Edwidge Danticat

Edwidge Danticat is the author of a historical fiction novel, The Farming of Bones, that follows Amabelle Desir, a Haitian-born woman and main protagonist, through her intense transformation and struggle to survive through the Haitian Massacre. The story begins and symbolically ends in the fictional town Alegría, and the story moves between border towns near the Haitian and the Dominican border. This novel was published in 1998 by Soho Press and has received many rewards and recognition since its publication, namely the American Book Award in 1999.

The Farming of Bones relates well to the challenges that many living in Hispaniola (referring to the Dominican Republic and Haiti) faced in our current unit “Race & Nation in the Dominican Republic” during the height of the Haitian Massacre. Even with clear and distinct differences in the social hierarchy among characters, Danticat skillfully crafts a narrative that demonstrates the relationships that exist among the Dominicans, Haitians, and those of mixed race and backgrounds. The past few readings relate very well to the novel as they demonstrate that although there are clear class differences, race or nationality weren’t the main impetus for the slaughter. After the Generalissimo, Rafael Trujillo, begins a slaughter of Haitians, one might be tempted to assume or wonder if the tension was always there. Why all this hardship? Why all this dislike for the other? These are just a few of the questions that our unit seeks to address so that the memory of the lives lost, the farming of bones, may one day be remembered in hopes that these injustices come to an end.

While I personally would’ve loved to have discovered the fate of a few characters, I believe that the fact that we, as readers, do not know is in itself a literary tool. It allows us to immerse ourselves into the harsh reality that we probably would not have known the fate of many who were killed, captured and even survived the massacre. Many artistic liberties taken in Danticat’s development of this book. She clearly states this early in her prologue and is intentional about this in order to produce a moving book that includes a wide array of the realities that those who lived in border towns in the Dominican Republic and Haiti experienced. Danticat draws upon historical evidence and personal interviews and is ultimately able to create a presentation and narrative that is succinct and moving, while maintaining the essence of the Haitian Massacre.

In what ways do you believe that the narrative fails or falls short of telling the story of one who were involved and experienced the Haitian Massacre? Any appraisals it deserves?

How can novels like these help us move beyond the genocides and tragedies that seem all too common throughout history and even this day in age?

Danticat, E. (1998). The Farming of Bones. New York: Soho Press.