struggle of the slaves to win their freedom and a nation of their own. It’s an unflinching read, both in terms of the violence and poverty that surrounds Shorty and the bleakness of both his and Haiti’s situation while the liberal use of the f-bomb may put off parents of younger readers. However it also deserves its critical acclaim and it’s easy to see why it’s been on so many award shortlists.
Shorty’s a complicated character forced to confront the lies that he tells himself. His sole motivation is to find his twin sister Marguerite. His mother used the twins for vodou ceremonies in support of President Aristide because twins are regarded as powerful in vodou and Shorty’s felt like half a person since Marguerite disappeared. Toussaint l’Ouverture falls into this void after a vodou ceremony held at the start of the slave’s uprising against their French colonial masters projects him into Shorty’s body. In other hands, this device could have been trite but Lake handles it well and it offers a great mechanism for learning about Haiti’s past.
Shorty’s particularly scathing about the UN peacekeepers who target the criminal gangs without realising that the gangs provide school and education and the aid workers who are seduced by the gangster life style. There’s certainly a lot for readers to digest here about Haiti’s troubles and no easy answers.
All in all, I thought it was a great book and well worth checking out.
The Verdict:
Nick Lake’s YA novel is a thoughtful, fascinating tale that draws parallels between the struggles of modern Haiti and the struggle of the slaves to win their freedom and a nation of their own. It’s an unflinching read, both in terms of the violence and poverty that surrounds Shorty and the bleakness of both his and Haiti’s situation while the liberal use of the f-bomb may put off parents of younger readers. However it also deserves its critical acclaim and it’s easy to see why it’s been on so many award shortlists.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the free copy of this book.
One: I am alive.
Two: there is no two.
In the aftermath of an earthquake, Shorty lies in the wreckage of a hospital and tries to make sense of everything that has happened.
His experiences as a small-time gangster in Haiti have given him plenty to think about.
But when his thoughts are interrupted by someone long dead, Shorty’s battle for survival takes him to places he could never have imagined.
It’s 12th January 2010. Haiti’s just been devastated by a massive earthquake and 15 year-old Shorty lies buried under the remains of Canapé-Vert Hospital where he was recovering from a gunshot wound. He lives with his mother in the Site, a squalid shanty town that two criminal gangs – Route 9 and Boston – are fighting to control. Shorty’s a chimère (gangster) for Route 9 and wants revenge against Boston after they murdered his father in front of him and took his sister. As Shorty’s strength fades, his memories become confused with those of Toussaint l’Ouverture, the man who led Haiti’s slaves to overthrow their French colonial masters and gain independence in the beginning of the 19th century. Shorty’s struggle for survival will take him on a journey through his own life to the birth of his country …
Nick Lake’s YA novel is a thoughtful, fascinating tale that draws parallels between the struggles of modern Haiti and the struggle of the slaves to win their freedom and a nation of their own. It’s an unflinching read, both in terms of the violence and poverty that surrounds Shorty and the bleakness of both his and Haiti’s situation while the liberal use of the f-bomb may put off parents of younger readers. However it also deserves its critical acclaim and it’s easy to see why it’s been on so many award shortlists.
Shorty’s a complicated character forced to confront the lies that he tells himself. His sole motivation is to find his twin sister Marguerite. His mother used the twins for vodou ceremonies in support of President Aristide because twins are regarded as powerful in vodou and Shorty’s felt like half a person since Marguerite disappeared. Toussaint l’Ouverture falls into this void after a vodou ceremony held at the start of the slave’s uprising against their French colonial masters projects him into Shorty’s body. In other hands, this device could have been trite but Lake handles it well and it offers a great mechanism for learning about Haiti’s past.
Shorty’s particularly scathing about the UN peacekeepers who target the criminal gangs without realising that the gangs provide school and education and the aid workers who are seduced by the gangster life style. There’s certainly a lot for readers to digest here about Haiti’s troubles and no easy answers.
All in all, I thought it was a great book and well worth checking out.
The Verdict:
Nick Lake’s YA novel is a thoughtful, fascinating tale that draws parallels between the struggles of modern Haiti and the struggle of the slaves to win their freedom and a nation of their own. It’s an unflinching read, both in terms of the violence and poverty that surrounds Shorty and the bleakness of both his and Haiti’s situation while the liberal use of the f-bomb may put off parents of younger readers. However it also deserves its critical acclaim and it’s easy to see why it’s been on so many award shortlists.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the free copy of this book.
