Claire of the Sea Light in Reading with Style

Sep 08, 2013 Connie G rated it really liked it

Shelves: haiti, contemporary-fiction, literary-fiction, caribbean

It is the seventh birthday of Claire Limye Lanme Faustin whose name means "Claire of the Sea Light" in Creole. Her birthday is also a day of death since Claire's mother died in childbirth, and her father brings her to the cemetery every year. On the morning of her seventh birthday, a huge wave overturned a fishing boat, and her father's good friend was lost in the sea.

On her birthday, Claire's impoverished father has been asking Madame Gaelle, a wealthy widow who is mourning her young daughter's It is the seventh birthday of Claire Limye Lanme Faustin whose name means "Claire of the Sea Light" in Creole. Her birthday is also a day of death since Claire's mother died in childbirth, and her father brings her to the cemetery every year. On the morning of her seventh birthday, a huge wave overturned a fishing boat, and her father's good friend was lost in the sea.

On her birthday, Claire's impoverished father has been asking Madame Gaelle, a wealthy widow who is mourning her young daughter's death, to adopt Claire so she could have a better life. This year, Madame Gaelle agreed, and Claire ran away. Before returning to Claire's seventh birthday in the last chapter, the book then weaves in stories about other residents of Ville Rose, a Haitian seaside village. Some of the stories are about poverty, gang violence, corrupt police, parenting, and terrible personal loss. The book also shows the spirit of the people where struggling villagers help each other.

The sea is also a character with a split personality. "The sea was both hostile and docile, the ultimate trickster....You could scatter both ashes and flowers in it. You could take as much as you wanted from it. But it too could take back. You could make love in it and you could surrender to it, and oddly enough, surrendering at sea felt somewhat like surrendering on land, taking a deep breath and simply letting go. You could just as easily lie down in the sea as you might in the woods, and simply fall asleep."

Claire seems to be a hope for the future, a lovely young girl running on the beach. She has intelligence and sensitivity toward others. During her pregnancy, Claire's mother thought of the name "Claire of the Sea Light" when she saw flickering flashlights from an abandoned lighthouse. The light motif is used throughout the book--lights paying tribute to a drowned fisherman, stars in the sky, lightening from a storm, flickering flashlights, bonfires, and the lights of the people searching for Claire.

Edwidge Danticat's writing, sprinkled with Creole, is gorgeous. The book has interesting characters whose problems will haunt the reader. It has its dark moments, but the book also shows love, humor, and hope for the next generation. I look foreward to reading more by this author. ...more

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Sep 22, 2017 Elizabeth (Alaska) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: twenty-first-century, from-friends, women, xx-2017-women

This is a novel of inter-connected stories, a vehicle I like. It is on that Listopia , which I created. I admit that, had I recalled it is there, my expectations might have been slightly different. However, that is not my main quibble.

My quibble instead, is that the writing doesn't measure up. I have thought and thought about what I didn't like about it. Though not especially interesting, the sentence structure is varied enough for me not to complain. I finally realized it is the lack of decent ...more

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Jan 21, 2015 Bucket rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: world-lit, culture, diversity, literary, life-and-death, reviewed, nature-the-outdoors, many-perspectives, class

This book threaded the needle between novel and short story collection, and did it beautifully. Characters don't just appear in each other's stories, but are part of the fabric of the larger narrative that encompasses all of them. This narrative, which is ultimately about the clashing of classes in a seaside village in Haiti, could not have been told through the eyes and voice of any of the characters alone.

There are many recurring themes, including poverty, loss, secrets, birth and death, but ...more

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Apr 29, 2016 Kate S rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2016

I enjoyed that story far more than I expected. I look forward to more by this author.

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Mar 02, 2018 Whitney rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Highly recommended for people who enjoy crying before they even reach chapter 2.

I also think this would be great in a high school curriculum, or university level. There is a lot of intricacy and conflict, but the scope and length are compact enough for succinct discussion. Plenty of literary foot-holds.

It's deceptively easy to read. Readers may miss the depths of grief and vulnerability and love that are beneath the quick-moving language. ...more

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Jun 25, 2018 Maia rated it liked it

Shelves: 2018, 3-5

beautifully written, but i wanted more from the plot and less interlacing more individuals large, and less suffering of the most innocent, but that's life ...more

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