The Other Side of the Sea

by Louis-Philippe Dalembert, Edwidge Danticat (Foreword), Robert H. McCormick Jr. (Translator)

"The Other Side of the Sea, " the first novel by this major Haitian author to be translated into English, is riveted on the other shore--whether it is the ancestral Africa that still haunts Haitians, the America to which so many have emigrated, or even that final shore, the uncertain afterlife awaiting us all. With a grandmother and her grandson sharing the narration, this rich and concise tale covers an impressive span of Haitian history and emotion. Too old to leave her veranda, Noubot reflects on her past, touching on the 1937 Parsley Massacre, in which thousands of Haitians died at the hands of Dominican soldiers, and laments the exodus of so many young people from Haiti, although, ironically, she dreamed of making the trip herself (her name means New Boat in Creole). Her story is juxtaposed with that of her grandson, Jonas, as he suffers the abandonment of friends--including his lover--who emigrated during the Duvalier dictatorships, even feeling an urge to join them. Perhaps most striking is the addition of a third voice--that of an anonymous passenger in steerage recounting a slave ship's progress to the New World from Africa. This voice from long ago provides a powerful depiction of the sights, sounds, and smells of the Middle Passage and a fascinating counterpoint to the evocations of modern Haiti.

CARAF Books: Caribbean and African Literature Translated from French

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Louis-Philippe Dalembert (born December 8, 1962 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti) is a Haitian poet and novelist. He writes in both French and Haitian creole. His works have been translated into several languages. He now divides his home between Berlin, Paris and Port-au-Prince.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[safa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bang average, learnt a lot about Haitian history and the style was really nice but the first story was so slow....

[Nadia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous

[Jahwobble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful translation!

[Purple Iris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Le récit de Grannie a beaucoup plus de force que le récit de Jonas. Peut être utilisé dans un cours sur la migration. migration vers RD et EU représentées.

Viens de relire pour mon cours. Je l'utilise pour le thème conflit ce semestre, mais beaucoup plus approprié pour la migration. La prochaine fois, l'utiliser avec L'Oeil-Totem.

(2019) I did not use it with L'Oeil-Totem. Maybe next time. I don't love the narrative choices for the second and third parts. They are not different enough from each other. Still a good read, though. And students tend to like it.

[World Literature Today]

This book was featured in the Nota Benes section of the November/December 2015 issue of World Literature Today Magazine.

http://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2...