The Farming of Bones
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Average rating4
15
Ratings2
Average rating4
It is 1937 and Amabelle Désir, a young Haitian woman living in the Dominican Republic, has built herself a life as the servant and companion of the wife of a wealthy colonel. She and Sebastien, a cane worker, are deeply in love and plan to marry. But Amabelle's world collapses when a wave of genocidal violence, driven by Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, leads to the slaughter of Haitian workers. Amabelle and Sebastien are separated, and she desperately flees the tide of violence for a Haiti she barely remembers. Already acknowledged as a classic, this harrowing story of love and survival—from one of the most important voices of her generation—is an unforgettable memorial to the victims of the Parsley Massacre and a testimony to the power of human memory. From the Trade Paperback edition.
Reviews with the most likes.
Farming of the bones is a novel written by Edwidge Danticat in 1998; the fourth novel that I've read from her alongside “Behind the Mountains”, “Breath, Eyes and Memory” and “Krik Krak?”. The setting is in 1937 in the Dominican Republic,m as tensions rise between the Dominicans and their bordering country Haiti. Amabelle's lover Sebastian lost one of his close friends and co- cane cutter in a car accident, which rose the level of distrust between the Haitians and Dominicans. Once Amabelle and Sebastian are separated, she goes on a journey to find him- but the pain and sufferings she has had faced mounts up to sadness and dissatisfactions as she fails to find her true love, and experiences trauma after the massacre occurred. What makes the story so touching is Danticat's ability to bring her experiences growing up in Haiti, and creating a connection with her audience as Amabelle's journey progresses. And I think at some point, an author who shares there culture and similar backgrounds as the reader, it definitely strengthens the meaning of the book.
