At an astonishing young age, Edwidge Danticat has become one of our most celebrated new writers. She is an artist who evokes one of our most celebrated new writers. She is an artist who evokes the wonder, terror, and headache of her native Haiti- and the enduring the strength of Haiti’s women- with a vibrant imagery and narrative grace that bear witness to her people’s suffering and courage.

When Haitians tell a story, they say Krik? and the eager listeners answer “Krik? Krak! Danticat establishes herself as the latest heir to that narrative tradition with nine stories that narrative tradition with nine stories that encompass both the cruelties and the high ideals of Haitian life. They tell of woman who continue loving behind prison walls and in the face of unfathomable loss; of a people who resist the brutality of there rulers through the powers of imagination.